How to Live Longer

It’s no secret that people want to extend their lifespan. But the best ways involve striking a balance between the mind and the body— hanging out with friends won’t hurt either. Oh, and stay away from sausages!

Sleep, friends, and staying away from sausages are among the tips for adding years to your life span

First they came for our ciggies; then they came for our booze; now they’ve come for our sausages. Humankind has always searched for the secret to a long life: dodging death with some precautionary tactics. It’s a theme that has cropped up in everything from Egyptian mythology to the songs of Oasis, where there are enough scientific studies claiming to have made a breakthrough on the topic that you could reasonably shuffle off your mortal coil while still reading them. The latest, based on research conducted by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, has recommended a largely vegan diet: swapping processed red meat such as sausages and bacon for plant protein. Doing so may reduce the risk of early death by as much as 34 per cent, they say. But is ditching the fry-up all that’s needed? Taking stock of the science, counting the ol d wives’ tales and hearing from those who’ve been there and done it (grown really, really old), we present the ultimate guide to living forever. Well, a bit longer than you would have, anyway.