Centenarians across the planet give their tips for living past 100. Cigars, alcohol and chocolate included.

We are living on the brink of a new age: the age of the centenarian. Improvements in science, medicine, and public health have led the UK’s Office of National Statistics to estimate that a third of British children born today will live until age 100. There are currently an estimated 14,000 centenarians in the UK, and barring any cataclysmic intervention this will skyrocket to over 250,000 by the 22nd century. It’s a trend you’ll see repeated around the globe: people are living longer than might have ever been thought possible.

But if you had the misfortune to be born in the latter half of the 20th century, you’ve got only half as good a chance of making it to your hundredth birthday, which doesn’t seem fair. If you want to become one of the world’s oldest people you’ll have to find a way to beat the odds. So what is the secret to long life?

Respect Your Elders

If anyone can teach us the key to living long, maybe the world’s oldest people can. The oldest humans alive are tracked and verified by organisations like the Gerontology Research Group and Guinness World Records, and whenever a new ‘oldest person’ is crowned, news agencies like to ask them one question: how did you do it?

Naturally the answers are as varied as the people giving them, but some things come up a lot. Diet, especially.

Misao Okawa (115) felt she owed her longevity to large amounts of sushi, while the oldest recorded human, Jeanne Calment (122), claimed to eat lots of olive oil and a kilogram of chocolate a week. Besse Cooper (116) put her success down to avoiding junk food, while Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro (115) credited a daily helping of funche – cornmeal, butter and milk served with salted codfish.

And if that sounds unappealing, consider that Emma Morano (115) liked homemade brandy, chocolate and three eggs a day. No word on whether that’s all in one sitting.

Emma Morano

Specifically moderating eating also comes up a lot. Jiroemon Kimura (116) strictly practised the Confucian teaching of hara hachi bunme (eating until 80% full) and Walter Breuning (114) lived on just two large meals a day: breakfast and lunch, then fruit in the evenings. Mariam Amash (120, unverified) and Maria Gomes Valentim (114) both believed a healthy diet was the source of their longevity.

In terms of vices, no-one can quite agree whether it’s good to have some or none. Jeanne Calment’s recommended diet included lots of port-wine, while Fred Hale (113) thought that an “occasional nip” of whisky was beneficial. Christian Mortensen (115) was abstinent from alcohol but enjoyed “a good cigar”. Susannah Mushatt Jones (115) provides a fairly extreme case: she never smoked, drunk alcohol, partied, wore makeup, dyed her hair or got married, and (luckily for anyone thinking of following this advice) she still didn’t live significantly longer than the ones who did do all that stuff.

Disposition could matter. Jeanne Calment said she lived so long because she was calm, while Kathryn Knauss, the daughter of Sarah Knauss (119), said her mother’s advanced age was down to her “tranquillity“. Besse Cooper rather ominously credited “minding her own business” and Christian Mortensen credited “friends, staying positive and lots of singing.” Along with the eggs , brandy and chocolate, Emma Morano said her number one reason for staying alive was thinking positively about the future – something which is presumably not hard to do when you’ve lived through two world wars.

The Real Secrets

If anything is clear from the conflicting reasons supercentenarians have given for their longevity, it’s that none of them really knows the secret. But by examining them collectively, we can get some way to the truth. So if you want to become one of the world’s oldest people, here’s what you have to do:

1. Be a Woman

Men, you’re basically out of luck. Jiroemon Kimura, the oldest man ever to live, reached a verified age of 116 years and 54 days, which doesn’t even put him in the top 10 oldest people ever. If you want to get anywhere near the top spot, you have to be a woman. To get into the current top 10 a man would have to live a full 47 days longer than Kimura was fortunate enough to, and both of the oldest living men are some four years off that target. By the time they get there, the low bar will probably have been raised even further. It’s hardly worth trying: only 7 of the top 100 oldest people ever recorded are men, so the odds are definitely stacked against them.

2. Be American or Japanese

Maybe it’s the diet, maybe it’s the pace of life or maybe it’s because they both love baseball, which trains you to survive long periods of inactivity. Whatever the reason, two countries dominate lists of supercentenarians living and dead: the USA and Japan.

Of the 100 verified oldest people ever, 51 were born or primarily resident in the United States and a further 20 were from Japan – as many as the whole of Europe combined. Of course, the oldest woman ever was French, so it’s not completely foolproof – but if you’re only aiming to make the list rather than top it, being American or Japanese gives you the best chance.

And in case you weren’t born in America or Japan, the only other countries that get a look in are Australia (1), Brazil (1), Canada (3), Ecuador (1), France (6), Italy (2), Jamaica (1), Netherlands (1), Portugal (2), Puerto Rico (2), Spain (3) and the UK (6). So be from one of those instead.

3. Have good genes.

Psychologists will probably debate the significance of nature and nurture for the rest of time, but it’s clear you don’t hit triple digits without a little of both in your favour. If you don’t believe us, just look at Joan Riudavets, the 114-year-old whose brothers, Pere and Joseph, both hit 105 and 102 respectively, or sisters Nelle Eby and Katherine Davenport, who both reached 111 and 110 respectively. Similarly, we mentioned Sarah Knauss’ daughter Kathryn earlier – she lived to 102. It’s not necessarily all genetic, but old age can definitely run in a family.

So there you have it. If you want to live past your 100th birthday, or even become the oldest person alive, all you have to do is be a Japanese or American Woman who’s already related to a centenarian. Or be born now instead of last century. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which of those is easier to achieve.

Source: mentalfloss

Let’s revise what we can learn from these people. Answer the following questions.

1. What prospects do babies born now in Britain have?

2. What food and drink is consumed by the world’s oldest people?

3. What do some of them say ‘no’ to?

4. What habits and attitudes did they mention as their secret?

5. Who has a greater chance to live longer than others?

Key:

1. Athird of them can live to be one hundred.

2. Sushi, olive oil, chocolate, funche, eggs, brandy, wine, whisky.

3. Junk food, smoking, drinking, partying, makeup, hair-dying, marriage.

4. Moderate eating, calmness/tranquillity, minding your own business, having friends, thinking positively, singing a lot.

5. Women have more chance than men.

American and Japanese people have a higher chance.

People who have family numbers who have lived very long also have a higher chance and those who were born in the 21st century and not in the 20th century.

These little things can add years to your life.

The current average lifespan in the United States is 78.7 years, but there are more people living beyond 100 years than ever before.

What’s the secret of joining the 100+ club?

That question was asked by a group of scientists from a Scandinavian University. To find the answer, they spent 50 years monitoring over 850 men born in 1913, and then studied the seven men that lived to be over 100 years old.

A new paper published in Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal teased out the commonalities of those men who surpassed 100 years old, and the differences that set them apart from their peers. 

The results are basically a how-to guide for extending life.

1. Don’t smoke

This one is incredibly obvious. Doctors have known for over 60 years that smoking causes lung cancer. Heart disease, hypertension, stroke and oral disease are just a few other maladies that can be brought on by smoking.

If you want to live to a ripe old age, quitting smoking is a fantastic first step.

2. Have a good socioeconomic standing

No, the money isn’t used to bribe St. Peter to give you more time here on Earth.

The study found those who lived past 100 had higher rent or mortgage payments, and this affluence was connected to their ability to seek top-notch healthcare.

3. Have an old mom

This one isn’t really something you can control, but the study found having a mom who lives to an old age is a good sign you will too. However, longevity was not connected to the father’s age as much as the mother’s.

4. Maintain high cognitive function

Keeping a sharp mind can stave off the effects of dementia, contributing to both quantity and quality of life. Read books, do puzzles, and keep your mind active throughout a lifetime, and it will really pay off in your golden years.

5. Maintain a healthy weight and have good posture

All of the participants in the study who lived past 100 were on the thin side and had good posture. Being overweight is connected with diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer, which can all cut life short.

Wanting to exercise and eat healthy doesn’t have to be a body image issue, it can be done to increase the amount of years your fabulous self is around.

6. Use a walker when you need one

As individuals age, falling becomes a more ever-present risk. In fact, falling, that causes subsequent injuries, is the number one cause of death among seniors. It can also cause a number of other injuries, which are more damaging than if they occurred in the person’s younger years.

Those prideful seniors who opt not to use aides, should remember walkers are a great way to keep them safe and get them closer to that 100 year mark.

7. Wear glasses

A person who wears glasses is likely to go in for eye exams frequently, giving them more chances to spot ocular disease early. Additionally, better vision reduces the number of accidents individual cause, particularly in motor vehicles.

If you’re thinking that you’re years away from having to deal with any of these issues, just remember that making simple changes now will pay off later when you’re the hottest 100-year-old on the block.

100-year-olds Irene and Alice have been friends for a staggering 94 years – and are only too happy to share their view of modern life with millions of viewers. Two 100-year-old best friends called Irene and Alice have become an internet sensation for their plain-talking, no-nonsense take on modern life.

In an hilarious video, the two American women, who grew up in the 1930’s, talk animatedly about current pop culture – even though they plainly know nothing about it!

Speaking on the Steve Harvey Show, they are asked a series of questions on ‘selfies’ (‘I have had enough pictures taken of me, I don’t need my own’ – Alice), ‘twerking’ (‘I don’t know what’s goin’ on’ – Alice), the new iPhone operating system (‘What happened to the good old Illinois Bell Telephone Company ?’ – Irene) and Justin Bieber (‘He’s not doing something right, I don’t know’ – Irene.)

When asked what they think about Kim Kardashian calling her baby ‘North’. Irene asks how the name is spelt and then exclaims ‘You’re kidding!’.

The two centenarians have known each other for a staggering 94 years but have no time for the current craze of calling someone a BFF or Best Friend Forever.

Says Alice: ‘That’s close to bullshit!’

source: Mirror 

staggering – megdöbbentő
to share – megosztani, elosztani
view – nézet, nézőpont
viewer – néző
plain-talking – őszinte/egyenes beszéd
no-nonsense – egyenes, direct, gyakorlatias
a take on something – valamiről alkotott vélemény
hilarious – vices, nevetséges
to grow up – felnőni
animatedly – élénken
plainly – egyszerűen
operating system – operációs rendszer
to exclaim – felkiáltani
centenarian – 100 éves
current – jelenlegi, aktuális
craze – őrület, divat, mánia
bullshit – marhaság