让你长寿的十个秘诀.

　　十个长寿的秘诀其中之一就是在东京参加一个净化仪式的日本神道教信徒。日本式的生活方式是一个健康长寿的生活的理想选择。详细请看下面的双语文章。

Shinto believers at a purification ceremony in Tokyo

　　Shinto believers at a purification ceremony in Tokyo. The Japanese lifestyle is ideal for a long, healthy life. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

　　The British are less likely to live long and healthy lives than the inhabitants of most European countries – and we also trail Australia and Canada, whose people are more likely to be dancing a jig at a lively old age than we are. This is the daunting conclusion of an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease study of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, comparing the UK with 18 other comparable countries and published in the Lancet medical journal. The UK ranked 12th out of 19 countries of similar affluence in 2010.

　　We have the NHS and much of the rest of the world envies us for it, but how long and healthily we live is not so much about how hospitals look after us – medical care contributes only about 20% to our healthy lifespans – as how we care for ourselves bore we get there. Here are 10 tips for a longer, healthier life.

　　1 Move to Japan

　　With the highest healthy life expectancy in the world, as well as the longest lives for women (men in Andorra just pip their Japanese counterparts to first place), Japan is clearly the place to buy a 1LDK (one room apartment with a living, dining and kitchen area). Space may be limited but a healthy life is not. On average, Japanese women can expect 75.5 years of good health while men enjoy 70.6 years. In the UK, we get 70.1 years and 67.1 years respectively. It is not just about sushi and rice, according to Professor Kenji Shibuya and colleagues at the University of Tokyo, writing in the Lancet in 2011. "Japanese people give attention to hygiene in all aspects of their daily life," they said. "This attitude might partly be attributable to a complex interaction of culture, education, climate [eg humidity, temperature], environment [eg having plenty of water and being a rice-eating nation] and the old Shinto tradition of purifying the body and mind bore meeting others." (Not something we can replicate with a little bottle of hand sanitiser on the desk.) They have regular health checks.

　　We weren't designed to sit around – so get running.

　　We weren't designed to sit around – so get running. Photograph: Hero/Corbis

　　2 Get your blood pressure checked

　　Like checking the pressure of the tyres on your car, this is a very good idea. Some people have high blood pressure in the family. Others eat too much salt, don't take enough exercise, are overweight, stressed, smoke or drink too much. Most of this you can do something about, but for those who don't, a trip to the GP, who will prescribe pills, may prevent a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure is the No 1 risk factor for early deaths and years of poor health in Europe. But if you have low blood pressure and none of the above risk factors, just a routine check on any visit to the GP for other matters is enough.

　　3 Eat seeds – not junk

　　Curiously, the Global Burden of Disease lists not only eating too little fruit (sixth-highest risk factor for early disease and death) but too few nuts and seeds (not far behind, at eighth). Too few vegetables are 12th, and low omega-3 (in oily fish, not tablet form), high processed meat and low fibre follow in that order. Too much trans fat is 19th, low calcium is 22nd and low milk consumption 23rd. So, yes, diet matters a lot and not just because eating too much makes you fat – high BMI or body mass index has a separate ranking as the fourth highest risk factor, causing heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancers. But on a diet of nuts and seeds it is also pretty difficult to get overweight.

　　4 Drink in moderation

　　One or two units a day may help reduce heart disease, but most people drink a lot more and it is doing us an increasing amount of damage.Alcohol can cause cirrhosis, which is now the 12th-highest cause of death and ill health in western Europe, fatty liver disease and liver cancer. It is also implicated in other cancers – mouth, throat and breast. And then there are all the accidents and fights in which people get hurt or killed.

　　5 Get your running shoes on

　　We were not designed to sit around and it's not good for us. The chi medical officer (CMO) says there are both mental and physical benits to exercise. It reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but it also improves our self esteem and reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Exactly how much exercise we need is a trickier question. The CMO says adults should be active every day. Over a week, we should be "moderately active" for a total of at least two and a half hours, which means brisk walking and cycling at a pace that warms you up and makes you breathe harder but still allows you to chat. Thirty minutes for five days of the week would do it. Or you can get really physical and take 75 minutes (total) of "vigorous activity" in the week, such as running, swimming or playing football. But we should all be either using weights or carrying heavy shopping bags to improve our muscle strength on at least two days a week as well. Got that?

　　Only half of long-term smokers see age 70.

　　Only half of long-term smokers see age 70. Photograph: PA

　　6 Don't smoke

　　Predictable but true. Smoking is likely to shorten your life and worse, make you suffer bore you die. It is responsible for the miserable last years of most people with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as triggering one in six cases of heart disease – the biggest killer in the UK. Only half of long-term smokers live past 70.

　　7 Stay out of hospital

　　Hospitals are dangerous places. There is always a risk of catching something when you are there, even though the superbug MRSA and C Difficile rates have come down and are not so much discussed at the moment. Falls in hospitals are also not uncommon, because patients can be both unsteady on their feet and uncertain of where they need to go. Good hospitals try to ship out elderly people as quickly as possible. Keeping fit and healthy – see smoking, drinking, diet and exercise above – will keep most of us off the wards for longer.

　　8 Don't get stressed

　　We do anxiety far too well in the UK. We were 15th worst out of 19 countries in the Global Burden of Disease tables for years lost to its disabling fects. One option would be to move to Spain, which scored highest in Europe for long and healthy lives (70.9 years compared to 68.6 in the UK) and also had the least anxiety. Remarkable, when you consider their economic woes and the numbers of people now out of work. Their lives appear to be healthier than ours in a number of ways – their rates of ischaemic heart disease (where the blood supply to the heart is reduced because of furred up arteries) are much lower and they score better on asthma, breast cancer, alcohol misuse and self-harm. Could it be something to do with sunshine or is it olive oil, tomatoes and fish? Perhaps both. Alternative ways to reduce stress and anxiety include exercise (see above), time to yourself and, says the NHS Choices patient website, talking to the boss about changing your working hours. Oh – and developing a sense of humour.

　　9 Take the train

　　Road injuries were the 12th-highest cause of years of life lost in the UK in 2010, but if you take just adults aged 20 to 54, they were fifth – after heart disease, self-harm, cirrhosis and breast cancer, and just above drug use. According to the independent Oxford healthcare journal Bandolier, which used 2006-7 data from sources including the World Health Organisation and the Department for Transport, the lifetime risk of dying bore the age of 75 are one in 976 in a car, one in 54,433 on a plane and one in 131,313 in a train.

　　10 Live in the south of England, not the north

　　The north-south divide is for real. A major study published by the British Medical Journal in 2011 found that people who live in the north of England are 20% more likely to die bore the age of 75 than those in the south. The researchers from Manchester University said the gap had reached its widest point for 40 years. The reasons are complex. The researchers said that "socioeconomic, environmental, educational, genetic and lifestyle factors" needed to be looked at – as did the reasons why government forts to bridge the gap fail. On the other hand, it is far easier to find a stunning and uncrowded beach for a jog on the north-east coast – but swerve the fish-and-chip restaurants and make do with a packet of unsalted peanuts.

　　十个长寿的秘诀在东京参加一个净化仪式的日本神道教信徒。日本式的生活方式是一个健康长寿的生活的理想选择。

　　英国人是不太可能比大多数欧洲国家的居民更长寿和健康的生活的—而且我们也落后于澳大利亚和加拿大，那里的人们比我们更可能在充满活力的晚年跳一支捷格舞。这是由位于西雅图的健康指标和评估研究所的全球疾病负担研究的数据分析得到的令人生畏的结论，把英国与其他18个类似的国家相比较，并发表在《柳叶刀》医学杂志上。2010年英国在19个同等富裕的国家中排名第12位。

　　我们有英国国民健康保险制度，而且世界上大多数其他国家都为此羡慕我们，但是我们有多长寿，生活得有多健康与医院如何照顾我们没有太大的关联—医疗保健对我们健康寿命的贡献只有大约20%—同样的，在我们到医院之前我们如何关心我们自己。这里有10个关于更长寿，更健康生活的小建议。

　　1去日本

　　由于有世界上最高的健康期望寿命，以及最长寿的女性(安道尔的男性刚刚打败了日本的男性得到了第一名)，日本显然是买1LDK的地方(一室公寓带有一个客厅，一个餐厅和一个厨房的面积)空间可能是有限的但是健康的生活是无限的。平均来说，日本的女性可以期望75.5年的健康同时男性可以达到70.6年。在英国，我们分别能达到70.1年和67.1年。这不仅仅是寿司和大米的问题，根据健二涩谷教授和他在东京大学的同事发表在2011年《柳叶刀》上的文章称。“日本人在他们日常生活的各个方面都注意卫生，”他们说。“这种态度可能部分是由于文化，教育，气候(例如湿度，温度)，环境(例如有大量的水和是一个以水稻为主食的国家)和古老神道教在会见他人之前要净化身体和心灵传统的复杂的相互作用。”(不是我们用桌子上的一小瓶洗手液就可以复制的东西。)他们有定期的健康检查。

　　我们的目的不是闲坐—因此，跑步。摄影：Hero/Corbis

　　2检查你的血压

　　就像检查你汽车轮胎的压力一样，这是一个非常好的主意。有些人有家族遗传的高血压。其他人吃了太多的盐，没有进行足够的锻炼，肥胖，压力过大，抽烟过多或酗酒。关于这其中的大部分你都可以做些什么，但是对那些不愿意的人，去看一次会开药片的全科医生可以预防心脏病发作或中风。在欧洲，高血压是过早死亡和健康状况不佳的头号危险因素。但是如果你血压不高也没有上述的危险因素，在任何因为其他问题去看全科医生的时侯做一个例行检查就足够了。

　　3吃种子—而不是垃圾

　　奇怪的是，全球疾病负担不仅列出了吃水果过少(早期疾病和死亡的第六大危险因素)，而且还有吃坚果和种子过少(没有太靠后，在第八位)。吃蔬菜太少是第12位，然后是低摄入ω-3(在富含脂肪的鱼里，而不是药片的形式)，过多的高加工的肉类,低摄入纤维按顺序紧随其后。过多的反式脂肪排第19位，低钙是第22位然后是低牛奶消费量排第23位。所以，是的，饮食很重要，而且这不仅仅是因为吃太过会使你肥胖—高体质指数或体重指数有一个第四大风险因素的单独排名，并会导致心脏病，中风，糖尿病和癌症。除此之外吃坚果和种子的日常饮食也很难肥胖。

　　4适度饮酒

　　每天一或两个单位可以帮助降低患心脏病的风险，但是大多数人喝了太多而且这确实带给了我们越来越多的危险。酒精可导致目前西欧死亡和不健康的第12大原因—肝硬化，脂肪肝和肝癌。它也诱发了其他癌症—口腔，咽喉和乳腺癌。然后还有有人受伤或死亡的事故和打架。

　　5穿上你的跑鞋

　　我们的目的不是闲坐而且这对我们没有好处。首席医疗官(CMO)说锻炼对身心都有好处。它可以降低患心脏疾病，中风和糖尿病的风险，同时它也提高了我们的自尊和减轻了抑郁和焦虑的症状。到底我们需要多少锻炼是一个棘手的问题。CMO说成年人每天都应该是活跃的。一个多星期，我们“适度放松”时间的总和至少要有两个半小时，“适度放松”意味着以温暖你，使你呼吸困难但仍允许你聊天的程度轻快地走路或者以一定的速度骑车兜风。一周5天都应坚持30分钟。或者你也可以得到真正的训练，一星期花75分钟(总共)“剧烈运动”，如跑步，游泳或踢足球等。但是我们也都应该每周至少两天要么使用重物，要么背着沉重的购物袋来提高我们肌肉的力量。明白了吗?

　　只有一半的长期吸烟者活到了70岁。图片来源：PA

　　6不要吸烟

　　虽然是预测的却是真的，吸烟可能会缩短你的寿命而且更糟的是，它会使你在死之前痛苦。它要为大多数患肺癌和慢性阻塞性肺疾病的人的悲惨的最后一年负责，以及触发了六分之一的心脏疾病—在英国最大的杀手。只有一半的长期吸烟者活过了70岁。

　　7远离医院

　　医院是一个危险的地方。当你在医院的时候经常会有危险感染上什么东西，即使超级细菌MRSA和艰难梭菌率已经有所下降，现在也没有那么多次被讨论。跌倒在医院也并不罕见，因为病人可能既脚步不稳也不确定他们需要去哪里。好的医院试图尽可能快的送出老人。保持身体健康—保证上面的吸烟，饮酒，饮食和锻炼—要尽可能长时间的使我们大多数人远离病房。

　　8不要有压力

　　在英国我们确实太过焦虑。我们是19个在多年来失去了其禁用影响的全球疾病负担表上的国家中第15差的。一个方案是移居到西班牙，它是在长寿和健康生活方面得分最高的欧洲国家(70.9年，与英国的68.6年形成对比)并且焦虑也最少。当你考虑到他们的经济危机和现在的失业人数时，这就是非凡的了。他们的生活在许多方面似乎都比我们的更健康—他们的缺血性心脏病的发病率(指因为动脉堵塞减少了对心脏的血液供应量)要低得多，而且他们在哮喘，乳腺癌，酒精滥用和自残上成绩更好。这难道和阳光有关么?或是橄榄油，西红柿和鱼?也许两者兼而有之吧。病人网站“NHS选择”说减少压力和焦虑的替代方法包括运动(见上文)，属于自己的时间，然后跟老板谈谈改变你的工作时间。噢—还有开发幽默感。

　　9坐火车

　　2010年道路伤害是英国第12大损失生命年数的原因，但是如果你刚好是年龄在20至54岁的成年人，道路伤害就排名第五—排在心脏疾病，自残，肝硬化和乳腺癌之后，而且仅仅排在使用药物之前。据独立的牛津医疗保健期刊杂志所说，它采用了2006-2007年来自包括世界卫生组织和运输部在内的数据，75岁前死亡的终身危险有1/976的可能性是在一辆车上，1/54433的可能性是在一架飞机上和1/131313的可能性是在一列火车上。

　　10住在英格兰南部，而不是北部

　　南北分界线是真实存在的。一个在2011年由英国医学杂志发表的主要研究发现，住在英格兰北部的人们75岁之前死亡的可能性比那些住在南部的人们高20%。英国曼彻斯特大学的研究人员说差距已经达到了40年来最大值。其原因是复杂多样的。研究人员说“社会，经济，环境，教育，遗传和生活方式等因素”都需要被考虑—和为什么政府缩小差距的努力失败了的原因一样。另一方面，在东北海岸很容易找到一个惊人的和不拥挤的海滩慢跑—但是偏离了炸鱼薯条餐馆和凑合着吃一包无盐花生。