Diet can do many things — improve your figure, increase your energy levels and make your skin glow. According to a study published in Nature, consuming a substance called resveratrol found in grapes and red wine, as well as berries and some fruit, can also extend your lifespan.

By mimicking the effects of drastic calorie restriction — which has been shown to prolong the lives of laboratory animals by up to one third — resveratrol can do much the same. Leading the study, David Sinclair, at the Harvard Medical School, and Rafael de Cabo, at the National Institute on Aging, fed one group of mice a high-fat diet from the age of one year (their middle age), a second group was fed high-fat foods but with a large daily dose of resveratrol. The resveratrol mice lived much longer than all other mice, including those on a healthy diet. They also performed better in tests of motor skill as they grew older. “The mice fed resveratrol lived longer and were more similar to the low-fat eating animals in terms of health profile,” says Sinclair.

The bad news? Doses in the animal studies were far higher than the amount that people could tolerate. A 10st (63kg) man would need to drink 750 to 1,500 bottles of red wine a day to get the beneficial effects.

“It is well established that these substances, called bioactive phytochemicals, have a health-boosting effect,” says Anna Denny, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation. “But there is no magic bullet. You need to incorporate a lot of elements and have an overall healthy eating plan.” So you want to live for ever? Here’s how:

Cabbage, broccoli, kale and sprouts

Researchers at the University of Leicester found that cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, sprouts and kale, contain a compound which could help to fight breast cancer. Margaret Manson, the study’s author, found that after supplementation with the compound Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C), breast cancer cells were more easily killed when exposed to chemotherapy.

Eating cruciferous vegetables once a week can also cut lung cancer risk for people with inactive forms of two genes, says the International Agency for Cancer Research, because they are rich in isothiocyanates. But these chemicals are normally eliminated from the body by “clean-up” enzymes produced by the genes GSTM1 and GSTT1. The Agency found that the 50 per cent of the population with an inactive form of GSTM1 had a 33 per cent protective effect against lung cancer if they ate plenty of the vegetables.

Amanda Ursell says: Twenty-five per cent of the population is sensitive to the bitter taste imparted by the isothiocyanates. You can tone down the bitter taste by serving broccoli and cauliflower in a milk-based soup or with a white sauce. Aim for three servings a week.

Blueberries

Blueberries are so powerful in retarding ageing that they can even reverse failing memory. A study at Tufts University in Boston found that after two months, older rats navigated mazes faster, had better balance and were more co-ordinated — skills regulated by the brain. Key to their potency is the antioxidant content. Blueberries also contain resveratrol and studies have highlighted the cholesterol-fighting benefits of another antioxidant, pterostilbene. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, pterostilbene acts like anticholesterol drugs to protect the heart.

Amanda Ursell says: The human equivalent of the amount used in animal studies is a small dish of frozen or fresh blueberries every day. The strong purple colour comes from their abundant anthocyanins — but these vibrant pigments can also discolour your teeth. To avoid this, have your blueberries in smoothies; with yoghurt or even in soups and stews.

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