Drink two glasses of wine a day to live to 90

THE recipe for a long life includes exercising for 15 minutes a day, spending two hours on hobbies and enjoying a couple of glasses of wine.

Dr Claudia Kawas, of the University of California, who has spent 15 years studying people aged over 90, says those, plus keeping your weight down and drinking two cups of coffee a day, as well as getting out and talking to strangers, rather than doing puzzles, contribute to a longer life. “People should try to incorporate as many of these things into their day if they wish to give themselves the best chance of living to a ripe age,” she told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin, Texas.

“The more people outside of your own household you speak to any given month will lower your risk [of dying].

“For a while it was crosswords and sudoku,” she added. “The benefit was using your brain. People think using your brain is solving a puzzle, but when you are just out and interacting with people, you are using your brain a lot.”

Although she recommended keep- ing weight down in general, Dr Kawas suggested that when people got older it helped to be slightly overweight.

She said: “Carrying a few extra pounds in later years could help you live longer as it’s been shown to increase the chance of surviving a heart attack or stroke.”

However, separate research also suggests that genetics may play a part in keeping an active mind in later life.

Scientists at Northwestern University, in Chicago, studied 31 over-80s whose memory was at least as good as people in their 50s and 60s. Usually as people age, the brain’s cerebral cortex becomes thinner. But the team found that these so-called super-agers were no different to younger people.

Crucially in one area of the brain, the anterior cingulate, super-agers had up to five times more “von Economo” neurons – giant brain cells that are thought to boost social behaviour and which are often missing in people with autism or bi-polar disorder.

The super-agers were also found to be more extrovert, valuing social interaction and friendships more highly than people of a similar age who had aged normally. The researchers also believe that a positive attitude, and resilience were crucial to keeping mind and memory sharp in old age.

Many of the over-80s in the study had suffered hardships in their life but appeared to “bounce back”. Many were even able to maintain their physical and mental health despite drinking and smoking. “I think it is good for people to hear that the super-agers aren’t individuals who have led this pristine life,” said Dr Emily Rogalski, research associate professor at Northwestern.