The rise of the supercentenarians: five ways to live to 120

functionality of different organs and the body as a whole.”

His ongoing research recently found that administering peptides not only increased the lifespan of lab animals, but inhibited their carcinogenesis (the initial stages of a cancer forming). Earlier this year, a separate study found that the kidney function and fur quality in mice was dramatically repaired when given peptide infusions over the course of three months.

In recent years, peptides have been introduced to cosmetics and food supplements, making boosting your levels of them easier than ever. Peptide-enriched moisturisers, which have been available for several years, have been shown to help skin cells to heal and stimulate new cell growth.

Products from Nars’ Soft Matte Concealer to Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Night Cream are loaded full of them.

And there’s potentially good news for those on statins, too. Last week, Canadian health authorities become the first in the world to approve a range of nutraceutical supplements containing shrimp shells — which are naturally rich in peptides, but are normally discarded during food processing — after several clinical trials showed they have a remarkable blood pressurelowering effect.

Fifty per cent of age-related diseases, from cardiovascular problems to arthritis, are caused by diet and lifestyle — so says Yuriy Medzinovskiy, director general of Moscow’s “longevity clinic”, GLMED — making what we eat crucial to the deathdefying process. At 83.7 years, Japan has the longest life expectancy in the world and a greater number of centenarians than any other nation,

2 Try the Okinawa diet:

largely credited to their adoption of the Okinawa diet. Based on the eating habits of the Ryuku Islands’s indigenous people, it replaces traditional Japanese rice with sweet potato, and includes a higher than average consumption of pork.

It also adheres to what is easily the least popular, yet most effective, means of boosting overall health: calorie restriction.

Okinawa dieters eat around 300 calories fewer than average. According to Dr Craig Willcox, co-author of The Okinawa Way: How to Improve Your Health And Longevity Dramatically (Kindle edition, £8.99): “Okinawans have a low risk of arteriosclerosis and stomach cancer, a very low risk of hormone-dependent cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. They eat three servings of fish a week, on average … plenty of wholegrains, vegetables and soy products, too, more tofu and more konbu seaweed than anyone else in the world, as well as squid and octopus, which are rich in taurine — that could lower cholesterol and blood pressure.”

Meanwhile, Dr George Roth, CEO of Baltimore tech firm GeroScience Inc, says we can “increase the quality and quantity of human life” by reducing our calorie intake. His recent study on rhesus monkeys demonstrated that this restriction both extends lifespan and delays the onset of age-related disorders.

Christmas trees and cancer prevention may seem strange bedfellows, but recent research into terpenoids, a hydrocarbon found in Siberian firs, have shown that the compounds could defend against cancer and the ageing process. Produced in bulk by conifers to protect against disease, the genes have been found to play a key part in the transportation of complex proteins as well as degrading unnecessary ones, exhibited in their suppression of tumours, leading scientists to believe that they could be applied to further ailments in the future.

Pure terpenoid supplements and creams are yet to hit the market, but you can get a hit through the likes of chamomile extract, which promises to restore the skin’s elasticity.

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Health experts are regularly warning us off booze, but a dose of mother’s ruin could work wonders. At least, that’s what the makers of CollaGin, which is produced in the Midlands, promise, distilling the hard stuff with pure collagen, anise oil and orris root — botanicals said to have antiageing properties.

They’re not the first company to mix the business of staying young with pleasure: last year, Nicky Hambleton-Jones, one-time presenter of

4 Wrap yourself in fir: Drink gin:

Ten Years Younger, teamed up with food alchemists Bompas & Parr to create a similar product. “For those that want to do everything they can to stay young, but don’t want to give up alcohol, this is surely the next best thing,” she said.

If they lead a healthy life, they will have a good start. The main goal for us now must be to allow people to stay healthy for as long as possible into their old age.” Professor Vladimir Khavinson, past President of the European region of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics

Melatonin — a hormone naturally produced in the body — is being rebranded as “the fountain of youth”. Commonly used as a sleep aid, it can help regulate circadian rhythms and is widely used as a jet lag remedy. But as the quantity produced by the body declines with age, in trials supplements have been found to improve the overall health of mice, as well as extend their life.

There is also increasing evidence that melatonin as a dietary supplement could help slow down the aging process. Recent studies have shown that taking the hormone in small doses (such as 0.5mg each night) can protect against heart damage and help to delay the onset of Alzheimers by guarding against cell decay. It has also been shown to fight UV ray-induced skin ageing due to its antioxidant properties and ability to repair DNA damage.

However, melatonin is not yet available over the counter. While a US government survey last year found that 3.1 million Americans take the hormone in supplement form, in the UK it is licensed only in slow-release form to treat sleep disorders in the over-55s.

One of the easiest ways to support your body’s ability to produce melatonin is to consume more magnesium, which is found in foods such as almonds, avocados and spinach. Also, tropical fruits such as pineapples, oranges and bananas are naturally rich sources of natural melatonin.

5 Make more melatonin: