The secret to old age?

[craftsman]

Japan's oldest person turns 114

Japan's oldest person, Yone Minagawa, has turned 114, celebrating her birthday at the Keijuen special nursing home in Fukuoka Prefecture where she now resides.

Born in 1893 in Fukuchi in the southwestern Japan prefecture, she was widowed early and raised her five children by selling flowers and vegetables in a coal mining town.

Minagawa now has a daughter, six grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.

While she now spends a lot of time in bed, Minagawa is in good spirits and asks about the well-being of nursing home staffers and jokes with them, nursing home staff said.

She loves sweets but often gives them away whenever others are around her. On the days she feels well, she participates in club activities in a wheelchair and moves her body along to music, they said.

I don't think many of us will make it to 114, actually I'm not sure that I would want to, but what has this woman got that others don't?

What's the secret to living long?

Oh and, by the way, I don't suppose anyone knows the location of the holy grail, do they?

[Index]

Originally Posted by craftsman

Japan's oldest person turns 114

What's the secret to living long?

The secret is...don't die.

[Kinsao]

Wow, that's some amazingly long life! Just think of all the changes she must have seen during her lifetime!

Melnais Balsams (Latvian drink with a very high % of alcohol XD) was once thought to be the Elixir of Eternal Life, but time actually proved that one wrong...

[Dutch Baka]

Originally Posted by craftsman

What's the secret to living long?

Eating fish should be pretty good for your health, and the morning excerises that the Japanese do

Oh and, by the way, I don't suppose anyone knows the location of the holy grail, do they?

Which holy grail... the Da vinci one, or the cup?

[Mrjones]

I vote on luck, also probably good atmosphere, warm. Fish and green tea are also told to be very healty. Japanese live longer, amazing.

[offcourse]

preserve all your body from any sickness and do the caloric restriction and your chances to be over 100 years old are likely to work!!

[Qu_Qu]

What ever happened to the Japanese granny twins,they were 100 something in early 1990's

[undrentide]

Originally Posted by Qu_Qu

What ever happened to the Japanese granny twins,they were 100 something in early 1990's

Ah, I liked them both!
Unfortunately both of them passed away some years ago - Kin-san in January 2000 at the age of 107, and Gin-san in February 2001 at the age of 108...
Lovely old ladies, weren't they?

[Qu_Qu]

Originally Posted by undrentide

Unfortunately both of them passed away some years ago - Kin-san in January 2000 at the age of 107, and Gin-san in February 2001 at the age of 108...Lovely old ladies, weren't they?

oh ... no,please somebody tell me this is not true.i am sadden,may they rest in peace in heaven.

late Japanese granny twins Kin-san and Gin-san were often mentioned on America's entertainment programs in the 1990's.they were adorable cutesie flat pancake faced little Japanese old ladies,first pair worldly famous surviving twins reached the age of 100.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

This year,
In Japan, more than 30,000 are over 100 years old.

In Japan, 70 years old are not old men.

[Qu_Qu]

so it's true japan popluation has highest longevity

[Goldiegirl]

I think the secret to long life is moderation. If you live a high risk lifestyle chances are that sooner or later the odds of an early death will catch up with you. I remember a story of a French woman who was in her 100's and she had a glass of wine every day and I believe a cigarette once a week or perhaps that was every day as well........

[Qu_Qu]

this french old lady actually met the dutch great impressionist artist van gogh at her father paint shop when she was a little girl,recalled he was often uncamped ugh ugh.

[chinese boy]

What Japanese people eat is very good for health, like fish etc... and the living conditions are one of the best in the world

[Mars Man]

Interesting subject. There may be a number of ways, yes, and some have been mentioned in this thread...but luck is about the biggest of them all; the results of pure unforseen occurances, from conception onward.

As far as diet, it has been shown quite readily that the 'starvation diet' will, all other things held constant, shoot you on up into the numbers past 100. BUT who wants to walk around looking like a surviving Egyptian mummy?

NIce mountians there chinese boy, I bet you really enjoyed those !! MM

[TGI-ECT]

A lot of how well you can do when you're over 50 or 60 depends on what you did when you were in your twenties and thirties. I'm now learning what the team doctor meant when he kept saying we'll pay for it when we're older.

Take that and moderation in intake of all things out of the equation and I think the deciding factor becomes water.

I remember reading some time back that the Japanese government had found out that those old folks living around Uenohara were in the best health. That's Uenohara in Yamanashi Prefecture.

I don't recall if they specifically attributed the good health to water, but there does seem to be a lot of interest in good water these days.

And the advances in basic hygiene understanding/teaching along with advances in medicine make it inevitable that humans in general will live longer.

Problem is we need to have some advances in thinking, too. Like the recent change to let airline pilots fly a bit longer. Need more of that.

.

[cyberryo]

I think besides the fish sashimi, sushi, etc. Japanese tea is great for longevity too! Recently, I have started looking into medicinal herbs to slow aging, and come across this He Shou Wu and also Tian Qi Tea. Tian Qi mix with Ginseng pills are on sale in Japan already, according to some of the Japanese websites I visited too!

[Dr. J. M.]

Index is right. Just don't die.

[mika_r]

the seacret is... wine x)


one cup of wine is very healthy.


...


._.



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[pipokun]

There is a local festival, Kanasa Oh-Dengaku, in every 72 years.
The next festival will be conducted in 2075.
http://www6.plala.or.jp/dengaku/e.htm

Live long.

[JerseyBoy]

If I would be living over 100 years, I know I won't be able to survive financially. In Japan, most of the employers have set up the retirement age at around 60 or 62 (I forgot the exact age). That means you would need to have enough saving to live almost another half of your life time (60 years for working and another 40 or 50 years on retirement). I think I would prefer not to live that long.

[maushan3]

I think the fine diet that the Japanese in general have, many things like harmony with oneself and others, DNA longevity and a bit of luck is the right combination to remain young and live long!

Mauricio

[isurftoo]

Hi all
If you are serious about this topic, all the answers are provided from the 25 year survey of Okinawan lifestyle:

Google Okinawa Study
I'm prevented from posting the URL

The answers include:
. diet high in fish & soy
. lifelong exercise - karate, dance
. lifelong engagement in the community
I admire the picture of the 100 year old+ karateka somewhere one of the sites.

[Iron Chef]

I'm always amazed that the Japanese seem to have such longevity considering how often I see people eating McDonald's or other fast food, the preponderance of fried/deep fried fatty foods available at any major grocer's deli section, the propensity for smoking and alcohol use, etc. I myself know quite a few Japanese who eat anything BUT a healthy diet, practically living out of a combini for their daily nutrition.

[undrentide]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

I'm always amazed that the Japanese seem to have such longevity considering how often I see people eating McDonald's or other fast food, the preponderance of fried/deep fried fatty foods available at any major grocer's deli section, the propensity for smoking and alcohol use, etc. I myself know quite a few Japanese who eat anything BUT a healthy diet, practically living out of a combini for their daily nutrition.

The Japanese people enjoying the longevity now are those who have been eating traditional Japanese food for a long time, i.e. a lot of vegetables, seaweed, tofu and other soybeans products, less meat and no junkfood. I'm afraid that the average lifetime of Japanese people will be drastically shortened within 20-30 years.
I often wonder until what age I can survive myself...