Lifestyle secret to longevity

Whether it's upgrading our diets, choosing healthier habits, or committing to moving more, we're constantly on the hunt for ways to feel better and in some cases live longer - and scientists think they've come up with the blueprint.

Maria Branyas Morera, an American-Catalan woman who died last year at the grand age of 117 was the world's oldest woman, and researchers delved into her lifestyle and health to come up with the answers to how she managed to live so long.

Although she credits her long life to “luck and good genetics” and to “avoiding toxic people”, she surpassed the average lifespan in Catalonia by 30 years, so there was almost certainly other factors at play.

While more people are making it to 110, living to 117 is incredibly rare.

The research study analysed Morea's genes, microbiome, and the lifestyle she lived to draw their conclusions, and they found that it was her gut health that resembled a child's.

Her optimal health also meant that her body's cells were functioning as though she were 17 years younger.

More specifically, her body was extremely good at methylation, which is a chemical modification of DNA and other molecules that may be retained as cells divide to make more cells.