Bonita Gibson turned 114 years old on July 4, making her one step closer to securing the title of the world’s oldest living person. In a recent interview with People magazine, she revealed that she believes that eating one particular food is responsible for her remarkable longevity, and it might surprise you!
Gibson attributes her long life to the humble potato!
She told the magazine that potatoes have been a constant part of her diet for more than a century, especially after she married Kenneth Richard, who worked in the potato industry for decades in Idaho after they wed in 1930.
Richard retired in 1977 and died in 2003, but Gibson’s family said she continues eating potatoes to this day.
Gibson, who is currently a resident of the Waltonwood Carriage Park senior living facility in Canton, also shared that not drinking, not smoking, and eating healthy are some of her other secrets for living past 100 years old.
Remaining positive and constantly smiling were some others.
Gibson, who was born July 4, 1911, is among the oldest people in the world, having survived mumps, measles, and whooping cough as a child, as well as COVID when she was 109!
Her relatives also said that she drove until she was 99, flew on an airplane for the first time at 100, and visited a casino for the first time at 102.
Nowadays, Gibson enjoys reading, playing cards, and speaking with her son Richard, 88, every night. She also has three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
Gibson is also nearing the Guinness World Records title for world’s oldest living person. Ethel Caterham, 115, claimed the record in April following the death of 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas.
Caterham, who lives in a nursing home in Surrey in South East England, also revealed what it takes to live a long life.
“Never arguing with anyone, I listen, and I do what I like,” she told the Associated Press.
According to Guinness, the oldest person ever, Jeanne Louise Calment of France, lived for 122 years and 164 days before she died in 1997.
