6 healthy habits to live longer

1. Check your blood pressure yourself

Rudi Westendorp: “Roughly half of the cases of high blood pressure go unnoticed. And if it is noticed and treated, it is not done well enough in half of the cases. Take responsibility for your blood pressure. Check it every month; there are devices for that. High blood pressure affects the blood vessels of your heart and kidneys, among other things, and it doubles the risk of dementia. If you normalize your blood pressure, you halve that risk. Use as little salt as possible, exercise half a day every day. hours and take your medicine on time.”

2. Sweat is good for you

Andrea Maier: “I have just come from a series of debates with rooms full of elderly people. To the question: ‘Who moves enough?’ More than 80 percent raised their hands. In the end, only 21 percent turned out to really get enough exercise. Enough is: at least half an hour a day at least five times a week, so with drops of sweat on the forehead. Or brisk walking for an hour for the elderly. If you do that, you have a better chance of living longer. It is not possible to say exactly how much. But if you exercise enough, eat two pieces of fruit a day, do not smoke and drink little alcohol, then the chance that you will be in the 3 percent will die in the next fourteen years. If you do not adhere to these precepts, that will be 24 percent.”

3. Think like the supermarket

“Your environment influences what you do. In supermarkets, the more expensive products are at eye level, because you pick them up faster than items that are lower. Make sure that at home, in the fridge, the vegetables are also at eye level. Then you eat more. from then when you put them away in the vegetable drawer. If there is a filled fruit bowl on the table, you are more likely to get two pieces of fruit a day. Something similar applies to the cutlery and plates we use. In an experiment, large crockery was replaced by small crockery. The subjects ate up to 57 percent less and lost weight. You also eat less soup if you use a small spoon; the feeling of satiety is reached sooner,” says Rudi Westendorp.

4. Get rid of that tummy

“People tend to underestimate their weight. They think they weigh less than they actually weigh. Especially over-50s often get an apple or pear-shaped body: fat accumulation on the stomach or thighs. We also underestimate how much we eat in a day Someone offers you a pastry, you take an extra piece of cheese or a sandwich too much. The most important thing is that we become aware of exactly what we are ingesting in a day. You can do this, for example, by ‘Eating meter’ from the Nutrition Center, or an app like MyFitnessPal install,” says Andrea Maier.

5. Find fun

Rudi Westendorp: “Elderly people with a small social network have a higher mortality risk than smokers, while smoking is seen as one of the biggest risk factors for illness and death. We do not know exactly how it works, but we do know that a large social network three positive effects: you have a better mood, you feel safer, valued and more relaxed, so invest in social contacts.

6. Roll up your sleeves

Andrea Maier: “70 percent of the elderly have a deficiency of vitamin D. This leads to, among other things, bone fractures and weak muscles. Our body can produce vitamin D itself with the help of sunlight. It is best to go outside for 15 minutes every day. for bare skin: roll up your sleeves. If that doesn’t work, take a supplement; the advice is 20 milligrams (800 IU) per day.”

Andrea maier is professor of internal medicine at the VUmc. She specializes in geriatric medicine, is developing a drug that slows down aging, and believes that becoming healthy will soon be completely normal.

Rudi Westendorp is professor of geriatric medicine. He was director of the Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging knowledge institute for six years. Now he works at the University of Copenhagen as Professor of Medicine at Old Age.

Extra tip: follow a free course on healthy aging

Rudi Westendorp is one of the experts who provides a free course on healthy aging at the Leyden Academy. You can register until May 1, 2018 through this website.