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Supercentenarian - How to live past 110

7K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  Photojess 
#1 ·
So, I got bored and started exploring supercentenarian studies, as well as looking at some individual articles on people who have lived past 110 and their habits. Not that I expect to live that long, but I find it interesting nonetheless.

The lifestyle traits, especially their diets, vary significantly, and here is a short list of the trends that I saw most frequently:

1: Genetics - Nearly every person who lives a long, long time, has a family in which several others also lived a long, long time.
2: Disposition - Almost all of them were kind, optimistic, relaxed, patient, etc. Angry, bitter people that worry a lot tend to die young even if they have otherwise healthy habits, while those with more relaxed dispositions tend to live longer even if they have habits typically regarded as unhealthy.
3: Small portions - How much they ate seemed to be more important that what they ate. Though this was not a trait they all shared, it was common enough to be noticeable. People who tend to not eat until they are full, whether by choice or geographic/social limitations, tend to live longer. Those who frequently splurge do not.
4: Sex - For various reasons, both social and biological, women tend to live longer.
5: Active - They were not fitness fanatics, nor were they sedentary. They were simply active, meaning they were usually out doing something.
6: Small - Not obese, not well built (as in muscular), not tall on average. Small, thin, unbuilt people seem to live longer.

The one thing I did not see a trend on was diet, with possibly one exception. Most of these people ate lots of fish. Other than that, their diets were all over the place. A few were vegetarian, some lived off pork.

But here is the unorganized list I mashed together as I went through various sites and some dietary and other notes I jotted down. Note that there are only so many from the United States because it was easier to find reliable information on them. There were plenty listed from other countries, but finding info on their dietary (and other) habits was a bit difficult.

Christian Mortensen (United States)
115
"Friends, a good cigar, drinking lots of good water, no alcohol, staying positive and lots of singing will keep you alive for a long time."
• Drank boiled water, vegetarian

George Francis
112
Credited his longevity to nature, and enjoyed a rich diet of pork, eggs, milk and lard. Gave up smoking cigars at the age of 75.

Walter Breuning (United States)
114
•Two meals per day. Big breakfast, hearty lunch, no evening meal, snacked on fruit instead. Drank lots of water plus a cup and a half of coffee with breakfast and one cup with lunch.
•Got up at 6:15 am and had breakfast at 7:30 am, and then exercised.
"We're all going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die."

Yukichi Chuganji (Japan)
114
•Hated vegetables, but enjoyed regular meals of beef, pork, chicken, rice, miso soup and milk. Chewed caramels as a treat. Drank alcohol moderately.
•Optimist

Jeanne Louise Calment (France)
122
•Attributed her longevity to olive oil. Added it to nearly every food she ate and also rubbed it onto her skin.
•Drank port wine frequently
•1 kilo of chocolate every week
•Took up fencing at age 85
•Smoked until the age of 117, unspecified source says no more than 2 cigarettes per day.

Sarah Knauss (United States)
119
•Milk chocolate turtles, cashews, and potato chips
•Described as being a "sweet lady." Her daughter said nothing fazed her, and that was why she lived so long.

Tane Ikai (Japan)
116
•Diet often consisted of only three bowls of rice porridge a day

Kamato Hongo (Japan)
116
•Fish, rice, pork, occasional snacks of brown sugar. Drinks green tea, sometimes coffee, herb wine.

Anna Eliza Williams (UK)
114
•Strict no-pill policy and a meat and vegetable diet

Jiroemon Kimura (Japan)
114 (and still living)
•Small portions

Joan Riudavets (Spain)
114
•Olive oil, tomatoes, fish, bread
•guitar, singing, football
•unofficial record for oldest biker, still riding a bike at age 110

Maria de Jesus (Portugal)
115
•Pescetarian, rice pudding, ice cream, never smoked nor drank alcohol nor coffee.

Eva Morris (UK)
114
•Attributed her longevity to whisky and boiled onions.

Christina **** (Australia)
114
"had an interest in her music and food, particularly chocolate cake, and all her family; she was very much a family oriented person," her daughter said

Fred Hale (United States)
113
•Credited his longevity to bee pollen and honey and the occasional nip of whiskey
•Oldest registered beekeeper ever

Tomoji Tanabe (Japan)
113
•Fried shrimp, daily glass of milk, no booze, lots of vegetables, big meals.
"I tell you, I am happy."

I browsed through many more, but didn't write them all down


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#2 ·
Lol it bleeped out one of their last names... Damn overprotective filter
 
#6 ·
Apparently Jeanne only stopped smoking at age 117 because she was starting to go blind and was embarrassed to ask for help lighting up lol
 
#7 ·
That's interesting. A lot of people don't 'want' to live to be a centenarian+ because they don't want to be an invalid, but I watched a documentory about it that said most people who live to be over 100 are healthy and active because they are the people who, for whatever reason, have either not been suseptable to illness or have overcome it.

Anyway it's an interesting topic. Reading that made me feel a bit more at ease with things, because of the huge variety in lifestyles shown by what you've written, it's easy with the emphesis on health these days to think our fates are much more certain than they really are, I think anyway.
 
#8 ·
my grandfather lived to 95, his sister (my great aunt) lived to be 105. My father is 84 and wants to make it to at least 100.....I'm not sure why either.....
I don't think I want to. There won't be enought money left to take care of all of us if we live that long
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcontent View Post

My extended family and I fit much of the the bill. they live mostly to 80s to 90s. Considering that half of the older members have dementia, Alzheimer's and diabetes, I would be happy to live up to 60s and call it quits.
I can definitely understand that. The thought of losing a limb, or even my eyesight, doesn't bother me that much, because I believe that happiness is simply a state of mind. If, however, my mind started to go, would I still remember that?
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcontent View Post

My extended family and I fit much of the the bill. they live mostly to 80s to 90s. Considering that half of the older members have dementia, Alzheimer's and diabetes, I would be happy to live up to 60s and call it quits.
I've watched both my grandparents suffer with dementia and alzheimer's before they died and I've worked with dementia/alzheimer's patients. There's no way I'd want to live to be old and suffer like that and I sure as hell wouldn't want my family to see me that way and have to deal with me. It's really upsetting and traumatizing to watch someone you love go through that. They no longer become the person they once were.
 
#13 ·
Even if I were in tip-top physical and mental shape, I still wouldn't want to live that long. It would mean you would be the last of your friends and family to die. That's too much heartache for me. I'm selfish, I wanna die first.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kibbleforlola View Post

Even if I were in tip-top physical and mental shape, I still wouldn't want to live that long. It would mean you would be the last of your friends and family to die. That's too much heartache for me. I'm selfish, I wanna die first.
I disagree. I want to live for as long as possible so I can bore generation after generation with "when I was your age" stories.


I like to breath. I'm addicted to it. As long as I'm in good health, I want to wear out my welcome for as long as humanly possible.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kibbleforlola View Post

Even if I were in tip-top physical and mental shape, I still wouldn't want to live that long. It would mean you would be the last of your friends and family to die. That's too much heartache for me. I'm selfish, I wanna die first.
Same here. That reminds me of The Green Mile
 
#17 ·
the end of life is a sad time. when you can't function independently because you're confused, that's a major step down in living. some see it coming, with varying levels of comprehension. once i had a patient who had alzheimers, but had devised a system with note taking. he was able to function around the disease - and amazingly well. i've never seen anyone so heroicly fight against a disease when he was sure to lose. it's sad.

with dementia type disease, eventually the confusion will become so severe the person will lose mobility, and that's the end of it. then various sickness sets in, appetite decreases, etc. i see so many in this prolonged wasting state, which is what i hope to avoid. dropping dead isn't such a bad thing, if you've had a long life.

there are people who live to amazing ages, and as long as i'm not confused or terribly sick, i'm happy to stay on earth. i'd hope for 85, for myself. i think that's a good amount of time on this planet. and i've got another, very important job ahead of me... pushing up the daisies.

of course, future advances in science/medicine might shift the paradigm, or even turn it on its head.
 
#18 ·
if for some reason, I ever have to end up on dialysis like my patients,and my kids force me to stay alive for my social security checks or because they can't bear to let me go, I will HAUNT them, I swear! We've finally lost most of our patients that have been dragging on and on because the family wouldn't let go, but I still have one. She's not happy, but the daughter has the POA, and gets to make her decisions. I've been in tears too many times listening to patients with full mental ability, tell me they don't want to be there for treatment anymore, they just want to die. If asked if they understand what happens when their blood doesn't get cleaned, each one of them could tell me that they will die eventually.

It's so sad! So no, I don't want other people making decisions for me either, unless it's going to be what I wanted originally. and I don't want to get the diseases so many of them suffer from, and shouldn't, being on a vegan diet.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Photojess View Post

if for some reason, I ever have to end up on dialysis like my patients,and my kids force me to stay alive for my social security checks or because they can't bear to let me go, I will HAUNT them, I swear! We've finally lost most of our patients that have been dragging on and on because the family wouldn't let go, but I still have one. She's not happy, but the daughter has the POA, and gets to make her decisions. I've been in tears too many times listening to patients with full mental ability, tell me they don't want to be there for treatment anymore, they just want to die. If asked if they understand what happens when their blood doesn't get cleaned, each one of them could tell me that they will die eventually.

It's so sad! So no, I don't want other people making decisions for me either, unless it's going to be what I wanted originally. and I don't want to get the diseases so many of them suffer from, and shouldn't, being on a vegan diet.
interesting how people die, isn't it? wait till the services people take for granted aren't available to all because there are just too many sick people. we're headed for some big changes in access and delivery of care.
 
#21 ·
Not that I can or should ever play God, but there are too many that should have just been allowed to die peacefully many yrs ago, but the advances in our health care system has provided them with more yrs to hang on, along with the family's "Do everything you can to save my family member-no matter what!".....but who pays for all of that? You and I do. Which is one of the reason's our health care system is overloaded with Medicare services.
 
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