I'm a doctor – these are the three things I'd STOP doing at 40 to stay healthy at 80
- Dr Dan Baumgardt
Published: November 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
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The habits to give up to ensure healthy decades ahead
My darling nan is nearly ninety now and still going strong. At over double my age, she’s always been the person I’ve wanted to emulate when it comes to living a long, healthy and happy life. After all, whatever she’s been doing since she was my age has obviously been working rather well. But hers hasn’t been a life of health misery, defined by chewing celery stalks through gritted teeth, counting every calorie or denying herself any indulgence. She’s taught me, as have all my grandparents, that a long life is only worth striving for if you’re going to enjoy it along the way.
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Advancing age is inevitable, as are the changes it brings to every system of our body. Our hearts become less effective pumps, leaving us tired or short of breath, whilst our kidneys become less capable of filtering waste, regulating electrolytes and controlling blood pressure. Our bones may become weaker and more liable to fracture, and our livers less effective at detoxifying our insides and regulating our metabolism. Even our brains aren’t immune – undergoing changes which impact memory, concentration and movement.
But while we can’t turn back time, it is possible to influence how well our bodies can withstand the ticking of the clock. Sometimes the question we should be asking ourselves is not what should we start doing, but instead what we should stop doing.
So, if, like me, you’re aged 40 or above and plan on being around by 80, what is it that we should be curtailing?
1. Stop smoking. NOW
Many are aware that smoking is bad for your health, but seem to focus upon lung cancer or heart disease. The clinical picture however is much wider than that.
Smoking is associated with at least sixteen different types of cancer – including the mouth, throat and oesophagus. The effects of inhaled carcinogens can affect other more distant tissues, including the bladder, cervix, kidneys and pancreas.
Smoking also damages the insides of blood vessels, raising the risk of cardiovascular disease like heart attacks and strokes. It can also increase the likelihood of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoporosis, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and visual loss. It also negatively impacts fertility and sex life, causing erectile dysfunction, and can also impair the immune system meaning more susceptibility to infections, or slower wound healing.
What more reason is needed to quit? But if you’re still not convinced, perhaps some statistics will do the job.
Put into literal terms, you gain more years of life expectancy in stopping at an earlier age. The WHO estimates that quitting at 40 gives you 9 years of life expectancy back, falling to 6 years by 50, and 3 years by 60. And the effects can be almost immediate – since even one cigarette can elevate both your heart rate and blood pressure. Within 20-30 minutes, this effect will have dissipated, and within twelve hours, levels of toxic carbon monoxide carried in the bloodstream will return to normal. Lung symptoms and function begin to improve over a period of weeks to months.
Decreasing disease risk will take years to achieve, but is genuinely worth achieving. It’s estimated that coronary heart disease risk falls by half within a year of quitting, and by 15 years it’s practically the same as a non-smoker. For lung cancer, fall in risk is slower, typically taking 10 years to fall by half, alongside a risk reduction in many of the aforementioned cancers.
But quitting smoking isn’t about living longer: it’s an achievement that will make living better – reducing the risk of breathlessness, blindness, frailty and the other effects of chronic disease. And for those thinking of cutting down to a smaller amount, you have to remember that there is no safe level of smoking – even small exposures can carry still significant risks. Best to nip it in the bud completely.
2. Stop drinking to excess
Alcohol is a bone of contention. Many adults aged 40-plus continue to drink, and do so in different ways. Drinking to excess can mean exceeding recommended weekly limits, or binge drinking – either at home, or on a night out.
Excess alcohol has as many systemic effects as smoking – and it can also cause the stealthy development of illnesses that won’t rear their head for another decade or two. It can affect almost every single organ of the body, generating widespread symptoms and complications. Its effects on the liver are well known, causing inflammation, fatty deposits and eventually cirrhosis – irreversible scarring which impairs liver function. Given that the liver has hundreds of functions within the body, that’s a lot to lose.
Alcohol also impacts the function of the brain on both acute and chronic timescales, increasing the risk of dementia. It can also negatively impact cardiovascular health, metabolism and sleep, and is also a risk factor for cancer too – including breast, bowel, liver and oesophageal cancers.
I could go on for longer, I promise. But I won’t.
A common misconception among patients I discuss alcohol habits with, is that they’ve neglected to count how much and how often they’re consuming alcohol over a particular week. They may also have assumed that because they’re not getting drunk each evening that somehow they’re protected from these effects. But this isn’t the case – the cumulative effects of alcohol build up over years, and can still be silently contributing to disease progression.
You don’t necessarily need to completely give up alcohol in your forties, unless you’ve been advised otherwise – but it’s wise to take note of the recommended limits, and to take stock of what you are drinking. The NHS weekly limit for alcohol is 14 units for both men and women (it used to be 21 for men) – and additional guidance is that this should be spread out over at least 3 days, with alcohol-free days in between them. This helps the body handle alcohol in smaller doses and gives time to recover in between. It’s a low-risk, but not no-risk approach – like smoking, even smaller exposures can still carry risks.
Cutting down in your forties can have some short-term, almost immediate effects; improving sleep, reducing blood pressure and helping people on new diet and exercise regimes to lose weight – alcohol is a deceptive source of calories. In the long term, cutting down can also reduce the risk of developing liver disease, cancer and more.
One caveat though; those who drink heavily and regularly, or have become dependent on alcohol, should always consult a doctor before attempting to cut down. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous – so don’t do it without assistance.
3. Stop eating ultra-processed foods
I’ve always been an advocate for home-cooked food, which can be deceptively simple and needn’t be an onerous undertaking. Yet I understand why people turn towards ready meals and snacks – hectic lives, lack of knowledge or confidence in cooking, or needing to cater for particular dietary requirements or preferences.
The problem is that many of these factory-manufactured convenience meals are ultra-processed foods (UPFs); containing a myriad of additives including flavourings, emulsifiers and preservatives. And it’s not just these additives that matter; many UPFs can also be chock-full of refined sugars, salt and saturated fat to make them taste nice, but making them less healthy and nutritionally balanced.
Diets high in UPFs have become associated with increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They also tend to be low in fibre and may be low in protein, which is essential for developing and maintaining muscle mass, good metabolism and immune function.
But it’s not all bad news – some processed foods can be good for you, especially those which are high in fibre, balanced in macronutrients, or fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include wholemeal and grain products, including breads and cereals. And some ready meals are becoming more nutritionally balanced, though often come at a higher price-tag. They’re the ones I’d advise turning to on really busy days where cooking even a boiled egg seems impossible.
Simple, home-cooked food is not only better for you, but cheaper in the long run. Get into the practice of simple, nutritious dishes – or consider batch cooking whole dishes (or elements of them) to save time and get ahead. Check out our batch cooking recipes for plenty of ideas to fill your freezer.
So, perhaps we ought to be thinking not just about the things we should start doing, but putting the brakes – sometimes permanently – on habits that might be doing us harm. And from a psychological point of view, it may actually be easier and more sustainable to press the stop button on an old habit, than start adopting an entirely new one.
But remember that you don’t have to go it alone – there are accessible NHS services that can help support you in making positive changes like stopping smoking or drinking, and provide advice on diet. You just need to ask.
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Authors
Dr Dan BaumgardtSenior Lecturer in Neuroscience
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