Curious that we all (my self included) have to eat organic,take supplements,excersise,calorie restriction etc... to live a long life and yet i've studied Centinarians to see what was their secret is and its none of the above.It seems that having a ZEST for life was the common ground,otherwords attitude! Wondering anyone else has any thoughts or ideas on longevity. harry!

My grandmother lived to be 100. She never smoked or did bing drinking. It always looked like she did everything in moderation. Never really seen her exercise, but then she did walk up and down stairs to go to the bathroom and bed. She was very content and satified with her life. Never worried about if the food was organic or had chemicals in it. She did eat a lot of fish, vegetables, and fruit. She ate small portions. She made the best German beef pot pie and strawberry shortcake. The only baked goods she'd buy was white bread and Ginger Snaps. All cakes and other cookies were homemade. She used Imperial margarine on her toast for breakfast and non-dairy creamer in her coffie. She stashed cut and cleaned carrots and celery in the fridge in salt water to snack on. She didn't do dessert or eat candy. She had only ONE high-ball and 3 ginger snaps before bed to help her sleep well. She prayed a lot and went to church or had the priest visit her. She'd crochet afgans and rugs, so she had a hobby. She kept her mind busy by memorizing the soap opera characters, answering game shows, and doing her own taxes. She loved fried oysters. She dyed her Easter eggs with onion skins. She had lots of children to visit her. Beats me!.....Maybe it's the genes.

its always the genes.

Yep, I think a lot of has to do with genes. On my mom's side, I had a great grandpa live to 100. Almost his whole life he smoked, drank excessively, probably didn't exercise or eat right, worked too much etc.

On the other side, my dad's mom is about 80. She is LDS so she has never drank or smoked, exercises every day, is very spiritual and eats all homemade stuff including fresh fruits and veggies fom her own garden. She is now in her third type of cancer and has also had heart problems.

I think living healthfully will help anyone extend their life a few years but in the end it probably really boils down to genes.

Colorado did a survey of all its 415 cetenarians in 1996 and found the following;

70% where women
There was all races , religions and cultures represented
100% were meat eaters (not one veggie among them)
85% still worked mostly in light office work
and last but not least 75% had a nip of whisky every day

Yep, its in the genes all right.

Everybody has some Great answers , i wonder if all that Sun Tea my Grandma and Gramps drank all their life helped them both live to 90.(polyphenols) harry

enviorment too... you can be the healthiest person alive, still does not beat pollution.

Last 2 "oldest people on Earth", a man now dead and a woman still holding the record...114 and 115 both lived in Puerto Rico. Relaxed living in a perfect climate?

Anyhoo, generally I believe the oldest win the game of the BELL CURVE. In any normal distribution of a large population, the commonest grouping is in the typical bell curve...SOMEBODY has to be at the right hand tip.
Like a pack of monkeys throwing darts at a wall covered with stock price closings. If each monkey had a representative who bought each stock the monkey hit on Mondays and sold the stock the monkey hit on Tuesdays, ONE of the monkeys will beccome a billionaire...not because he's a financial genius but because he was the one on the right side of the bell curve, somebody HAS to be.

But then I know one extended family very well, and almost ALL of them get into their 90's or JUST to 100...and they ALL get/got and cancer along the way...but NEVER heart disease! So maybe what you pack in your genes (jeans?) really IS all that matters.

Never could figure that out. My neighbors are in their mid 90's now and they're still holding up. They're married and go on walks every single day..which has got to be a plus. Funny thing is, she loves to bake so they eat A LOT of pastries and such like pies, cookies, muffins..etc. And is always generous enough to give us some. They're the nicest couple on the block. He's the oldest and he's always outside gardening or doing heavy lawn work. They act as if they're about 45-50 yrs old. Always happy and active. Maybe that's the big secret...work hard, love life and laugh.

1) Belief in God. Trust in a force beyond gives you permission to relax and let whatever happens happen. Secular living is frought with worry, what if I have this, what if I have that, constant health anxieties. If you believe in God, basically you just say "thank you God for giving me another day" and just go about your day.

2) People from the previous generation were basically workaholics. They did not have internet, if they wanted porn they would hop in the sack with someone and burn off calories doing the real thing. Having children and responsibilities and not having modern conveniences, people spent alot of time working, chopping wood, cutting grass, WALKING to school, walking to work, etc.

3) Eating real food. Not crap from McDonalds. Doesnt have to be organic or probiotic or anything special, just basically prepare your own food. People today are willing to spend 5 dollars on a mcdonalds salad, when you can burn some energy tossing your own salad.

This all comes back to point #2, basiclly people from previous generations did alot more physical work. They did laundry by hand, they cooked by hand, they chopped wood by hand, they cut their lawn by hand.

We made one class of machines (cars) to avoid walking, then created another class of machines (treadmills) to make up all the walking we dont get from driving our cars.