I like to celebrate the lives of folks who live to ripe old ages – especially those who do so with all their faculties intact. And I love to pass on the dietary advice they are usually all too willing to share. Today, we hear about 117-year-old María Branyas Morera…
Born in San Francisco in 1907, María passed away in 2024 at the age of 117 years and 168 days. She had been the oldest living person in the US since January 17th the year before. Researchers invited to ex-amine her post mortem discovered her gut microbiome was ‘decades younger’ than her calendar age…
A ‘supercentenarian’
María was what scientists call a ‘supercentenarian’ – someone who lives well beyond 100. And re-searchers who specialize in longevity are always eager to0 find out how these extraordinary indiv-iduals compare to other, mainstream folks who succumb to life’s wear and tear decades earlier.
“To unfold the biological properties exhibited by such a remarkable human being,” the Introduction to the study report explains, “we developed a comprehensive multiomics analysis of her genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic, microbiomic, and epigenomic landscapes in different tis-sues, […] comparing the results with those observed in non-supercentenarian (NSC) populations.”
In plain English, the researchers looked at all the factors they could think of that might have contrib-uted to her maintaining her health and well-being so long.
What they found
Chief among the study’s findings was clear evidence that a healthy gut microbiome is essential to good health in our later years.
The researchers concluded that María possessed a combination of positives that reinforced one another: protective genes, strong metabolic health, and an unusually diverse gut microbiome.
“Gut health is closely tied to aging, helping regulate inflammation, support immune function, and produce beneficial compounds that influence metabolism and overall health,” Food & Wine con-tributor Andi Breitowich sums up.
The takeaway
“Although findings from a single case can’t establish cause and effect, broader research supports prioritizing a plant-rich diet, fermented foods, and beneficial fats to promote a resilient gut micro-biome and long-term health,” Breitowich concludes.
My take
If that’s all it takes to live to nearly 120, I wonder why more of us don’t achieve that lofty age? That’s a trick question. First, we’d all have to have that rare combination of beneficial genes. And second – perhaps most importantly – we would all have to take better care of our gut microbiomes by eating the right foods regularly. That’s almost impossible in this day and age where Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) comprise three quarters of the products on our supermarket shelves.
Disclaimer: My own Mom lived to the age of 100 years, 5 months and 7 days. Folks have always said I take after her in many ways. I hope my gene makeup is one of them. And I’ve been paying special attention, since I ‘retired’, to my daily intake of foods that will support my gut microbiome and im-mune system…
On the other hand, when people ask me if I think I’m going to live as long as my mother… I deflect the question by saying, “Probably not – I couldn’t afford it!”
~ Maggie J.