While he has not reached his centenary yet, Gyles Brandreth is fairly certain he knows how to get there.

Hoping to have enough "snap in my celery" to get there, the veteran broadcaster and author, currently aged 78, has written a new book outlining what he sees as the seven secrets of living to 100.

“I think of myself as still quite young (bless me) and I am hoping to have snap in my celery for at least another 20 years,” he says in the book. “That’s why I have written this book. It’s a self-help book and it’s myself I am hoping to help!”

Aside from selfish reasons for writing The 7 Secrets of the Hundred-Year Life, Brandreth, who’s regularly featured on Channel 4’s Countdown and ITV’s This Morning, is also hoping to help even the currently young live to be centenarians through following seven simple tips he identified with the help of his physiotherapist and co-author, Finola Burrell.

He says: “I’ve known a lot of people who’ve lived to be 100 years of age, and I thought maybe I should try and put all their secrets into a book in case it would help other people live to be 100 – but actually how to have good living, because they want us to be 100 and just be sitting in a corner looking sad.

“You want to live well to 100.”

Brandreth, who was the Conservative MP for Chester between 1992 and 1997, says the number of people living to 100 globally has surged from roughly 23,000 a century ago to nearly 722,000 today, and is expected to reach four million by 2054.

And if you want to be one of them, he advises following all of these tips…

1. It’s all in the mind

Brandreth says happy people live seven to 10 years longer than unhappy people, and to be happy, you need a positive outlook.

So he advises: “You need to look up and out rather than down and in. Busy people are happy people, and that’s why one of the golden rules is to cultivate a passion, have something you love doing, that makes you want to get up in the morning.

“You need purpose. My purpose is my work.”

He says it’s also important to live in the moment, and be able to cope with change. “Change is the salt and the soup of life,” he says. “As people get older, they find change difficult. People say don’t rock the boat, but in fact, a little gentle rocking does you good.”

2. You are what you eat (and drink)

Globally, a less-than-optimal diet is estimated to cause around 11 million premature deaths, as detailed in The Lancet. Brandreth points out that some parts of the world, such as Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Sardinia in Italy, are known for having residents that live long, healthy lives, and says there’s much we can learn from these so-called Blue Zones, as they share many lifestyle traits including diets with a ‘plant slant’.

“Getting the diet right is vital, and the essence of that is lots of colour on your plate,” he explains.

A Mediterranean diet packed with fruit, vegetables, legumes, wholegrains and olive oil, with only moderate dairy products and not much red meat, is definitely associated with a lower risk of early death, he says, pointing out that studies show regularly eating processed or red meat can shorten life expectancy, and substituting one daily serving of red meat for legumes, fish or chicken may lower the risk of early death by 7-19 per cent.

And to achieve a 100-year-life, we need to be “awash with water” too, stresses Brandreth, who says aiming for 2.7 litres a day for women and 3.7 litres a day for men is a “solid baseline”.

He says research shows consistent hydration lowers the risk of chronic diseases, and can help you live longer and healthier. “Just drink lots of water. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “Drinking water never interested me – now I’m a waterholic.”

3. And breathe…

It’s something we all do without thinking, but Brandreth insists breathing is “one of the most underrated longevity tools you’ve got”.

He says different breathing techniques, including diaphragmatic, box, Buteyko, nasal and vagus nerve breathing can help reduce inflammation, increase relaxation and support longevity.

4. Sleep your way to longer life

Sleep is one of the foundations for a long, vibrant life, says Brandreth, who insists there are things bad sleepers can do to improve their inadequate rest, including getting natural daylight within an hour of waking, reducing light exposure in the evenings, avoiding digital devices later in the evening, and being consistent with sleep and wake times, and even meal times.

He explains that missing sleep accelerates the ageing process at a cellular level, and stresses: “Sleep is key – you can’t survive without sleep. Getting into a way of life that’s regular and ordered is good.”

5. People need people

Disconnection with other people can quietly erode health, Brandreth warns, setting off behavioural and biological changes which shorten your healthy lifespan. He says a Chinese study found social isolation and loneliness reduced life expectancy in men by four to five years, and for women, social isolation alone was associated with a three-year reduction.

He says: “To live to 100, staying socially engaged is as essential as exercise, nutrition, sleep and purpose.

“Socialising and other people are terribly important. Communicating is vital – you won’t live to be 100 if you’re on your own.”

6. Keep moving

Brandreth says research shows daily regular exercise can significantly reduce overall mortality risk. But nevertheless, he admits: “I don’t like exercise. I am not interested in exercise. But you do need to keep moving, and it needn’t be depressing.

“If you’re like me, you can just have ‘exercise snacks’, which take no longer to do than it takes to eat a packet of crisps. So if you keep moving, and do exercise snacks, that’s all you need.”

He admits that until recently he wasn’t doing any exercise himself, and says: “I am now doing the exercise, so I’ve lost a stone. I’m topping the exercise snacks up with a personal trainer, so I’m knocking 80 and I’ve started boxing, which is quite fun.”

7. KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid

Brandreth says simplicity and consistency are key, so if you feel overwhelmed by all the longevity advice, focus on just one part of each and do it every day, he suggests.

“Longevity isn’t achieved through extreme diets or sporadic bursts of intense exercise that are not sustainable throughout the decades, but rather through the cumulative, positive effects of simple repeated actions,” he explains.

He adds: “So keeping busy, looking up, looking out, staying happy, staying hydrated, eating colourful food, and taking exercise snacks is all you need and you’ll live to be 100.

“And if you bought the book and you don’t live to be 100, sue us after your death and we’ll give you the money back.”

The 7 Secrets of the Hundred-Year Life by Gyles Brandreth and Finola Burrell is published by Short Books, priced £16.99. Available now.

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