December Years

by Molly M. Ginty

Jeanne Calment, age 122, said it was chocolate and red wine.

Yone Minagawa, 114, cited the companionship of friends and family.

Edna Parker, also 114, said it was exercise from working the family farm.

All three of these women cited different reasons for reaching their advanced age. Calment, who lived in Arles, France, and died in 1997, holds the world record for longevity. Minagawa, of Fukuoka, Japan, just died in August this year, which makes Parker, of Shelbyville, Indiana, the oldest U.S. citizen living today.

Scientists say it’s no surprise that all three of these centenarians (people over age 100) are women. Of the 40,000 centenarians in the United States today, 85 percent are women — possibly because women have better health habits than men, and possibly because the female hormone estrogen promotes longevity.

Due to advances in medicine, life expectancy in the United States has jumped from 71 to 78 years since 1970. Women now live to an average age of 80, while men live to 75. Centenarians are the fastest-growing age group, and their numbers may continue to increase as baby boomers age — if boomers have the right mix of good genes, healthy diet, and regular exercise.

Why do some people not only live longer, but in better health? Much of it comes down to DNA. "Choosing your parents wisely makes all the difference," says Stephen Coles, Ph.D. and M.D., co–founder of the Los–Angeles based Gerontology Research Group.

Having an extra copy of the SIR2 gene, which affects your ability to withstand physical deprivation, can help you live longer. So can inheriting Apo–A1 Milano, a mutation found among Italian villagers that can keep your blood cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease low no matter how much fatty food you eat.

Even so, genes only account for an estimated 30 percent of longevity. Scientists say you can add an extra 10 years to your life simply by exercising regularly and eating well.

Studies show that getting the 30 minutes of physical activity authorities recommend each day may increase your lifespan. Consider the people of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who have average life expectancies of 86 for women and 78 for men. Here, seniors in their 80s, 90s, and 100s walk, jog, swim, harvest their own vegetables, and even catch their own fish.

Just as these centenarians’ workouts may help account for their longevity, so too may their food choices. Older Okinawans eat a traditional low-fat, highprotein, high–fiber diet. Consuming resveratrol (found in green tea and red wine) can activate the SIR2 gene. Other antioxidants (found in fruits, vegetables, and yes, chocolate) can help prevent cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and other ailments associated with aging.

Like Okinawa’s great (and great-great) grandparents, many people with long lifespans hail from remote areas where food is scarce. That’s why some believe that the secret to longevity is a calorie-restricted diet, in which you eat carefully balanced, nutritious meals but consume 60 to 80 percent of normal intake (for example, 1,200 to 1,600 calories daily instead of the 2,000 recommended for the average American).

"Calorie restriction enables lab animals to live 30 to 40 percent longer," says Lenny Guarente, Ph.D., a biology professor at Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It wards off cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative problems, and diabetes. But people who try it often develop anemia and feel cold. They lose bone and muscle mass, and are emotionally irritable."

Before you start starving yourself, note that irritability can actually shorten your lifespan. Studies show that being social can help fend off heart disease and depression, and that seniors who are married or live near loved ones tend to live longer. The Okinawans’ longevity may stem in part from their practice of forming a moai — a close-knit circle of friends who provide emotional and social support throughout life.

Just as the Okinawans believe in ikigai (having a personal purpose for living), most centenarians have developed successful emotional coping mechanisms. Overall, they tend to handle stress well, to be optimistic, and to revel in humor.

"Centenarians don’t hold grudges," says Maoshing Ni, the Santa Monicabased author of Secrets of Longevity. "They realize life is a long journey, and that carrying baggage around is going to weigh you down."

To find out how genes, diet, exercise, and attitude affect longevity, the Bethesdabased National Institute on Aging has kicked off the Long Life Family Study, and the Boston University School of Medicine has launched the New England Centenarian Study.

But these studies’ final results won’t be ready for years, and it could take a decade or more to develop drugs that mimic the SIR2 gene’s effects. In the meantime, what’s an aging person to do? You may not be as disciplined as the Seventh–day Adventists, a religious group that shuns cigarettes, alcohol, meat, and caffeine. They tend to live 10 years longer than average.

You may not live to be 110–plus, as people reportedly do in Shangri–Las such as Dongzi, Tibet, the Hunza Valley in Pakistan, and the Vilcabamba Valley in Ecuador. But with the genes God gave you — and by following the health tips above —  you can certainly make the most of your own December years.

Molly M. Ginty lives in New York. Her work has appeared in Ms., Marie Claire, Redbook, and Women’s eNews.

Article published in Lutheran Woman Today, December 2007