Who among us does not wish to grow old gracefully? Everyone wants to live forever, though we have to die one day. However, with proper living habit and lifestyle, we can stay for more than 100 years on this beautiful earth.
Research has shown that the foods we eat largely determine our body’s ability to fight disease and fight the aging process. A diet heavy in additives, preservatives, and saturated fat will work against our bodies, thus speeding the aging process.
Let us study the short profiles of 10 oldest people in the world to know their lifestyles in depth.
1. Elizabeth Bolden (August 15, 1890 — December 11, 2006) of Americawas recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person at the time of her death at age 116 years and 118 days. She was entered the list of all time top ten oldest people in July 2006. Elizabeth was born in Somerville at Tennessee. She was married to Lewis Bolden in 1908. They had seven children and at her 116th birthday in August 2006, she had 40 grandchildren, 75 great –grandchildren, 150 second great grandchildren, 220 third grandchildren and 75 fourth great grandchildren.
At the time of her death in December she was the 8th oldest person ever documented. In her final years, she resided in a Memphis, Tennessee Nursing Home. She was photographed for two different books in 2005 and was featured in Jet magazine in May 2005 and the Memphis Commercial Appeal in June in 2005 itself.
2. Emiliano Mercado del Toro (August 21, 1891 — January 24, 2007) was officially declared the oldest living person on December 11, 2006 following the death of Elizabeth Bolden. He was born at Cabo Rojo in Puerto Ricoto Delfin Mercado and Gumercinda del Toro. He never married but said he had three girlfriends in his life. He worked in the cane fields until the age of 81. Mercado is the oldest person ever in the history of Puerto Rico. When he reached the age of 114 years and 273 days on May 21, 2006, he surpassed the previous record of Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan.
3. Emma Tillman (November 22, 1892 - January 28, 2007) at the age of 114 was the oldest validated living person in the world. She was born in 1892 in North Carolina at a place known as Gibsonville to a poor family. Emma was one of 23 children, some of whom died at birth or in their early years. However, four of her siblings lived past 100.One of her brother died at 108 in 1996 and another sister died at 105 in 2005. Emma’s family had moved to Connecticutin 1900 where she ran her own baking and catering service.
Following the death of Elizabeth Bolden in December 2006, she became the oldest person of United States. At that time, she was also among the 60 longest living ever. On January 18, 2007, she became the oldest living woman following the death of 115-year–old Canadian Julie Winnefred Bertrand. On the January 24, 2007, she became the world’s oldest living person with the death of Emiliano Mercado del Toro, who was also 115 years old.
4. Jeanne Calment (February 21, 1875 — August 4, 1997) recorded the longest lifespan in history at 122 years and 164 days. She was born in Arles to a very rich family, In 1986, Jeanne married her second cousin Fernand Calment, a wealthy storeowner. Fernand loved her so much that he made it possible for Calment to lead a relaxed lifestyle and to pursue hobbies like tennis, cycling, swimming, roller skating, piano and opera. At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever. In 1995, a French language documentary film about her, entitled “Beyond 120 years with Jeanne Calment”.
Strange thing about Calment is that she was a smoker and only quit when she was 117 years old. At 85 years, she took up fencing. At 100, she was still riding a bicycle. She survived a hip operation in January 1990 to become the oldest verified surgery patient. Calment is the first person documented to reach 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121 and 122 years old. She is the only person to have undisputedly lived at lest 120 years.
5. Antonio Todde (January 22, 1889 — January 3, 2002) was the oldest documented man in the world in 2002-2002 until he died at almost 113 after the death of John Painter of Italy. Born to a poor shepherd family in the medieval center of Tiana in Sardinia, he was the third of 12 children. He married Maria-Antonia in 1920 and got four daughters and a son. Todde’s diet was wholly based on Pasta and soup. He had some pork or lamb each day and a glass of red wine. He travels by foot and on horseback during his long 65 years stay in the high pastures. Todde’s favorite pastime in his sixties was to watch the fuzzy pictures of dancing girls. This happens when he saw a television for the first time in the market town of Nuoro in 1954. To have a glimpse of the girls, he would cycle 30 miles each night. In his later life, he proudly cherished the moments of watching the scantily clad dancers on variety shows.
6. Cruz Hernandez (May 3, 1878 — March 8, 2007) of El Salvador celebrated her 128th birthday in May 2006 where some 200 guests attended the party. She has 13 children, 60 grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren, and 25 great-great-grandchildren. Many people attributed Cruz’s longevity to her favorite drink of a beer with two raw eggs in it. A midwife until she was 100 years old, Hernandez died at her home in the town of San Agustin, having spent her last months unable to speak and mainly dozing.
7. Joan Riudavets (December 15, 1889 — March 5, 2004) from Menorca, Spain, became the oldest recognized person in Europeon the death of Italian Maria Teresa Fumarola Ligorio in May 2003, and the oldest recognized man in the world on the death of Yukichi Chuganji in September 2003. Joan was able to ride a bicycle until he was 110 years old. He worked as a cobbler until retiring in 1954, and was a former village councilor of Es Migjorn Gran. He died at the age of 114, after having a cold for a few days. Joan made it into the record books in September 2003, when Yukichi Chuganji of Japan, died at the age of 114 years and 139 days.
Joan is sticking to one of the few bits of advice he gives those who seek the secret of his longevity: "Keep moving, keep going forward." He insists, in fact, that he does not feel old enough to be breaking records. "They say I am the grandfather of the world," he chuckles. "I could not really believe it when they told me. My body does not hurt me at all. I am 114 years old but I still do not know what a headache feels like. Look! My pulse is steady. I can still hold a pen and write perfectly well." His recipe for lasting so long has little to do with diets or exercise routines and lots to do with the inner self. He gave up smoking in 1922, when he was 33.
8. Elizabeth Pampo (January 27, 1875 - October 14, 2003) of Dominicain West Indies is considered to be the World’s oldest living person at the age of 128 years. She grew up to be the second mother of the family making way for her mother to continue her duties as a laborer on the Picard Estate, where she worked for less than a penny a day. It was not long however, at the age of 12 that Elizabeth who was then a student at the Portsmouth School
9. Yone Minagawa (January 4, 1893 till present) of Fukuchi in Japan is believed to be the world’s oldest person as of January 29, 2007, aged 114 years and 25 days. She became the oldest living person in Japan when Ura Koyama died in April 2005, and the world’s oldest living person with the death of American Emma Tillman in January 2007. After her husband died, she raised her five children by selling flowers and vegetables at a coal mine. Her children have passed away, but she has 6 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. She loves festive occasions and attends birthday parties and other recreational events at the nursing home. Yone is still in good spirits and enjoys joking with the staff. She also participates in club activities in a wheelchair and dances.
10. Tomoji Tanabe (September 18, 1895 till present) is currently the oldest living man in Japan, since the June 12, 2006. As of January 24, 2007, when Emiliano Mercado del Toro died, he is also the oldest fully validated man in the world. He is the youngest "oldest living man" since 1999. He tops the list of Japan’s oldest men. He turned 111 on the Day of the Elderly on September 18. He lives with a family of his fifth son. The old man’s hearing has become worse than before but he still gets up at 6 a.m.sharp, keeps his diary, and offers his own recipe for longevity. He does not smoke and do not drink sake (a Japanese fermented, mildly alcoholic beverage made from rice).
posted at Made to Be Great. Many people stay in feelings of guilt and regret, because they think they didn’t act on an opportunity and now it will never return, and they wont be able to achieve what they wanted, because the means to it is gone.