Six ways to add extra years to your life

Little changes, from ditching burnt toast to buying houseplants, can have an amazing effect on your health. Professor Robert Thomas reveals his top six tips that could help you live better for longer.

BUY HOUSEPLANTS

Plants and trees are key oxygen producers. By bringing houseplants into your home, you can improve air quality, remove toxins, cut the risk of disease and boost attention spans  too.

EAT SPICY FOOD

Herbs and spices have wonderful anti-inflammatory properties and can protect against conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia. So adding them to food reaps benefits as well as the right kind of heat.

BIN BURNT TOAST

The blacker the toast, the more carcinogens such as acrylamide it contains. So try to have the lightest toast possible. And go for an egg or avocado instead of anything containing sugar, such as jam or marmalade.

RED WINE AFTER SUN

Red wine is full of resveratrol, a type of chemical  with healing attributes. Having a glass or applying olive oil to the skin after time in the sun helps reduce the risk of your genes mutating.

CHANGE COMMUTE

Cycling, walking or driving through traffic hotspots every day can be harmful because we are breathing in air full of fumes and pollutants.  Switch all, or part, of your route to take in a park some days.

BRUSH YOUR TEETH

Everyone associates brushing their teeth with avoiding fillings, but infections caused by poor dental care can increase inflammation all over the body, boosting the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s.