I’m tired of all the online posts that claim to reveal the secret of how to live to 100. I’m not even sure I want to. I probably can’t afford it, anyway. But after absorbing the ‘wisdom’ of many such posts, I have come up with my own theory…
101-year-old Elinor Feihel credits her longevity to drinking booze every day…
Sister Erin works hard each afternoon searching out online posts that may move me to write a post of my own in this space. And I’ve noted, since the COVID Crisis ended, an up-surge in online interest in healthy eating in general, with a specific spike in longevity-related posts.
‘Want to live longer? Try these six foods’ blared the headline on yet another such post Erin passed me this morning. My first reaction was, “At least this one doesn’t assume I want to live to a ripe, old – beyond my Best Before date – age. It gives the choice to ignore it, if I want to.” But as a journalist, and out of respect for Erin’s research skills, I had to read it.
As easy as THAT?
Just add these 6 foods to my diet and live to 100? I was sure it’s not as easy as that. And I was right.
The Jerusalem Post trumpeted a recent study published in the Oxford University Press’s European Heart Journal that concluded eating 6 specific foods could dramatically lower one’s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and reduce one’s overall risk of death from all causes.
Researchers looked at health and eating data on 245,000 subjects from 80 countries and proclaimed the following foods essential: fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, and dairy products.
But those aren’t ‘foods’, as such. They’re broad classifications of foods. And not all foods in any given category are equal in the benefits they can bestow. So that kind of degrades the value of the study. But I have to agree that, if you take the time to find out which foods in each of those categories are the best of their breed, you could enjoy better health, later into your elder years.
One of the better ones
The post we’re dissecting today is actually one of the better ones, in terms of scientific and clinical accuracy. The majority of ‘Live to 100’ posts tend to tout a single ‘superfood’ – blueberries, for example, or yogurt. Yes, those foods are really good for you. But no one food can guarantee you health and happiness.
Contrarian viewpoints
Then… There are other stories about centenarians who’ve crossed the finish line claiming personal secrets as responsible for their survival. And these stories have the juicy journalistic advantage of coming direct from the source!
Early in my blogging career, I spotlighted a 104-year-old lady who told her local newspaper that she credited her longevity to drinking a Diet Coke every day. That was great for a laugh, and a contrast to all the ‘conventional wisdom’ out there.
But I shook my head in disbelief when, right after the post about ‘How To Live To 100’, came another, about a centenarian who claims the secret to her survival to that ripe old age is booze.
“I drink a little,” Elinor Feihel told WSYX in Columbus, Ohio. “[Actually,] I have a whole bar.”
And she has a system… “Every other night I do vodka, but the other nights I do brandy, bourbon, Irish whiskey, and honey whiskey,” the great-grandmother revealed.
The wonder is, she hasn’t been diagnosed as an alcoholic. But she has other secrets to share. She has 18 grandchildren to keep her busy. She sends out more than 100 Christmas cards every year, to her legion of friends. She recommends keeping positive, and ‘living in the moment’.
My take
I’m old enough to remember when hit songs from Broadway shows were among the foremost tunes played on ‘adult’ radio. There was a span of weeks during which songs from ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ were featured in all the play lists. I can still hear Ethel Merman belting out ‘Doin’ What Comes Naturally’. (Listen via audio link above.) And it was Ethel and her zest for life that immediately came to mind when I read about Elinor Feihel.
So… The reality about living a long healthy life – as I’ve suspected for a long time – comes down to this: Follow the mainstream eating advice and consume a good variety of foods. Go heavier on the fresh fruits and veggies than you were brought up to do. And eat what you like, when you have a taste for it. Your cravings are telling you what your body needs!
In short, do what comes naturally!
~ Maggie J.