Want to know what it takes to live to be 100 years old or more? It may depend on what you do and what you do not eat!
Four women who have made that milestone shared with NBC News the things the always eat and things that they never touch.
Elizabeth Francis, 115
Elizabeth Francis, currently the oldest living person in the U.S., is 115 years old, and she told NBC that she eats “everything.”
But Francis “always grew her vegetables in the backyard. I never saw her go to a fast food restaurant as much like Chick-fil-A and all the places I liked to go. She never did that,” her granddaughter, Ethel Harrison, said.
Francis has also never smoked and doesn’t drink alcohol, Harrison noted.
Deborah Szekely, 102
At 102 years old, Deborah Szekely still helps to run her fitness resort and spa three times a week. Szekely has followed a mainly plant-based diet since her childhood.
“I’m a pescatarian. And I actually have been fortunate of never eating meat because of my parents,” she told NBC.
Her typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner looks like:
- Breakfast: Yogurt, a banana, and whole grains.
- Lunch: Salad at home, she said, or lunch at restaurants.
- Dinner: A meal of fish, salad, and a baked potato, or she tries something new.
Her diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet, and it includes fish, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
Shirley Hodes, 106
Shirley Hodes, who was 106 years old when she spoke to CNCB in March of last year, said she aims to limit the animal fat that she consumes and only drinks skim milk.
“I did like to eat a simple, balanced diet without too much sweets,” Hodes said. She was adhering to the guidelines she was taught in the Red Cross nutrition course she took during the Second World War.
Daisy McFadden, 100
When NBC spoke to Daisy McFadden in 2011, she was 100 years old. She shared what she usually ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Her meals usually included:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal, cranberry juice, and a banana.
- Lunch: Salad with beets, cucumbers, tomatoes and chicken or fish
- Dinner: Lean meat and steamed vegetables
- Dessert: Fresh fruit
“I don’t drink soda at all and never have,” McFadden told NBC. She drank water, juice, milk, or iced tea instead.
