How to Live to One Hundred Years Old

With the advances in healthier eating habits, people have a greater chance to live to one hundred years old now than at any other time in recorded history. To live longer, you have to start living well now. Here are some tips to increase your chances of extending your life.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

How to Live to One Hundred Years Old

1. Eat a heart-healthy diet. Choose a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish, and whole grains rather than processed or packaged foods. The Mediterranean diet, for example, has been recommended by doctors as the best choice for aging and disease prevention. Research from the University of Georgia Gerontology Center has shown that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases more effectively than other diets.

2. Read the newspaper. Centenarians--people who live to one hundred or more-- take an active interest in current events that are occurring around them. Staying connected and current will keep your brain working and increases your sense of purpose. Maintaining an active life and powerful network of friends are strongly related to longevity. Other cultures ensure that elder members of their society are paid proper respect and to feel of equal value. They are treated as the keeper of the family's bond to their past ancestry.

3. Procreate. Having kids, especially if you are a woman, will assist in helping you live longer. In fact, giving birth after the age of 40 increases a woman's chance to reach triple digits.

4. Drink healthy. The New England Centenarian Study indicated that you will live longer by drinking certain beverages. Tea drinkers especially have the lowest rate of death from cardiovascular diseases. You will need to drink more than four cups a day of tea to gain the health benefit from the product. Moderate wine intake has also been associated with reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular ailments.

5. Exercise. Obese centenarians are rare, in fact, they just do not exist. Keeping a trim waistline is a requirement if you are expecting to live to 100 years old. Carrying extra baggage in the stomach region contributes to heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

6. Find a meaningful relationship. Single people do not tend to live as long as married people. A recent study by the New England Centenarian Society showed that 58 percent of single people die earlier than married people of the same age group. This study also showed divorced or separated people were 27 percent more likely to die earlier than their married counterparts.

7. Get spiritual. A recent study by the University of Georgia Gerontology Center compared occupations with life expectancy, and found that clergymen were among the longest-living men and nuns were among the longest-living women. Most centenarians have reported some kind of regular religious practice or belief.

8. Move to the 'Burbs. Studies have shown that living in the suburbs will extend your life compared with city dwelling. So, if you want to live longer, then purchase that little organic farm that you saw on the market.