Imagine living to be 100, let alone surpassing it by nearly two decades.
For most people, the idea of ​​reaching a century seems like an unattainable dream, but for Emma Morano, it was a reality. As the world’s oldest person, she defied expectations, not only for her longevity but also for her remarkable health and vitality.
Emma’s extraordinary life raised many questions: what were the key factors that allowed her to live well beyond a century, all while maintaining her independence and mental acuity? In this story, we uncover the secrets of Emma Morano’s incredible 117 years and offer insight into the habits, choices, and lifestyle that contributed to her remarkable lifespan.
When most people think about living in old age, they might imagine reaching their 80s or 90s. Few can imagine living to be a century, let alone much longer. However, Emma Morano lived to be an extraordinary 117 years old, surpassing the 100-year mark by almost two decades. Remarkably, in recent years she only needed help at home. So what enabled Emma not only to live such a long life but also to maintain such good health? This is the story of the world’s oldest woman and the factors she believed contributed to her longevity.
Emma Morano: The oldest woman in the world
Emma Morano, the oldest person in the world, lived a life that spanned more than a century. Born in 1899 in the Piedmont region of Italy, she became the last known person born in 1800. Her incredible longevity has sparked curiosity, with her consistent and strict diet being one of the key factors. Let’s explore the remarkable life of Emma Morano and the secret behind her long life.
The Life and Diet of Emma Morano
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Known for her vivacious personality and resilience, Emma Morano faced many challenges, including an abusive marriage, the loss of her only child, and surviving two world wars. She attributed her long life to two main factors: avoiding men and following a strict diet. After her unhappy marriage, she chose to remain single, a decision she believed contributed to her health and longevity. But she also thought her diet played a key role in keeping her healthy.
Marriage
Like many women of her time, Emma was forced into marriage. While she once loved the man she would marry, he tragically died in WW1. Soon after, a man from her neighborhood forced her to marry him.
“It was someone from the lake. I didn’t want to marry him, but he forced me. We lived in the same yard and one day he sent his mother to call me. I went and he told me: ‘If you want, you can marry me, if you don’t, I’ll kill you.’ I was 26. I got married,” Emma shared in a 2011 interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Her diet
Emma Morano’s diet was specific and consistent throughout her life. She ate three eggs a day, two of which were raw, a habit she picked up after being diagnosed with anemia after the First World War. Along with eggs, she regularly drank grappa, a traditional Italian alcoholic drink made with herbs and grapes, which she believed helped digestion.
“I eat three eggs a day and for digestion, I drink grappa, which I prepare myself: I put it in a glass with seven sage leaves, a bunch of r,ue, and some grapes. Then I drink it with a spoon,” she explained.
Her doctor was amazed at her diet because she rarely ate vegetables or fruits, but it seemed to do wonders for her. Despite this unusual diet, she remained one of his healthiest and longest-serving patients.
“When I met her she was eating three eggs a day, two raw in the morning and then an omelette at noon. She had chicken for dinner,” her doctor recalled.
Genetics in her favor
Emma also credited genetics as a significant factor in her longevity. Her mother lived to be 91, and several of her sisters also reached their 100th birthdays. This suggests that genetics played a key role in her extended life. Additionally, her decision to remain single after an abusive marriage may have contributed to her health and reduced stress in her later years.
Current information on longevity
Emma Morano’s incredible lifespan highlights the factors that contribute to a long and healthy life. While each individual’s situation is unique, certain regions are known to have a higher concentration of centenarians, offering valuable lessons about longevity.
One such region is Okinawa, Japan, which boasts a high number of centenarians. Okinawans attribute their long lives to a combination of factors, including a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and legumes, a low-stress lifestyle, regular physical activity,y, and strong social ties. A sense of purpose, or ikigai, also plays a vital role in their well-being.
The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is another area where people live long lives. Their active lifestyle, diet of beans, con and tropical fruits, and strong community ties contribute to their longevity. The sense of happiness and contentment that comes from their close families is also essential to their well-being.
Similarly, the people of Sardinia in Italy enjoy impressive rates of longevity. Their Mediterranean diet, focusing on whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and olive oil, combined with regular physical activity and a strong sense of community, contributes to their long and healthy lives.
In conclusion, Emma Morano’s remarkable longevity offers us valuable insights into the factors that contribute to a long and healthy life. Her strict diet, which included daily eggs and grappa, may have seemed unconventional, but it was apparently effective in keeping her healthy well into her 100s.
Her decision to remain single after an abusive marriage also helped her avoid unnecessary stress, which further contributed to her overall well-being. Additionally, Emma’s family history of longevity suggests that genetics played a key role in her extraordinary life.
Emma’s story is consistent with the experiences of people from other regions known for high numbers of centenarians, such as Okinawa, the Nicoya Peninsula, and Sardinia. These areas emphasize the importance of a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and strong social ties—factors that are critical to promoting longevity and a high quality of life. While each individual’s journey is unique, the common threads of a balanced lifestyle, a sense of purpose, and maintaining close relationships with others offer valuable lessons in the pursuit of a long and fulfilling life.