HELSINKI-- Worried about the onset of summer bugs or the winter flu? A new study in Finland has found one thing that can make you healthier -- speaking Swedish, AFP reported.

Researchers at the Aabo Akademi found that Finns who speak the language of their Nordic neighbors were up to 25 percent less likely to fall ill than those who do not.

The study, published in **** Helsinki's Huvudstadsbladet **** newspaper, was based on the records of nearly one million Finns over the period of a quarter-century.

It found male Swedish-speakers between the ages of 30 and 49 were 25 percent less likely to fall ill, while for women the difference was only 15 percent.

The researchers said the two groups were genetically identical, meaning that the health gap could only be explained by social and sociological factors like being able to speak another tongue.

But before you sign up for that language course or contemplate a move to Stockholm, they said the difference could be a product of something no amount of study can fix: The quality of urban living. "Swedish-speaking Finns often live in places where their ancestors did," said Fjalar Finnaes, one of the authors of the study. "Finnish speakers are mostly those who left the countryside and moved to industrial areas." -