Some form of strength training should be a regular part of everyone's lives to help ensure a strong body. Photo / Getty
By Scott Laidler for the Telegraph
For thousands of years, mankind has been trying to discover ever-more innovative ways to look younger and stay healthier. Across the world, cultures have offered their own answers, but thanks to modern-day research we now have a good idea of what actually works.
Here is the Telegraph's list of 50 things that everybody can do to stave off the ageing process and feel better for longer.
Science is finally catching up with the importance of gut health. For optimal gut flora, eat fermented foodstuffs, such as yoghurt, kefir, and sauerkraut, and use probiotic supplements.
After a good workout, five to ten minutes of cold therapy can help the body speed the healing time of the tiny muscle tears that happen during exercise. The cold, and then subsequent warming-up, helps to circulate blood, flush out waste by-products, reduce swelling, and reduce any further tissue breakdown.
Surround yourself with people you love, things and decorations that bring you joy, and activities that speak to your soul.
Even just a few short minutes a day can ease physical ailments, calm the mind, and reduce stress. Meditation can lead to a deeper self-awareness that can transfer to other areas of your life.
Something you could include with your meditating is positive thinking. Positive affirmations said daily, or even throughout the day, can slowly change the way your thought process works. Do it well and you can improve self-esteem, fend off depression, and stand a better chance of meeting your goals.
Stress starts off as a mental and emotional barrier, which can then manifest itself in physical problem. Finding ways to de-stress can have incredible results on your longevity.
Taking some time away from the busy bustle of life to just focus on yourself can do wonders for your wellbeing. It can be something big and exciting like going for a night out with friends or something simple and quiet like taking a well-deserved nap.
Going for a walk has multiple benefits that work from different angles. The most obvious being that its exercise; it gets your body away from your desk and off your couch. Walking for just 10 minutes is long enough for your brain to switch on it's feel good hormones that start the de-stressing process. It's also an excellent way to get in that much-needed Vitamin D from the sun.
Start incorporating a small yoga practice into your routine once a week - daily is even better - to start seeing some of its benefits: increased strength and flexibility, improved moods and sleep patterns, better metabolism, and weight loss.
This is a specific pose in yoga, also known as the final relaxation pose, in which you lie on your back while remaining alert. It's most often used as the very last pose in a sequence because it allows the body's nervous system to reset and recharge. It doesn't look like much, but, if done properly, it works to focus the mind on breathing while the body relaxes.
Some form of strength training should be a regular part of everyone's lives to help ensure a strong body. You will look better, feel better, and be able to stay active and mobile longer into your life, with a drastically-reduced rate for age-related injuries and muscle loss.
This vibrantly-coloured spice, which, like ginger, comes from a root, has long been championed for its various health properties. Studies have shown it can help with inflammation, depression, arthritis and diabetes, and there is even some evidence that it might help fight cancer.
One of the most important age-defying nutrients from leafy greens is Vitamin K. If you have inadequate levels of this vitamin, you're more likely to suffer from weak bones, heart disease, and calcification of the arteries and kidneys. Other benefits of getting your servings of greens include better vision, lower cholesterol, and lower risks of certain cancers.
Cayenne pepper is another one of nature's miracle cures for many ailments. Boosting your metabolism to help weight loss; migraine relief; even - possibly - helping fight cancer: if you don't have any in your spice cupboard already, be sure to get some.
A good chunk of the population could benefit from eliminating these things from their diets. Dairy and gluten can trigger allergies and sensitivities that can problems ranging from inflammation and to fatigue. They can even increase risks of certain cancers, according to some studies.
One of the most easily-available vitamins is vitamin D: all you need to do is go out in the sun for about 15 minutes a day. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's surprisingly common to have a deficiency in this important vitamin. Make sure you get enough: it helps to keep the immune system strong, aids the body in absorbing phosphorus and calcium, can help with depression, and contributes to strong bones and teeth.
Just the idea of having a wonderful spa day full of various massages sounds wonderful, doesn't it? The body knows what it needs - all you have to do is give in. Getting regular massages can do wonders for melting away tension in the body and the nervous system, has mood-boosting effects, and can help improve the function of the lymphatic system.
Having some goals set out, both short and long term, can allow you to focus on achieving things. A sense of accomplishment and purpose boosts your mood and often provides further motivation.
Whether it be with your partner, your child, or even your dog, cuddling makes the body release the hormone oxytocin - which is responsible for stress relief, building a stronger bond, increasing immunity, and can even lower your risk of heart disease. Cuddling with your partner can also help increase your sex drive.
"We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth," says Virginia Satir, a psychotherapist. Hugs help the body release optimal levels of oxytocin, an important hormone for happiness.
Though a majority of the population lives in an urban area, far removed from our natural roots. Taking the time to reconnect with nature does powerful things for the mind and soul. Even something as simple as just walking around your backyard in bare feet to feel the grass between your toes can be enough for some people.
Everyone has at least one source of stress, and many have plenty more than one. Being able to step away from it for longer than just an hour is very important. You need to give yourself time to allow your physical and mental self to completely let go and not worry. Time to turn off and recharge.
As you grow older, the mind starts to falter and the memories start to fade. One of the ways to help slow, or even reverse, the process is to keep the mind active. Reading is an easy and enjoyable way of doing this
Just like any other muscle, the muscles in the face deteriorate as we age. If you want to keep your facial muscles looking toned and your face looking young and vibrant without going under the knife, it's a good idea to add facial exercises to your routine three to five times week. But, even better, cultivate a life that makes you laugh and smile naturally.
All too often, we eat breakfast in the car on the way to work, or wolf down food as we work through lunch, or completely forget to eat all day because you were too busy. It takes about 15 minutes for the brain to register that your stomach says it's full. If your brain is too busy with other tasks, this message can get lost in the shuffle resulting in you always feeling hungry and never satisfied. This can cause overeating and constant snacking on unhealthy food.
This is a different concept from meditation, but similar. It focuses on your breathing at all times, rather than in a moment. It's quite common that people only breathe using the top half of their lungs, rarely ever taking a deep, full breath that fully expands the diaphragm. If you don't breathe properly, then you're not getting the maximum amount of oxygen to your body that you can, and you're also not expelling as much unneeded carbon dioxide from the body either.
I know, I know. A lot of you think cardio is boring and would rather be doing anything else. However, making time for regular cardio exercise is very important for both lung and heart health. These are two of your most important bodily systems and you want to keep them in tip-top shape. An average of 30 minutes each day of activity is recommended for good heart health. You don't have to run marathons - light activity is enough to get the benefits.
How many times have you heard that fat is bad for you? Probably too many to count. Contrary to popular belief, though, consuming enough healthy fats from foods like avocados and nuts is very important. Healthy fats can help you feel and stay fuller for longer, are remarkably beneficial for brain health, and help lower your risk of heart disease.
It's an easy way to occupy yourself and keep your mind active. You could go on wild hunts for collection pieces, or work your eyes and brain by designing and creating all the perfect little details in a cross-stitch piece. Whatever your hobby, it's very good for brain health to work on a challenging skill.
Drinking in excess slowly kills your body in many ways. The liver deteriorates, the skin changes, and brain cells die off. If you drink high-calorie beverages like beer or sugary alcopops, then weight gain around the middle often happens as well. Having a large midsection is linked to increased risks of a whole host of illnesses and disease.
Using liquid nitrogen to produce extreme cold, cryotherapy and is sometimes referred to as a cold sauna. It can massively speed up recovery, reduce inflammation and provide rapid muscle relaxation.
For such small packages, nuts are full of benefits. Each nut has its own list of healthy benefits: they can alleviate depression, help with weight loss, provide a great sources of protein and other key nutrients, and aid heart health. And that's not all.
These vibrantly-ccoloured fruits are on the "superfoods" list - and for good reason. They are high in fibre, vitamins, iron, and antioxidants. They are known to help to fight against high blood pressure, some cancers, heart disease, and inflammation.
Yet another antioxidant source, green tea should be consumed daily. Loaded with nutrients, green tea has been shown to help with fat loss, lower cancer risks, and improve mental health. It can also lower your risk for conditions like diabetes, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease.
Aside from giving you your morning boost of energy, coffee can be used to improve brain function (making you smarter!), boost fat burning and physical performance, and lower the risk of liver problems, heart disease, stroke, and type two diabetes. That said: too much coffee may actually harm your health. Stick to one or two cups a day.
This very important vitamin helps your body to function properly in a wide variety of ways including things like boosting your immune system, keeping blood pressure in check; fighting cancer, heart disease. Diabetes, and respiratory illness. It even helps to keep the skin healthy and wrinkle-free!
Doing logic-based puzzles, like SuDoKu, has been shown to slow, or even prevent, the onset of these mental decline in old age.
We love sugar, but it has been shown to cause the brain to react the same way as it does to highly addictive illegal drugs, which makes it really hard to kick. Sugar causes spikes in insulin, resulting in unstable blood sugar which can lead to a whole host of problems from weight gain to diabetes.
When you sleep, your body is working on your recovery without you even realising it. Overnight, your hormone levels stabilise and your body works on repairing itself. It's easy to skimp on it, but getting enough sleep is extremely important.
On that topic, having a solid bedtime routine can be a gamechanger. Your body is set to follow rhythms like the rising and setting of the sun. If you set your daily life up to have similar routines each day, the body will know when it's time to start winding down to prepare itself for a restful night.
Taking steps to maintain good posture throughout your life will pay dividends as the decades roll on. Investing in a good chair, mattress and working on keeping active throughout your working day will help you stay functional for longer.
You know it when you see them: often they are well-dressed, they walk tall with great posture, and often have an optimistic disposition with no worries of suffering from depression. People with confidence are happier, less stressed, and more successful. Work on your self esteem by setting yourself small daily targets and following through on them.
Humans are social creatures, even those who say they prefer to be alone. Having a few good friends, coworkers, and family members around that you can talk to, hang out with, and just let loose with is great fun and leads to lower stress levels.
Whether it's time, money or attention, giving to a worthy cause helps us maintain our sense of purpose and connection with the world.
This one shouldn't even need an explanation. If you smoke now, work on quitting right away.
The sun has wonderful benefits - not least Vitamin D - but too much can be a bad thing. Harmful UVA and UVB rays can cause the skin to toughen, darken, get spotty, and get a leathery look over time. A lifetime of overexposure to the sun can cause multiple types of skin cancer, so always be sure to find some shade and wear sunscreen to protect yourself.
Without Vitamin Bs - there are eight different kinds - your body will take a dive in many different areas. One of the most often recognised symptoms is a lack of energy, sometimes causing chronic fatigue. Make sure you're getting enough. These vitamins are abundant in meats so vegetarians may look to supplement.
Your body is made up of about 70 per cent water; your brain is about 90 per cent water. Drinking enough water helps the body to function properly. It flushes out toxins, aids in weight loss, fights off headaches, and can improve the complexion of your skin for a youthful-looking glow.
All the different colours you see in fruits and vegetables look nice, but also provide helpful guidance. Each colour grouping has its own set of nutrients. It's important to eat a wide variety of foods from all colour groupings to maximise your intake of these nutrients.
Less stress, boosted confidence, increased pain tolerance, a stronger immune system, and even brain cell growth: if you weren't already convinced sex is good, how about all these benefits?
The 100-year-old club in Rotorua that's still going strong.