100 Years and Beyond: The Centenarian Lifestyle

Longevity studies exploring centenarian Lifestyle

Experts have been conducting studies on centenarians to better understand the factors that contribute to their longevity.

Some examples of studies related to centenarians:

The New England Centenarian Study & The Longevity Genes Project.
These studies focus on the genetic and environmental factors.

The 90+ Study, The Okinawa Centenarian Study & The Danish 1905 Cohort Study.
These studies focus on lifestyle factors like diet, physical  health and social life.

Whether its data from scientific observation and explanations or the way they lived,
there is so much to learn from centenarians.

Centenarian Lifestyle Observations from Longevity Studies

One important factor is, centenarians stay active and engaged in life. 

• A Sense of Purpose to continue to learn and grow throughout their lives. Their belief of the job they did was part of a bigger purpose in life.
  
• Social Connections with family and their communities. They spend a lot of time with family, friends and community and looking after each other.
• Physical Activity kept them busy with routines like walking, gardening, household chores although they did not involve in any regular exercises.
  
• Plant-Based Diet ensured they had the best nourishment to stay healthy. A key reason for their longevity. Occasionally they ate fish or little meat.
• Stress management was built into their daily routine along with their positive attitude towards life. And they did sleep well. They found joy in their physical activities.
  
• Faith and spirituality was an intricate part of their daily life. Meditation, prayer and their connection to nature provided them with a sense of well-being. Their belief in a higher power provided them with strength, resilience and peace during hard times.
  
  And I am sure they never advertised or counted their deeds except their blessings.
  

Statistical Observation from Longevity studies

• Centenarians have a unique population of viruses in their guts that produce short-chain fatty acids, which have beneficial effects on health. The researchers say that the gut virome may play a role in longevity.
  
  – That’s evolution right? You live so long and things living inside you learn and evolve.
  It’s win-win or should I say live-live?
• People who are overweight in their 70s are more likely to live longer than people who are normal or underweight.
  
  – OK, I guess, that may not apply to people eating processed food so take it with a pinch of low sodium salt.

• Among centenarians, 85% are women and 15% are men, according to the New England Centenarian Study based at Boston University. 
  
  – In a social context (friends, families) women talk more and work more. If it’s any indication for longevity, I suggest men talk more and do more chores.

• “I was drinking milk and eating well because I worked on a farm. And I often go back and think they gave me a good start in life and for my bones in my body,” Dransfield says. Read more in this WordPress blog.
  
  – Pure milk. My grandpa demanded the milk man to get his cow everyday and milk it fresh, I used to bring a tiny cup of oil for the milk man, so he could lubricate the cows teat. He filled a small pot with milk while I watched. It used to be fun.

• A recent Ohio State University study did find that people who were religious typically lived four years longer than those who weren’t. 
  
  – that’s Prayer, Belief and Faith. Today it’s replaced with words like Positive mindset, affirmation, mindfulness and all the “self”-words.

• 90% of all of the centenarians were still independently functioning at the average age of 93 years. Somehow, despite the presence of diseases, people who become centenarians don’t die from those diseases, but rather they are able to deal with them much better than other people and remain independently functioning more than 30 years beyond the age of 60.
  
  – Their determination is impeccable. Something we all might have witnessed, they just want to do it even if its quirky?

Centenarians and their eccentricities

Centenarians are no exception when it comes to eccentricities. Although they enjoy an overall healthy and progressive lifestyle, some have unusual habits.

This list might make you feel good about some bad habits you may have.
I suggest you better live to a 100 to justify those habits or simply quit.

Emma Morano (Italy, 117 years old)
Smoked until she was 100
Ate two raw eggs every day

Fredie Blom lived to be 114 years old
smoked cigars and drank whiskey.

Jiroemon Kimura (Japan, 116 years old)
Ate a lot of soybeans and drank green tea

Alice Herz-Sommer (Czech Republic, 110 years old)
Played the piano every day until she was 110
Said that music was her “secret weapon” for staying healthy and happy

Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez (Spain, 112 years old)
Walked 10 miles a day until he was 112
Said that the key to his longevity was “hard work and a good diet”

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper (Netherlands, 115 years old)
Said that the secret to her long life was “a positive attitude and a sense of humor”

Given their physical health problems to get around and do things they would like to, social isolation that leads to boredom and loneliness or simply their personality can sometimes make them behave in eccentric ways. How different is that from the behaviors’ of todays youngsters?

What ever the oddities and habits, food played an important role in their ability to stay immune and overcome diseases.

What Was Food Like 100 Years Ago?

Food centenarians ate in their early life is a major reason for their long life and health. Unprocessed, natural and wholesome food was a gift, which modern generation is deprived of.

100 years ago, food was much simpler, local, seasonal and mostly fresh. People ate fruits, vegetables, legumes, roots and tubers, nuts and seeds, grains that grew locally as these were affordable and readily available. Fat and protein came from milk and the little meat they ate.

They cooked food from scratch with little and basic ingredients depending on the geography. People used their basic knowledge of preservation like drying, salting and pickling to store food.

Transport and refrigeration was expensive, hence availability of processed food was very low.