Forget the Atkins Diet, or the latest Hollywood fad, this week Horizon travels to the far corners of the globe to find out the real secret to a long and healthy life.

During the course of the show we will meet 92 year old Ellen Wareham who is performing open heart surgery, and Marge Jetton is celebrating her 103rd birthday with a six-mile bike ride. It makes you wonder what we are doing wrong.

In Okinawa, Japan, over 900 centenarians enjoy healthy lifestyles with daily doses of fruit, vegetables and exercise. But Dr Bradley Wilcox has also found evidence that Okinawans share a hormonal pattern, which means they age slower than almost anyone else. If they could bottle these hormones they would make a fortune. Who amongst us wouldn’t be lining up top buy it?

On the other side of the globe, Professor Luca Deana has spent years studying the inhabitants of Ovodda, Sardinia. He has discovered an unusual genetic characteristic that links centenarians of the village. But what is this gene? And, more importantly, could it be harnessed to find the elixir of life?

In Loma Linda, California, centenarians seem to have another secret: faith. The impact of spirituality on their longevity seems to be inextricably linked. But what does science have to say about the effect of religion on the body’s ageing process?

I for one will be tuning in on Tuesday at 9PM on BBC TWO. After the last thirty years of excesses, I could do with adding a few extra years onto my probably now shortened life expectancy!