We can control our health destiny. But some of us have more choice than others

June 12, 2026 — 5:00am

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We all know someone who has pickled their organs in a brine of alcohol, smoked their lungs black or had a diet like Donald Trump’s and still kicked into their 80s or beyond.

Similarly, many of us know people who make the right choices by their bodies and are still befallen by ill health.

It all begs the question: how much power do we really have over our health as we age?

A group of British academics attempted to answer this question in a report titled Living Longer, Better, published in May.

The report has sensible advice, such as:

It is never too soon (or too late) to start practising responsible self-care.

Wellbeing involves managing stress, a positive mindset, exercise, time with loved ones and a whole foods, plant-centric diet.

Prevention beats cure.

Health is something we co-create every day through thousands of small decisions that compound over time.

It also includes the sweet bedtime routine of one of the report’s author’s, Sir Christopher Ball.

As he is falling asleep each night, the former university chancellor does a “gratitude exercise” by making an alphabetical list of things to be thankful for: “‘Andrew (my brother), air, avocados; babies, bay trees, broccoli; children, cherries, carrots’ – until I fall asleep, usually well before ‘Wendy (my wife), water, weather’.”

So why has this report........

© Brisbane Times