Centenarian Secrets

I recently read an article about people who have lived past the century mark. The article immediately piqued my interest. With current life expectancy in the U.S. at an average of 76.9 years, I was eager to see what accounts for some people living, and living well, way beyond that. I’ll share a few examples from the article.

A woman who had just married for the second time claimed that this time she’d robbed the cradle. Her new husband was practically a baby at 86 years old and she was 107. Her new beau said, “She never acted like an old lady.” She stated, “I feel like a teenager.”

I then continued to read about another woman who took up white water rafting in her 90s. Then there was a man that, at 107, still lived in his 3 story home, going up and down the stairs many times a day. He cooked for himself, shoveled snow, chopped wood, mowed his lawn, hunted, fished, and even drove his own car. When he reached 112, he was still hiking half a mile a day.

Then a 4’ 10”, 97 pound lady competed in the Senior Olympics at 105, and she holds the World Record for the shot putt for her age group. I finished the article and decided I needed to look into what these people have done to stay so young and active.

After some study, I found that those that live beyond 100 years of age do have a secret, but it’s one they’re anxious to share—maybe because they want the company.

There are a couple advantages that these senior, senior citizens have that we can’t do much about. For instance: genetics. Some families just have better DNA for longevity. And those who’ve live past 100 acknowledge that luck has played a part. Luck and genetics are hard to rate and even harder to change.

These survivors of time also say that diet is supremely important, but we’ve dealt with that many times before, so I’ve boiled down their advice to one thing. Fill your plate with plants. Yes, that simple.

Attitude, or what I like to call spirit, is another huge part of their longevity. These 100-plus-year-olders are optimists, upbeat, and not complainers. They’re happy and grateful. They have an active sense of humor. They smile, laugh, and have fun. I think that helps them live through things that would slow the rest of us down.

They also have a great support system. Family and friends are important to them and they love to socialize wherever they are. They then exercise their brain and brawn throughout their lives. They are active, on the go, love to work, read, continually learn, and enjoy listening to music.

This is their motto: “Work hard, play hard, rest well, eat wisely, laugh often, love deeply, and forgive quickly.”

I intend to follow that motto, so I’ll see you on a Smuckers Jar!

Learn more about Dr. Steve Weston

picture souce: Dovile Cizaite