Copyright

Published by Piatkus

ISBN: 978-0-349-41541-3

Copyright © 2017 Bertil Marklund

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

English translation © Stuart Tudball 2017

Published in agreement with Ahlander Agency

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

Piatkus

Little, Brown Book Group

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London EC4Y 0DZ

www.littlebrown.co.uk

www.hachette.co.uk

Introduction

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about how one should live one’s life in order to have as much time on this earth as possible. Both of my parents had multiple risk factors and unfortunately I lost them far too early. That shook me up. Would their genes also have a negative impact on my health and longevity? So I decided to get to the bottom of what I needed to do to enjoy as long and healthy a life as possible.

I am a physician with over twenty years’ experience in clinical patient care and I have treated countless patients throughout the years. I have also done extensive research in areas such as family medicine and public health for more than twenty years. As a doctor and researcher, I had access to all the research I needed and, of course, I was already quite well informed about the issues. In the medical world we talk a lot about risk factors that lead to disease and premature death. However, I began to think along new lines and became increasingly interested in the health promotion perspective – how to boost health rather than focusing on disease and death. I decided to study health factors instead of risk factors, to shift from the negative to the positive, with a focus on new knowledge about why some people are so healthy and live so long.

The research showed me what I wanted to know – how to stay healthy and live longer. Studies showed that the genetic component only accounts for around 25 per cent of longevity, with lifestyle coming in at 75 per cent. The figures may vary somewhat between studies, but they all indicate that lifestyle is the critical factor. This was a relatively new finding, and I was pleased to learn that I was the one in control of my longevity, not my genes. I can affect my health by shaping my own lifestyle and the benefits are fantastic – potentially adding as many as ten healthy years, maybe more, to my life. It is up to me to decide how I want to age – and don’t want to age.

Sweden is one of the healthiest countries in the world and in all of the Nordic countries there is increasing awareness of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. However, the themes in this book are wholly universal and can be applied to anyone seeking to make a change in their life. I want to pass on what I’ve learned about lifestyle changes for a healthy and long life to everyone interested in improving and boosting their health and putting the brake on disease and ageing. Hopefully this little book will help you. It can be summed up as a short guide to a long life.

WHY YET ANOTHER SELF-HELP BOOK?

There is already a plethora of self-help books on all sorts of health conditions and lifestyle choices, how to make yourself feel better. People tend to buy books about something in their lives that they want to change and that book is often 300–400 pages long, sometimes even more. If you’re really ambitious you might read the whole book in less than a week or so. The content is good, the advice plentiful, but the problem is that as you reach the end of the book there is a considerable risk that you’ll feel completely overwhelmed. There is so much to absorb that you have to take deep breaths before you begin putting the new advice into practice.

There is a big gap between words and action – and that is a problem.

The changes you are willing to make straight away, preferably the same day or the day after, have a great chance of success. If you start thinking that you have to work yourself up to it and then begin early next week or maybe next month, then there is a major chance that there will be no change. Instead, after a while you might find yourself buying a new self-help book in the hope that it will offer some easier options.

But this book is different and I’ll tell you why.

Nordic focus

The Nordic countries are known for their pared-down simplicity, and in Sweden, we refer to this as lagom. There is no English equivalent to this inherently Swedish word, but it is best translated as ‘just the right amount,’ and in Sweden we often say, ‘just the right amount is best’. Lagom can be applied to almost any situation – from the amount of coffee you’d like to how much exercise you should do – but more than that, it indicates balance and a Swedish idea of moderation. The Nordic Guide to Living 10 Years Longer applies this ethos to health – and it is important for me to express that to live a healthy life, you do not have to go to extremes. It’s the small and simple changes that amount to a happier, healthier life.

Creates motivation

It is important to have an answer to the question of why you should change your lifestyle. The answer is that it gives you a chance to live ten years longer, and be healthier with it, and this is hopefully a strong motivator to make a lifestyle change. Most people would want a longer and healthier life and the basis of this book is to explain how you can achieve that.

Rooted in expert knowledge

All the facts and tips in this book are based on the experience and knowledge I’ve gained over the years, as a doctor in primary care and as a researcher in general medicine and public health. The book’s facts are also founded on extensive studies of scientific literature, health research and statements by health experts.

New knowledge about inflammation

This guide is based on exciting research showing that the big threat to our health is the occurrence of inflammation in the body. The common thread running through the book is how this happens, the consequences it has and how we can protect ourselves against it.

Promotion and prevention

This book is built around two different perspectives. It provides suggestions on health promotion activities that you can do to feel good and stay feeling good – measures that lead to a healthy life. At the same time, it also explains how these measures will help you to stave off ill health.

Health is not a static state. We all shuttle between good health and ill health throughout our life.

But health, like life, is complex. You can feel good despite having a disease while a physically fit person can experience ill health and feel bad. We are all born different, but everyone can still do something for their health.

A health promotion perspective starts by looking at what creates and contributes to good health. This approach also involves accepting that there is no single factor that leads to health – there are numerous contributory factors and they are all interdependent, hence the ten chapters in this book. The key is to activate the inherent powers that we all have in order to achieve meaningful, longer and healthier lives – and not just to achieve good health in itself, but because good health is a resource that will help you achieve other goals in life such as travelling or spending time with family and friends.

This book gives advice on making the body and soul feel good. And this advice is for everyone. If you already feel good, you can reinforce and retain that feeling. And if you’re already suffering ill health or disease, there is advice that can boost aspects of your lifestyle and help you move from ill health to health, or keep your health from deteriorating further.

PLENTY OF SIMPLE ADVICE – TAKE THAT FIRST STEP

The most important, but perhaps also most difficult, thing is to take the first step towards changing your lifestyle. So choose something that is relatively easy to change and get started now. Then use this book for support and as a reference to help you add more new habits to your life one step at a time. The transition to a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t be a chore – it should feel positive and meaningful. That way you will stick to these new habits for the future. See yourself eating well, see yourself cycling up that long hill. It is important to create positive images of what is going to happen – this increases the chance of it becoming a reality.

Keep returning to the book, discuss it with your friends, share your top tips. This keeps the idea of health positivity alive.