All The Foods You Should Eat To Live Forever And Ever
Words: Hannah Lemass
A British man who recently turned 106 attributes his longevity to his favourite sweet treat: rhubarb and custard.
Leslie Lemon (what an amazing name) has this dessert every day. The rhubarb comes from his own garden, served with lashings of classic custard. Leslie has lived a very full life; he served in the army during World War Two, so he’s one tough cookie. He says he has no pain, isn’t seeing a doctor, and takes no medicine. If rhubarb and custard is the key to being like Leslie, then sign us up.
But what other foods have our elders attributed their long lives to, and how many of them are in your daily diet?
Here are some of the foods other folks who lived long lives like Leslie say helped them make it to t he big 100 and beyond.
Antonio Todde (113, Italy)
Antonio Todde lived to see three centuries. He was born in the 19th century, lived through the 20th, and died in the 21st in 2002 as the world’s oldest man at the time. He attributed his longevity to a daily glass of red wine.
Emma Morano (117, Italy)
Image: AP
For 90 years, Emma Morano ate two raw eggs every single day along with 150 grams of raw steak. It was a diet she grew accustomed to after a bout of anaemia as a child and it seemed to serve her well. Her doctor also credited her positive outlook for her long life. She also enjoyed cookies and daily serving of grappa for digestion.
Jessie Gallan (109, Scotland)
Jessie Gallan was an absolute queen who died peacefully at the ripe age of 109. She generously let people in on the secret to her long life: eating lots of porridge and, most importantly, staying away from men. She said, “They’re just more trouble than they’re worth.”
Sarah Coyle (108, Ireland)
Image: Alan Betson/Irish Times
Ireland’s oldest woman, Sarah Coyle, is 108 years old and says she owes her longevity to the nettles and cabbage her mother made for her as a child. She says that every spring her mum would gather the first nettles and add them to the family’s cabbage to “purify the blood”.
Misao Okawa (117, Japan)
Misao Okawa lived to be 117 and credited sushi as one of the foods that contributed to her long life. She particularly enjoyed mackerel. She also said that getting enough sleep, at least eight hours a day, was part of her secret.
Mildred Bowers (103, USA)
Mildred Bowers lived to be 103. She mostly credited good genes but said her daily frosty cold beer at 4pm helped too and it was doctor’s orders. After she told nurses at her care facility how much she loved beer, her doctor gave her the all-clear to enjoy it regularly.
Kane Tanaka (119, Japan)
Kane Tanaka, from Japan, was the world’s oldest woman until she passed away at 119. Not only was she the oldest woman alive, she was the third-oldest person ever recorded. She witnessed five Japanese imperial reigns and two world wars but maintained a tenacious and positive spirit right up to her final years. She said her secret to a long life was good food and being herself, but she also had a love of Coca-Cola and chocolate.
Agnes Fenton (112, USA)
Agnes Fenton made it to 112 years old and once credited her achievement to a daily dose of three Miller beers and a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. A doctor prescribed the unusual mix when she was dealing with a benign tumour in the 1940s, and she kept it up until she quit drinking a few years before her death.
So, sushi, chocolate, nettles porridge, beer, raw eggs, steak, red wine and custard are the foods these elders say helped keep them going. Try whipping up a big sushi, chocolate, porridge, beer, and steak omelette topped with custard and live forever. Of course, remember their other pieces of advice: be kind, sleep well, stay positive, and stay away from men.
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