How to Eat to Live to 100, According to eight of the World’s Oldest People

• Business Insider has spoken to many centenarians about their suggestions for dwelling to 100.
• Many consider that consuming properly has helped them to stay longer.
• Their suggestions embody consuming complete meals and having the occasional deal with.

Living to 100 is comparatively uncommon: solely 0.03% of the US inhabitants are centenarians, in line with an evaluation by Pew Research Center.

But Pew predicts that the variety of centenarians within the US will quadruple by 2054, as life expectancy will increase. Genes, environmental elements, and luck play huge roles in how lengthy somebody may stay, however lifestyle choices matter, too.

Here’s how eight centenarians who’ve spoken to Business Insider eat, which can have contributed to their well being and longevity.

Eat recent, complete meals

Many of the centenarians BI has reported on eat a lot of recent, complete meals — and never a lot meat.

102-year-old Deborah Szekely has been a pescatarian all her life, and grows loads of her personal greens on the ranch in Baja California, Mexico, the place she nonetheless works.

Pearl Taylor, additionally 102, primarily based in Dayton, Ohio, stated she eats a mostly vegetarian diet, and meat from time to time. She additionally swears by her do-it-yourself inexperienced juice, which incorporates aloe root, celery, parsley, ginger, and water sweetened with Splenda.

Meanwhile, Lousie Jean Signore, the second oldest person in New York at 112 years outdated, follows the Mediterranean diet, which is excessive in complete meals reminiscent of fruit, greens, beans, and olive oil.

Signore eats salad, fruit, and greens each evening, and provides tomato sauce, garlic, or olive oil to all her fundamental meals, as BI beforehand reported.

The Mediterranean food regimen is extensively thought of to be the healthiest way to eat, and analysis has linked it to improved coronary heart well being, weight reduction, and stopping cognitive decline.

Cook at house

Taylor prepares all of her meals and hasn’t eaten a pre-packaged meal in “years,” she stated.

This is widespread amongst centenarians, a lot of whom grew up earlier than quick meals and microwaveable meals grew to become extensively obtainable.

For instance, 101-year-old William, from Toronto, cooks all his meals, that includes a lot of sardines, which he thinks are his longevity secret.

Jack Van Nordheim, 101, often known as Uncle Jack on social media, by no means developed a style for quick meals, as an alternative preferring easy do-it-yourself meals reminiscent of boiled rooster.

Eating extra house cooking can imply folks eat fewer ultra-processed meals, which have been linked to major health problems, together with despair, sort 2 diabetes, and heart problems.

A 2017 examine revealed within the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity discovered that members who cooked at house 5 instances every week had been extra prone to comply with wholesome methods of consuming such because the Mediterranean food regimen; eat extra fruit and greens; and be a wholesome weight.

Eat reasonably…

Many Japanese centenarians comply with the precept of “hara hachi bu,” which suggests they eat until they are 80% full, Yumi Yamamoto, who works for LongeviQuest, a company that verifies the ages of supercentenarians, instructed BI.

Yamamoto’s great-grandma, Shigeyo Nakachi, was the second-oldest living person in Japan when she died in 2021. Yamamoto stated that Nakachi by no means ate to extra and would not end a complete chocolate bar in a single sitting.

Similarly, the mantra of Ireland’s oldest man, 108-year-old Martin McEvilly, who cycled repeatedly till he was 99, is “every little thing carefully.”

For McEvilly, this implies solely ingesting alcohol on Sunday evenings, when he enjoys three pints of Guinness.

… however deal with your self

Although Japanese supercentenarians are likely to eat carefully, Yamamoto stated they nonetheless deal with themselves.

Kane Tanaka, the second oldest particular person in recorded historical past, who lived to 119, loved a bottle of Coca-Cola each day, she stated.

Likewise, Szekely enjoys the occasional serving of espresso ice cream, and Uncle Jack attributes his longevity to consuming darkish chocolate and honey every day.

Experts agree that incorporating treats into your food regimen could make wholesome consuming extra sustainable. Dietitian Nicole Ludlam-Raine promotes the 80/20 diet, the place you eat healthily 80% of the time and permit your self to eat what you want the opposite 20%.