Happy birthday to Richard Overton, who is celebrating his 112th birthday on Friday. Overton is the oldest man in America, as well as the oldest US veteran. The Texan is still very much in fighting shape, telling reporters from Dallas News that he has “no pains, no aches”.
So, what’s his secret to living a long and healthy life? Well, Overton told reporters sagely: “Don’t die.” Also, it would seem, early starts, cigars and a medicinal tipple. Overton tends to get up with the lark and sometimes smokes more than 12 cigars a day. He’s also fond of a little whiskey, telling Cigar Aficionado that putting a little bourbon in your morning coffee is “like medicine”. Caffeine fans will also be glad to know that Overton is fond of a cup of coffee or four.
Overton isn’t the only centenarian to have shared their, occasionally rather dubious, advice for a long life. Here’s some health and diet advice from some of the world’s longest-lived people.
Stay away from men
In 2015, Jessie Gallan, then Scotland’s oldest woman, told reporters that her “secret to a long life has been staying away from men. They’re just more trouble than they’re worth”. Gallan, who passed away later that year at the grand old age of 109, also advised regularly eating porridge.
As it turns out, recommendations that you stay away from men if you would like a long and healthy life are rife. In 2011 Gladys Gough, from England, put her longevity down to never getting married or having a boyfriend. “That probably had something to do with it. I just couldn’t be bothered with men.”
Then there’s Leandra Becerra Lumbreras, who died in 2015 at the impressive age of 127. According to her family, the Mexican woman credited her long life, in part, to never getting married.
Lots of chocolate and naps
Earlier this year Eunice Modlin, from Indiana, celebrated her 102nd birthday. A milestone marked by a lifetime of chocolate and snoozing apparently. “She has two pieces of dark chocolate a day and takes a nap,” her granddaughter explained. Modlin also never smoked or drank, and always got a lot of exercise. But I’m going to swear it’s the napping and chocolate that kept her going.
A glass of Guinness a day keeps the doctor away
Doris Olive Netting celebrated her 100thbirthday last Friday with a glass of Guinness. The centenarian from Britain says she’s had a glass of Guinness a day for almost 70 years. “She refuses to go a day without drinking it,” her granddaughter told the Sun.
Bacon keeps you going
When Ruth Benjamin of Marshall, Illinois, turned 109 she put her advanced age down to a stable marriage, not drinking, and a love of bacon. Good news if you’re more of an eggs than a bacon person: Emma Morano, who died aged 117 last year, attributed her longevity to good genes and three eggs a day. Two of which were raw.
Basically, don’t die
For the record I’d advise against immediately incorporating six G&Ts and lots of chocolate into your daily diet. All of the advice above should probably be taken with a pinch of salt (not too much – sodium is bad for your heart). Ultimately, the only iron-clad advice is Overton’s. Try not to die!
- This article was corrected on 11 May to remove a reference to the health-giving benefits of gin.