Is It Ever Too Late To Improve Your Health?

Worried you’ve missed the boat in terms of adopting healthy habits that give everything from your brain to your bones a boost? The good news is, you haven’t!

- Karen Fittall

A lifetime of healthy habits can certainly add up to healthy ageing. Proof is a 2018 study which found people who’d done regular exercise their whole lives hit old age in much healthier shape than those who hadn’t been active. That’s good news – unless you’re in your 50s and can’t remember the last time you pulled on a pair of trainers. Don’t panic, though. No matter what age and stage you’re at in life, it’s not too late to improve your health and wellbeing. Not convinced? Let’s bust 10 health myths to prove it.

MYTH # 1

“I’ve never done much exercise. It’s too late to start now.”

IN FACT: Research shows that even when you take it up in later life, physical activity equals being seven times more likely to experience healthy ageing compared with staying sedentary.

TO MAKE IT WORK: Do a few different types of physical activity, after a US study discovered exercise variety is good for your telomeres. These are the protective ‘caps’ that sit on the end of chromosomes and, as far as ageing well goes, the longer they are, the better.

According to the research, when you stick to one type of exercise, for example walking, your risk of developing shortened telomeres drops by 3 per cent, but when you do four different types, your short telomere risk falls by 52 per cent. So consider adding in a swim, some yoga and a few simple bodyweight exercises alongside your regular walking routine.

MYTH # 2

“Mediterranean-style diets are good for you but only once you’ve eaten that way for a long time.”