What if one of the best predictors of how long and healthy you will live is not in your blood pressure or cholesterol but in your handshake? It almost sounds too simple. But the research is surprisingly clear: how tightly you can squeeze your hand says something important about the health of your entire body. And the great thing is that you can test it yourself at home, completely free. What the research shows The most famous study followed nearly 140,000 people in 17 countr

How long do you want to live? That's the wrong question. The right question is: how long do you want to live and be healthy ? It's the difference between two concepts that are currently changing the entire view of aging. One is lifespan your total lifespan, the number of years you breathe. The other is healthspan your healthy years, that is, the time you are actually alert, mobile, clear-minded and independent. And it is on the second point that it really determines how you

You've probably missed them. The weight-loss injections – Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are the most talked about thing to happen to the health world in decades. Sales in Sweden have increased tenfold in just three years, and by the end of 2025, Mounjaro was the drug that sold for the most money in the entire country. Many over 50s are silently wondering: is this the solution for me? The question deserves an honest answer without either scaremongering or advertising hype. H

We Nordics have had it right in front of our noses for thousands of years, but have almost forgotten what a treasure it is. While the rest of the world is now discovering the sauna in earnest with lavish "aufguss" rituals spreading across Europe and North America and sauna studios opening in major cities we are sitting on the original. And more and more research points to the same thing: sauna bathing is not just nice. It is really good for your health, especially for the h

In the picture: My friend Freddy, 75 years old, and myself (Kennet Båth), 63 years old. There's a persistent myth that muscle is something you build in your 20s, and that the rest of your life is about managing what you have left. Forget it. Your body can build muscle throughout your life all it takes is the right training, the right food, and a little patience. In this post, we'll go over the basics: how muscles actually grow, how to train, and what to eat to get results. H

Swedes buy billions of dollars worth of dietary supplements every year. The idea is simple: one pill in the morning, and your nutrition is assured. But the truth is that the body doesn't treat a vitamin pill the way it treats a plate of real food. The difference is bigger than most people think – and in almost every case, the food wins. Here we go over why, and how to optimize your diet so that you don't actually need the cans. Food is a team effort the pill is a lone wolf T

There are few things that get talked about as much as muscle building. New programs every week. Supplements that are supposed to "activate" your growth hormone. Headlines about the exercise everyone has missed. The truth is more boring than that. And much more useful. Because muscles are built according to a principle that has been the same for a hundred thousand years, and that no app, no jar and no influencer can write about. I thought I would go through that principle here

Losing weight is rarely just about diet or exercise. The real challenge is staying motivated when life gets in the way, energy is low, or results are slow. Here, couples who exercise together have a great advantage. Having a partner who shares the same goals can be the difference between giving up after three weeks and actually creating a lifestyle that lasts for many years. Motivation is contagious Everyone has days when training feels tough. The difference is that when ther

You can work out for an hour in the morning and still sit around the rest of the day. It sounds harsh. But that's pretty much what the research says. Prolonged sitting is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death and most strikingly: partly regardless of how much you exercise. So the morning workout won't save you if you then sit still for eight hours. The body is simply not built to sit still all day and then work out hard f

Do you often feel on edge, sleep poorly and have trouble getting rid of belly fat? Then the culprit could be cortisol. Cortisol is the body's own stress hormone. In the right amount, it is absolutely necessary - it helps regulate blood pressure, sleep and energy. The problem arises when the stress never lets up. Then cortisol is constantly elevated, and that's bad news for a man over 50. Long-term high cortisol increases the risk of depression, sleep problems and weight gain

Stress has gotten a bad rap. Many people see it as something dangerous that must be avoided at all costs. But the truth is that stress is a natural and necessary part of life. Every time you strength train, you put your body under stress. When you run intervals, learn something new, start a business, or face a challenge, your body's stress system is activated. In fact, that's exactly how we develop. Without stress, we wouldn't get stronger, smarter, or more resilient. The pro

I often get asked why I use protein powder. Is it really necessary? The short answer is: no. But it can be very practical. Let me explain. Protein is the body's most important building block. Every single day, muscles, skin, enzymes, hormones and other tissues are broken down and rebuilt. For this process to function optimally, the body needs enough protein. It becomes even more important if you: strength trainer want to lose weight want to maintain muscle mass as you get old

If I had to choose just one supplement with strong scientific support, many people would think I would choose a high-end supplement. I wouldn't. I would choose creatine. Not because it's trendy. But because it's one of the most well-studied supplements in the world. First what is creatine? Creatine is no strange substance. Your body produces about 1 gram every day in your liver, kidneys, and pancreas. You also get creatine through meat and fish. Then, about 95 percent of all

New research: muscle speed says more about your lifespan than your strength If you had to choose a single test to predict how long you will live what would you guess? Blood pressure? Cholesterol? How much you can lift? All are reasonable. And all are worse than a test you can do in your own kitchen in thirty seconds: How quickly you can get up from a chair. It sounds too simple to be true. But it's based on one of the most interesting things I've read in health in a long tim

You can look healthy and slowly decay on the inside. It's one of the greatest illusions in health, and I think it costs more people their futures than almost anything else. Because it tricks us into thinking we're in control, until one day we're not. Let me explain what I mean. We're judging the wrong thing. When we decide if someone is fit, we look at the outside. Flat stomach. Normal weight. Clothes fit well. And then we think, about ourselves or about someone else: "He see

I have been exercising my whole life, and now that I am 63 years old, I still feel no limitations. New research shatters one of the most costly myths about aging and exercise: that older bodies can withstand less. There's a belief that keeps more people away from exercise than almost any other. It goes something like this: "I'm too old now. My body can't recover like it used to. If I start exercising, I'll just get sore, stiff, and tired and the risk of injury is too great."

How long you stand on one leg says more about your future than almost any other measurement. And balance can be trained. I'm going to ask you to do something while you're reading this. Stand up. Stand next to something sturdy to hold on to if necessary a kitchen counter, the back of a chair. Lift one foot a few inches off the floor, without holding on. And count how long you can stay standing before you have to put your foot down or grab a hold. Ten seconds? Longer? Shorter?

My annual photo 2026. August 1st. 63 years old. Next year will be a new one. (I have chosen my annual photo in the summer as I still want to be in good shape.) I've written before that the scale lies about your health. And I stand by that. It says nothing about your muscles, your belly fat, your fitness, or what you can actually do. As a measure of how healthy and strong you are, the scale is one of the worst tools you have. But now I'm going to defend it. Because as a warnin

We've long been told that exercise should hurt in order to be beneficial. "No pain, no gain." Sweaty, out of breath Interval workouts where you push yourself to the breaking point have been the ideal. But now the pendulum is swinging back, and more and more people are discovering a gentler path to better health: zone 2 training, also known as low-intensity interval training or LISS. And for those of you over 50, this could be the best news in a long time. Because zone 2 isn't

"I have a slow metabolism" – how many times have you heard that as an explanation for a few extra pounds? Or maybe you've said it yourself? The metabolism, or metabolism as it's actually called, has become something of a scapegoat. But what's true and what's a myth? And above all: what can you actually do about it? Let's sort it out - without either scaremongering or promises of miracles. What exactly is combustion? Metabolism is the process by which your body converts the fo