The Secret to Living to 103

Jeez, I hate articles like this one. The secret to living to 103? Extreme luck. First, score big in the genetic lottery. Then be very fortunate that you aren't struck down by some random act out of your control. Those random things run the gamut from violence (war, riots, personal mayhem aimed at you by a scorned lover, etc.), famine, living in or near a toxic environment, floods, lightning strike, accident, depression/suicide, contaigon.... I could go on. You get the idea. People who live extraordinarily long lives really don't have any wisdom to offer as to why they are so long lived. They may have a treasure trove of insights into living a meaningful life (or not), but consuming honey and sweet potato isn't the reason for their advanced years.

It's all a crap shoot. One spends a lifetime tiptoeing through a minefield (bad genes, addictions, disease, violence, accidents, etc.). If one is lucky enough to avoid stepping on a mine either accidentally, being pushed, or by bad life's choices (most whose long term consequences are completely unknowable), then one gets to live to an old age.

Go Grandma! They’re the best.

Okinawa is home to the world's longest-lived women. Toyono exemplifies the lifestyle: purple sweet potatoes, kitchen garden of herbs, walks instead of drives and has clears sense of purpose (religion)--or ikigai as the Okinwans say. https://www.bluezones.com/exploration/okinawa-japan/

Many years ago, when the world was a bit more civilized, I was on a flight to Toronto. I noticed the elderly lady next to me filling out her Canada visitor card - she was apparently 96. I said, I can't help but notice you are 96 and still flying, pretty good. She said, I just came to New York from Sydney, and got onto this flight to visit my 65 year old daughter in Toronto. I said, amazing, and she laughed. I asked her permission to ask her the secret, and this is what she gave me: I eat like a bird. I walk everywhere. And every night I have a glass of brandy. I never wrote it down but remembered it word for word. I keep boring my friends with this story whenever age comes up, which is often. Amazingly, we are all kind of trying to do the same thing: we eat healthy, we work out, we drink, maybe too much. And we laugh at everybody and everything. We think we've earned it. Maybe it’ll work. I am not sure science can do better than that lady's short list. She probably could have added a fourth: genes. My aunt, also a tough bird, is now 101 - her town put her on TV when she turned 100. She lives on a farm so she eats meat, potatoes, and vegetables, and she drinks a fair bit. She has shrunk to below 5 feet. When she was 95, she went on her first plane ride, visited Israel, rode her first camel and floated in the Dead Sea. From my vantage point, when they say 60 is not the new 40, they are right. It’s the new 30. Maybe it’ll work.

Congrats to the 103 yr. old woman. I believe in the equality theory of life, ie in this life or some other dimension if you believe in science or afterlife if you believe in God everybody gets an equal amount of happiness and unhappiness or whatever else you want to call it. The definitions and variations of them are endless. Judging from this woman's life, she had a great deal of hardship to say the least and god/nature rewarded her with longer life which most of the time is happiness or at least an attempt at more happiness. I never met anybody who came back from six foot under and said it was better down there.

Wonderful tribute to your grandmother. Thank you! Look at Toyono's curious, ready-to-be amused, beautiful face in this photo--it says a lot. My mother used to say that you can read the character on older people's faces, and that life is tough, but it is all about attitude, attitude, attitude--spunk too. When we kids were squabbling or disagreeable, my mother told us repeatedly, "You can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar." When Mom was in her high 80s, she dealt with Parkinson's disease, macular degeneration, and parchment skin that tore easily. She lived in a small studio apartment in an assisted living complex. One day when I was in her room, she was abrupt, rude and demanding to a nurse who came into her room. The nurse was irritated, understandably. When she left the room, I said, "Mom, you always told us you can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar." Mom shot back, "Oh, squeaky wheels, you know, especially when you live in a camp like I do!" She always referred to the assisted-living complex as "a camp." She also said that when you get older, you get your mind or your body, but you don't get both! Her body was a wreck, but her mind was sharp and she was very funny to the end—and that is what character is all about.

I always loved Steven Wright's joke "My personal plan is to live forever....[pause] So far, so good." We just had a funeral yesterday for my 95 year old mother-in-law. Her widower is 93 and doing OK. I don't know how it relates to longevity (although I suspect it contributes), but the defining characteristic of them was being always there to help other people. If nothing else, it kept them engaged with family and the world. The other thing is just the will to keep going - never give in, never give up. I'm 73 and doubt I can live as long as them, but I would be ecstatic if I could be remembered as fondly as them.

I work with volunteers at a local hospital. Many of them are well into their 80s. They faithfully report to "work," as they call it, several days each week. Despite the hardships their long lives have inevitably brought, they keep going, and they do so cheerfully.

Gorgeous and wonderful, Liriel Higa's paean to her blessed Grandmother, Toyono Higa on her 103rd Birthday. My darling First Cousin JRST -- still the sharpest knife in the drawer -- will be 103 in March. All her docs say "yay! whatever you're doing, keep on doing it!".

Ms. Higa's reliance on sweet potato as a staple is typical of the many centenarians from Guam and Okinawa. Skipping the tuna is emblematic of the fact that few centenarians eat much animal protein. All of those who live in the Blue Zones (with long-lived populations) thrive on a primarily whole food plant-based diet. Until Americans scrap the standard American diet (SAD), mostly comprised of processed/ refined foods and animal products, we can count on a grindingly painful road to a shorter life filled with chronic disease.

“Satan, don’t touch me. I am God’s property.” I like Toyono's prayer. I personally rely on the Shema, but in the end I suppose they amount to about the same thing. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-shema/

Get out of your Lyft at 102nd and walk.

“Satan, don’t touch me. I am God’s property.” Love the prayer, simple but effective, at least for Toyono Higa. At 75 and in good health, 103 doesn’t seem that far off. “Live long and prosper” -Spock

A life to celebrate. Thanks for sharing.

No secret, just three things: luck, luck, luck

How awful for most people in their mode of health to have to continue on for 100+ years. And how utterly awful to the world economy for more and more people to live some 35-40 years beyond which they are productive and would need to live off of the efforts of those younger. It would be an absolute economic catastrophe for the earning-age population to sopport more and more and more old people who contribute nothing. And I say this being 63 and knowing that my times of productivity are waning as should my life expectancy.

Well, she does look great for 103. But let's get serious...the secret to living to 103 is to not die at 102 or younger. Yes, there are unhealthy behaviors that will curtail your life span and/or degrade the quality of your old age, but beyond that, it's mostly your genes. The secret road to a healthy old age is littered with the corpses of people like J. I. Rodale and Jim Fixx. Sad, but true. Carpe diem.

Honey is sugar. With good genes, like this lady probably has, it won't hurt you. But it won't do you any good, either.

Maybe don't vote Republican, since they are anti conservation, and reckless with nuclear war. They don't believe in greenhouse gasses, and want to deregulate and allow pollution. Maybe if we had the ACA and medicare for all, people could get the help they need to live to 103.

I do not aspire to live that long. Longevity does not equate to good health. It just means you die later than most. Quality of life, not quantity, needs to be medicine's main yardstick.

Let me guess - don’t die. Good genes, no environmental triggers, that’s pretty much it.

It's partly her diet, partly her attitude, but mostly her genes. Honey instead of sugar? On a molecular level, honey is sugar.

genes?

Sorry, but I don't care how sharp and cogent and vivacious she is, I don't want to be 103, ever.

According to my mother, entering lucidly her 85th year, the secret to longevity and good health is to choose better ancestors.

Happy Birthday, Toyono! What a lovely smile you have! Wishing you many more happy birthdays! I had a dear friend (now long deceased) who, though widowed and childless, nevertheless made friends across the social spectrum. She had friends in all age groups and from many ethnic backgrounds. She was not financially wealthy, but when it came to people, she was rich indeed! For her 89th birthday, she hosted a luncheon in a local restaurant, and her guests (about 30 of us) ranged in age from 19 to 92 - again, no relatives, just friends - and any of us who had not previously met each other were brought together by her that day! She was dedicated to a number of different types of volunteering, including reading for the blind. She was active in her church. And she delighted in celebrating any holiday: 4th of July, Valentine's Day, etc. - and, of course, the birthdays of all her friends, as well as enjoying her own birthday. She truly had a great enthusiasm for life. She told me that she'd made up her mind that she didn't want to be a crabby old lady - so, whatever her aches & pains were, she didn't mention them, but simply got up every morning and got herself dressed & OUT to do something for others. She lived to nearly 100, and she was an inspiration to all who knew her.

My aunt Adele (by marriage) has lived longer than anyone else in the family. She is 97 and for most of her life has been very unpleasant to people. She never took up drinking or smoking, but didn't have a particularly good diet. Good genes seem to account for her longevity.

This is a beautiful story. She is so amazing.

Happy birthday Toyono! It seems that living where temperate ocean breezes waft against coastal hills and mountains create an ideal environment for happiness, health, and gardens. Trees love these spots too, and they seem to know what they’re doing.

What a beautiful birthday portrait! My aunt celebrated her 100th birthday this past May and shares many of the same attributes as Toyono--a positiveness that starts anew each day, a zest for good food, a curiosity about the world and a great sense of humor.

Happy Birthday to lovely Toyono. Thanks Liriel Higa for this beautiful story about your grandmother. It's joyous.

A calm temperament is a lovely thing to have. A strong social network and activities to look forward to are important components of a satisfactory life. Being able to laugh at yourself is good, too. People with these attributes tend to be blessed with good genes, I suspect, and thus are more likely than the average person to be able to live to a ripe old age.

I would have confronted your dear grandmother about the fraudulent tuna-less tuna sandwich....and we would've shared a wicked laugh together about it in the moment. Happy Birthday, Toyono !

God bless her as she is surely blessing everyone around her. In my own case, I'm not so sure I'm glad I lived to be even half her age as seeing the country I love become such a complete disaster in the Trump era is something I would have been happy to miss. Well, maybe if I learn to smile like she does, things will get better and it will be worth getting old for, after all.

Liriel, your grandmother looks great! (I was going to say "for her age" but no, for any age - I know people two decades younger who look older than her.) Curious to know a little more about her lifelong food/drink habits. Did she eat a lot of meat or a mostly plant-based diet? How about her alcohol consumption?

You must read an ebook titled "The Blue Zones Project". I have no interest in it financially, only trying to save lives. It also notes the longevity of Okinawan women along with Sardinian sheep herders and California's Seventh Day Adventists, all very long living people. The author was a National Geographic man who traveled the world studying Centenarians eating and social habits attributing them to their longevity. He compiled lists of their foods and habits and summarized them in the ebook. The Mediterranean diets were notable as longevity helps as well as people's long talkative dinners. Sweet Potatoes and Honey are listed. The study was so enthralling, the author embarked on a program of putting forth his findings in cities countrywide. You argue that the researchers died, but this study was a worldwide comprehensive study. You should read the ebook. It may not extend your life, but probably will.

I obviously have no problem with someone else living a long live if that happens. However, I definitely will not live to be 100. I thank my lucky genes that men in my lineage seldom live past 80 years. My mother-in-law lived to be 96 before passing away this past spring. She actually HATED every minute of being alive for her last ten years (due to her poor health, so I don't blame her for her bitterness). And when she died, my wife's three siblings were not on speaking terms with each other, and two of them weren't speaking to her because my mother-in-law's bitterness infected her entire family (my wife was often the go-between for her siblings). In a word, my late mother-in-law almost destroyed her children. Fortunately after she died, my wife's three siblings, who had made every sacrifice possible to care for their mother only to have it thrown back in their faces, reconciled. The secret to living to be 103 is a) good genes (luck), b) not doing a lot of stupid things and c) not being in the wrong place at the wrong time (luck).

My Dad lived to 102, played golf into his late 90’s and even got a hole-in-one at 98. He was the king of one liners and used to laugh so hard he often could not get through the whole of even a short joke. He was generous, unfailingly positive and kind. He told me that his secret to a long life was to never worry. My Mother quipped, yes, that’s because you left all the worrying to me! I think of him every day. He is my role model.

As a former New Yorker it seems to me that the much broader horizons of possibilities today have done much to distract a good many people from the fundamental basics which underlie what makes a reasonable and satisfying existence. I was born in 1926 in Manhattan and, aside from six months in the army in the occupation of Germany in 1946, spent my first 35 years in New York. It was not just a different country then, it was a world paved with as sense of optimism and expectation of a better future. No doubt many things are much better today, but the huge lacks currently which make life far more difficult and disheartening are that sense of a meaningful future or even the possibility of any future at all. The bright and wonderful and greatly talented people are still there consistently pulling amazing technological rabbits out of hats but the foundations of a decent society demand far more than rabbits and that strikes me as desperately missing. If that is not remedied properly and with haste the consequences will be devastating.

Sorry, but watching my mom, at 86, deal with Alzheimer's and seeing my 87-year-old father struggling with debilitating arthritis, and knowing that Republicans want to take away Medicare and Social Security for my generation, which has been financially squeezed beyond all reason, I no longer care if I live a long life. If there is no healthcare, and age discrimination in the workplace makes it difficult for older people who have little to no savings (that's most of us in late middle age) to earn a decent living, then what is the point of getting old? Death seems like the preferable alternative to an unhealthy old age spent in poverty. Articles like this are unrealistic and depressing.