How to stay fit and healthy in your 70s and 80s

It might sound a bit woo-woo, but he’s not entirely wrong – because when it comes to the brain itself, it is in fact possible to reverse the ageing process. While the brain will show age-related changes – ventricles enlarge, matter declines and white fiber connections degenerate – they don’t have to amount to changes in brain performance or inevitably lead to decline. 

“In every decade the brain rejuvenates itself in a process called neurogenesis,” says Prof James Goodwin, director of science at the Brain Health Network, and author of Supercharge Your Brain. He explains that the part of our brain affected by our DNA only amounts to 25 per cent; the other 75 per cent is due to environment and lifestyle, which means we can slow the natural rate of change in the brain – and associated cognitive decline – that happens with age. 

The usual rules apply: a healthy diet and exercise (of which more below), plus good sleep (you should be aiming for seven to eight hours within a 24-hour period), keeping sociable (“chronic loneliness carries the same risk to your health as a bottle of vodka a day, or 15 cigarettes,” says Prof Goodwin) and trying to keep a lid on stress. Get these things right, and you can change the whole ageing process.

Eat five (or more), stay alive

One of the main ways to not only slow brain age but, as Sir Chris pointed out, retain a fit and healthy body is through what we eat. “Our Western diet is woefully narrow,” says Prof Goodwin. “In Neolithic times we’d be eating a variety of about 300 plants; if you went to Covent Garden Market in the 1850s you’d find 30 different kinds of apples. Now, those in the Western world get 75 per cent of our calories from five animals and 12 plants.” And, as you get older, nutrition deficiency becomes alarmingly common – a person might not be underweight, but their high body fat and low muscle mass means that they are lacking in what their body actually needs to be healthy.

The key thing to focus on, says GP Rob Jameson, who specialises in geriatric health, is nutrient-rich food – not least because digestive ability also decreases with age, which affects the absorption of nutrients. At the basic level, that means plenty of fruit and veg, a small amount of fish and meat and cutting down on very starchy, simple-carbohydrate foods like white flour, white bread and potatoes. Regular, balanced meals are also key, to make sure you’re eating enough and to stabilise blood sugar levels, which in turn helps sleep and increases energy. 

You can boost your digestive ability by including probiotic-containing foods that give the body and the gut a helping hand, like live yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut and kefir. Aiding digestion also helps to reduce inflammation. According to the National Library of Medicine, chronic pro-inflammatory status is a pervasive feature of ageing, representing a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the elderly, so it’s vital to mitigate this. 

Nutritionist Dr Gabriela Peacock recommends green tea as an excellent anti-inflammatory; it also helps with hydration, another common problem among older people who may find it difficult to drink the recommended two litres of fluid a day which doesn’t include regular tea and coffee. 

Prof Goodwin also warns of the dangers of inflammation, and counsels against the likes of ultra-processed foods, many of which contain an inflammatory fatty acid called omega-6 which inflames the brain, and is often found in the ready meals that older people may turn to for ease. The key nutrients everyone should be focusing on instead are omega-3 (which makes up 60 per cent of the brain and is found in oily fish), magnesium, zinc, vitamin D and vitamin B12 – and while it is better to try to get these from food (largely because supplementation chemistry is very complex), Goodwin himself supplements with vitamin D during the winter months, or if he has a virus.

Then there’s protein. “As we get older, we need to eat more protein,” says Prof Goodwin. “That’s because there’s a natural decline in the physical composition of the body as we get older – we lose muscle and bone mass by one to two per cent a year.” Meat and fish are great sources of protein, so going vegetarian or vegan may not be such a wise idea as you get older, although lentils and beans are also a source. 

Move your body

“Fitness for those in their 70s and 80s is all about functional fitness,” says Dr Jameson. He defines this as keeping major muscle groups, at risk over time of deconditioning, active – so you can still stand up from a chair, climb the stairs or get into the bath easily.