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Will you still need me, will you still feed me,when I’m... 104? If Lennon and McCartneywere penning lyrics nowadays, they’d haveto add at least four decades to their question.We are already living longer. That much we know. Accordingto 2014 projections by Mintel and the Office for NationalStatistics, our life expectancies keep on growing. In 1981 a65-year-old woman could expect to reach 81.9 years, by 2017that figure became 86.5, and by 2061 it is predicted to growto 91.6 years (for men, it’s 78 years, 84.3 and 89.7 respectively).Longevity has become the new wellness watchword – thereare the supplements, the exercises (for both mind and body),even a dedicated Longevity Thalassa and Medical Spa inPortugal. And we’re not talking a mere eighties goal here;now the focus is on getting the extra innings to take us closerto 100, sound of mind, happy in body and free from disease.Dr Valter Longo PhD, the aptly named biochemist anddirector of California’s Longevity Institute, has created thiscentre of excellence where the aim is to help everyone livelonger, ideally to 110, healthfully. Nutrition, unsurprisingly, iskey, and Longo recently published The Longevity Diet, in whichhe advocates a mainly pescatarian intake (which for him alsomeans ideally no eggs or cow’s milk between childhood andthe age of 65). He’s also pro intermittent fasting (much likelong-established spas such as Viva Mayr and the BuchingerWilhemi clinic) but is anti fad fasts and anything hardcorethat’s outside the controlled environment of a clinic, saying,“You can get benefits [at home] but usually you also getproblems.” So he has created his own fast-mimicking dietand foodstuffs (all profits go back into the institute, beforeyou get cynical), which keep calories low but still allow youto eat. In randomised trials this still got the same results asfasting in the fight against cholesterol, triglycerides, highblood pressure, and other markers for cancer and cardiovasculardiseases. How and when we eat also matters. “Eating within12 hours a day is important, and if you’re overweight, eatingHOW TOLIVE TOWe are all living longer,but can we also live better?asks Edwina Ings-Chambers``````two meals a day plus a snack ratherthan the five meals (three meals andtwo snacks) we often hear about, isalso important.”David Spencer-Percival also tookthe nutrition route by creating No.1Rosemary Water. It is what it soundslike: drinking water infused withrosemary herb extract. He wasinspired by a news report about theItalian village of Acciaroli on thecoast south of Naples. There, aremarkable number of locals are living to 100 – and beyond- with good heart health and little dementia or otherdegenerative diseases, a result put down to the fact that theychew on rosemary much like others would gum. Spencer-Percival wanted some of that – but not for himself. “I actuallydid it for my wife; she’s 20 years older than me,” says 47-yearold David. “My grandma has Alzheimer’s, and I didn’t wantmy wife to get it.” That’s real romance for you. “The trick isto get it into your diet early – it’s preventative, not a cure,”he points out. Tests on his super-charged water at NorthumbriaUniversity found it oxygenated the blood to the brain andturbo-charged its ability to concentrate. Whatever you’re eating, though, don’t neglect your teeth.Poor oral hygiene or plaque control can lead to periodontaldisease, which in turn can lead to all manner of ailments.Dr Mark Hughes, founder of Harley Street Dental Studioand ambassador of the Foreo Issa 2 toothbrush explains,“Patients without diabetes who have periodontal disease havea great risk of developing diabetes, and a greater future riskof cardiovascular disease, both of which we know shortenlife expectancy.” And... breathe. Breathing couldn’t be more important inthe quest for a longer, healthier life, and it serves a purposebeyond keeping our bodies going. Both the Espace HenriChenot at the Palace Merano in Italy, the preventative ageingspa where the motto is “Health for Life”, and Nadia Narain,an A-list yoga teacher at Triyoga, emphasise the importanceof breathing management. “It is essential to feeling calm andhealthy – it benefits the brain, the heart and the whole nervoussystem,” says Narain. At a point where mindfulness has becomepart of our everyday lexicon (Headspace is the most downloadedhealth app, and the Apple iWatch now has a Breathe functionthat will remind you to take moments to ground yourselfthroughout your day), the evidence is overwhelming as to thebenefits of this most simple of exercises. So with what we know, just how realistic is it that we’ll alllive to a royal-telegram-worthy age and beyond? We remainpragmatic but optimistic: “I don’t think it’s going to happenfor the majority of us because most of us don’t follow therules,” says Longo. And yet being teacher’s pet never seemedso worthwhile. Q# 100Now thefocus is ongetting theextra inningsto take uscloser to 100,sound ofmind, happyin bodyand freefrom disease``````135FRANCO RUBARTELLIWELLNESS SPECIAL