When Helen Boardman was notwithstandin a immature 99, she fell crazy once again--with a
youthful man.
"I robbed the cradle," laughs the trim centenarian, who married a individual
twenty years her junior for "companionship," she says slyly. "Bill was
lonesome---I wasn't!--but I enjoyed his company and we had the same
interests. So we fell crazy."
It did not harm that Bill Boardman had the identical final identify.
"That was a coincidence,"provides Bill. "She kept acquiring my checks, I got her
bills, so out of necessity, we had to get married!"
Nowadays, the twosome typically carry out collectively in performs at Friendship
Village, an unbiased domicile facility exterior of Chicago the place they share a
one-bedroom house. Helen writes, directs, and stars inside the productions.
"I don't get nervous...I'm over all that," she shrugs nonchalantly.
She's 107. He's 86.
Still romance after eight years? "A little," Helen laughs, "when he's real nice
to me, which is most of the time. He's a good guy."
"To be absolutely frank, " notes Bill, "Helen doesn't seem 20 years older at
all. She's ne'er acted like an old lady. Last New Year's Eve, we stayed up until
midnight dancing. I think she's maintained her youth quite well!"
Indeed, clad call at pearls and a wise black-and-white checker board
costume, close right into a sofa in her lounge, the girl born in June, l896,
says: "I feel young inside...I'd say about 60." She does not even dye her still-
auburn hair. "My mother and father didn't go gray either," she says with pleasure.
" I guess I'm drinking from the Fountain of Youth."
"Sometimes," she provides, pissed by these round her of their 80's and 90's
who complain about their well being, "I feel like a stripling in an old folk's home!"
An avid reader, e book reviewer, and world traveler, with 12 journeys to Europe
below her belt, Helen in addition recites poetry, gardens, flower arranges, and lifts
weights day by day!
"Just one or two or pounds each arm," she demurs of her bicep curls.
Her secret of longevity? "Strawberry shortcake!" she smiles sweetly. "One
big piece, every day."
* * * * *
The Centenarian Jackpot
The exceptional Helen Boardman isn't alone. In the U.S. in the present day, there are
greater than 50,000 centenarians, the nation's fastest rising age group.
Although the present life expectancy for the common American is 76.9 years, by
the 12 months 2050 there will probably be an estimated a million common people domicile to 100.
That's substantial progress. In 1900, the common life span prolonged to age 47.
In 1800, it was a mere 30 years-old.
"The secret to reaching 100 nowadays is a combination of genetics,
lifestyle choices, mental acuity, and just plain luck!" notes Thomas T. Perls,
M.D., creator of Living to 100: Lessons in Living to Your Maximum Potential at
Any Age (Basic Books).
This watershed e book, written with Margery Hutter Silver, Ed.D. relies on
the continued New England Centenarian Study, begun in l994, which reveals that
previous age could be full of lucidity, mobility, and good well being.1
"Of the 1,500 centenarians in our study," says Perls, "a great majority
were in terrific shape the vast majority of their lives. Rather than accumulating
damage, they're actually shedding it."
How so? "Most people believe the older you get, the sicker you get, a very
pessimistic point of view. The centenarians we've met demonstrate the
opposite: the older they get, the fitter they've been. I call them centenarian
jackpots. From a medical standpoint, they've been able to markedly delay or
altogether escape diseases that we normally associate with aging--like heart
disease, cancer, stroke, or Alzheimer's.
"I have ne'er had somematter," notes Helen Boardman. No diseases. No
medications. "I take an St. Josep often," she admits, for hip pain.
"Freed from any main sickness," says Dr. Perls, "many centenarians like
Helen are preparation their very own meals, reconciliation checkbooks, driving their very own
automobiles, lifting weights, enjoying bridge, and poring over novels, and socialization with
home and pals.
Some are even competitive inside the Senior Olympics. Take, for instance,
one other exceptional centenarian, Marguerite Kuekelhan, born in August l897.
At age 105, she's the world document bearer (in her age class) for shotput! Last
July, on the Washington State Senior Games in Olympia, the 97-pound jock
power be seen moving a 6 1/2 pound bimetallic ball 6 toes into the air
Her secret? "I think it's the spirit inside you," she says crisply. Being 90 or
100 isn't any excuse for inactivity? "Heavens no! I try not to let age keep me down
at all.
This year I'm trying to break my record and make it better," says 4-foot 10
inch dynamo, who hopes to beat her superior apply throw at 7'6".
Is all this fun? "No," she groans. "The ball could be very heavy; I'd moderately bounce a
rubber ball." In fact, she recently played exhibition basketball game once against the
Seattle Suindividualics, warning the crowd: "Before I get began, I have ne'er
dribbled in about 100 years!"
That's for sure. A widow after 55 years of marriage, Marguerite lives alone
in a tidy flat in an independent living facility in Olympia, does her own
preparation and cleaning, always uses the stairs, and does her leg and articulation talocruralis
exercises each morning to maintain strength and balance for the shotput.
"And I notwithstandin drive," she says with pride, "although I'm giving that up once I
flip 106 this August. I simply really feel as if my reactions should not as fast as they
was. But I notwithstandin see very very nicely and I hear nicely too--though I necessary to
get a type of issues! [a hearing aid].
* * * * *
Genetic Booster Rockets
What on the earth is occurring right here? A lady acquiring married at 99 and
starring in performs? Another shotputting and dribble a basketball game? What
Fountain are they ingesting from?
"These centenarians," notes Dr. Perls, "are blessed what I call 'genetic
booster rockets', a built-in biological advantage which boosts them above the
norm. Anyone living to extreme eld has this genetic edge. They were
endowed with the 'Rolls Royces' of genes, what scientists call 'super genes,''
which play longevity insurance. These genes slow down aging and reduce the
risk of catching diseases. Centenarians in our study who lived to 105 ordinarily
died of pneumonia, or even a home accident--having ne'er developed any
chronic disease of aging. For sure, extreme eld runs in families."
Both Helen and Marguerite's dad and mom lived into their 80's, with shut
kinfolk of each top-hole 102.
Even with common genes, notwithstandin, it is potential to increase longevity extra
than ever earlier than, says Dr. Perls: "Not long ago, 85 was considered ancient.
Now it's comparatively easy to attain that age if you play your card game right. It all
boils down to four simple matters: not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet,
strength training, and avoiding excessive sun exposure and alcohol. Those are
the biggies."
One such instance is the nation's oldest man, 113-year-old Fred Hale, born
in New Sharon, Maine on December 1, l890, when Benjamin Harrison was
President.
Up till age 107, the retired railway clerk lived alone in a three-story
farmhouse in Maine, traipsing up and down stairs, shoveling snow off the roof,
chopping wooden, looking, fishing, mowing grass, gardening, and beekeeping--
producing his individualal honey and bee pollen, a long ardour.
He was notwithstandin driving his individualal automotive, making him the oldest American ever to
maintain a driver's license supported the Guinness Book of Records.
At 113, Hale is in a particular class unto himself, thought of a "super-
centenarian," defined as anybody domicile 110 or longer. There is one super-
centenarian per million inside the inhabitants, a complete of 260 inside the U.S. in the present day. "We
don't yet know what sets these people apart," says Dr. Perls. "They have no
major illnesses, and even their hearing and vision don't ordinarily deteriorate
until their late 90's."
Hale, each of whose dad and mom lived to 91, has, in recent times, beat
pneumonia and hip alternative and had cataract surgical procedure. "No diseases, no
nomatter," he exclaims, "except for some arthritis," which is cured, he believes,
with a teaspoon of bee pollen smitten every meal.
Although a number of falls finally compelled him into the Syracuse Home, a
retirement neighborhood in Syracuse, N.Y., he continued utilizing a walker till age
112, mountain climbing half a mile a day. His psychological acuity and energetic humorousness
stay undimmed.
How did he survive so lengthy? "Oh, I don't know, punishment, I guess!" he
jokes.
When reflective on it, he credit his longevity to a great weight loss plan, many relaxation (up
at 6 a.m., to mattress at eight p.m.) not by a blame sigh smoking, and retaining busy.
"The secret is work," he declares. "Don't sit around. Keep a good attitude. I
always beloved to work. When I went home, I got five hours sleep, then went
to work in my garden. I can still stoop down and pick up a hankie better
than most of them!"
* * * * *
Use It Or Lose It
Until Fred Hale was 111, he studied the Reader's Digest 'Word Power'
vocabulary train religiously, examination himself on new phrases weekly. His work
ethic and psychological curiosity level to a different key ingredient inside the longevity
marathon: exercise the mind.
"It's emphatically use it or lose it," says Dr. Perls. "The key to mental vigor is
continually learning somematter new, which builds fresh connections between
brain cells.
"For occasion, crossword puzzles (verbal capabilities), bridge (reminiscence
capabilities) and complex jigsaw puzzles (visual-spatial capabilities) all maintain the
thoughts sharp. Equally helpful is portray,writing poetry, making sculpture, or
poring over a brand new language. We've in addition discovered that music is a robust vaccine
towards dementedness and the onset of mind illness. I knew a 102-year-old who
was not by a blame sigh in her room on the breast feeding residence as a result of she was too busy enjoying
Mozart and Chopin recitals inside the music room! Doing any of this stuff
means that you can keep consideration and reminiscence, and the power to plan, manage,
and train self-care.
"I think the mind has a whole sle to do with the way you feel," says Helen
Boardman, till just late a voracious reader who spent a life writing e book
opinions for libraries and turning biographies into performs. Two years in the past, she
even accomplished her memoirs, titled: "105 and Counting," earlier than her originative and discerning
started to fail.
"Staying home and observation TV was ne'er my pleasure at all," says Helen,
who does tune into C-Span for the e book opinions. She believes the key of
longevity is: "Curiosity. I love to see the world and I love people. Everybody has
some good in them. If you're curious about matters, you'll search them out."
She marvels on the technological miracles unfold over the three centuries
which her life has spanned, but she recounts, with equal pleasure, her days
in a horse and buggy: "I drove to highschoo every day in my buggy. Maudie
was a retired beige bangtail and I beloved her! When we got our first
automobile, she was put bent on pasture. We accepted the car right away, sure--
but isn't a horse more fun?"
Fun counts in Helen's world. She even tried white-water rafting at 90: "The
ticket trafficker said that the only requirement was that you had to be at to the last-place degree eight
years old. I told myself: 'If an 8-year-old can do it, I can!" * * * * *
"Good Training" and The Centenarian Personality
Although many could surprise if weight loss plan has a whole sle to do with the exceptional
well being of centenarians, "it's impossible to know because dietary habits have
changed so dramatically over the years," says Dr. Perls. Most processed meals
didn't exist throughout the centenarians' youth; protective was completed by
pickling, smoking, and salting; and recent yield was much less out there. "Some ate
very little red meat, others ate it every day with bacon and eggs!--and both
types lived to 100." Nowadays, notwithstandin, there's little doubt, says Perls, that
"good training," -- train and correct diet--contribute powerily to domicile to
100.
"The secret of living a long life is lifestyle as much like anymatter," thinks
Helen Boardman. "I've always taken exercise, I don't go for liquor, and I ne'er
smoked.
"I'm not keen on purple meat in any respect," she continues. "I want greens, yield,
hen and fish. And when I'm not feeling too nicely, I've oatmeal. Growing
up on the home farm, we all the time had it inside the morning, and I notwithstandin adore it!"
Chocolate cake? "Unacceptable nonetheless scrumptious!" she laughs.
Fred Hale, at 113, also eats moderately and drinks no coffee or tea. His
diet? "I eat off my fork simply the identical as everyone else!" he teases.
"I all the time eat oatmeal with honey for breakfast," he explains. "Lunch is
meat and potatoes. And at evening, I eat very light--cottage cheese, orchard apple tree sauce
and toast. That's it."
Athletic competition Marguerite eats "very mild, which is less complex on the
abdomen," mainly vegetables and yields: "And I do not use any milk
merchandise. I like soy milk as an alternative. It appears to be simpler to digest." No desserts,
she says. Such virtue! "Well, look what the result's!"
Beyond genetics, lifestyle, and mental acuity, there is another profound, yet
intangible, factor that influences anyone's power to live to 100. Dr. Perls refers
to it as the 'centenarian individualality'--a stress-reducing mind-set that combines
positive thinking with a fighting spirit.
"Inevitably, most centenarians are upbeat, humorous,and gregarious," he
observes: "It's very uncommon I meet a curmudgeon centenarian! They're not
complainers. In our character examination, they rating very low in 'neuroticism,' the
expression of unfavorable feelings like worry, anxiousness, guilt, anger, or despair.
They're constructive and optimistic of their perspective and bounce once again simply from
life's crises as a result of they do not interiorise ideas or feelings that trigger
stress."
"I consider in constructive pondering," booms the athletic Marguerite, a innovation
and long member of Unity Church in Olympia. "Mental perspective," says
Marguerite, who meditates daily to take herself into "a quiet place" is
exceedingly important. "I used to be all the time attempting all through my life to be constructive,
nonetheless I did not get to the height till now....it was a matter of development."
Her close friend and shotput promoter, John Vlastelia, the president of the
Washington State Senior Games, adds this: "When Marguerite reads inside the
newspaper that 'Flu season fully bloom,' she all the time says 'I'm not going to
get sick,' and actually wills herself to good well being."
"We know," says Dr. Perls, "that stress--internalizing despair, anger,
fear, fear--is an age accelerator. We've discovered that centenarians are in a position to
shake stress off their backs like a duck shakes off water. Many have
skilled nice losings and hardships of their lives, but they'd been in a position to
get better shortly and transfer on."
* * * * *
A Realistic View of Death
Perhaps some of these centenarians will reach even the grand eld
attaind by Mme.
Jeanne Calment, the oldest living individual in recorded history, who died in l997,
at age 122.
"The possibilities of domicile to 122," says Dr. Perls, "is 1 in 6 billion. Although I
assume the human life span power be finally swollen into the 130's, for
most of us, reaching ages 100-105 is an cheap measure to hope for."
Centenarians like Helen, Marguerite, and Fred, thriving in the present as
they do, think very little about their limited futures.
"Death is one matter that's coming," says Marguerite matter-of-factly,
priming for competition this July at the shotput: "I settle for it as a part of my
expertise in life, nonetheless I do not give it some thought in any respect."
As for Fred Hale, every time his physical healer says 'see you tomorrow,'
the 113-year-old answers: "Perhaps! I'm not making long-term plans!"
His attitude toward death? "What took you so lengthy!" he quips merrily.
Then, on a serious note, he adds: "Can't do somematter about it. Why be afraid?"
This attitude is typical, says Dr. Perls: "I have ne'er met any centenarian who
feared loss of life. If somematter, they're very grateful for on daily basis they've they ordinarily
simply hope for extra."
As for Helen, "generally," she smiles, "I get so sleepy. Anytime I sit down, I
simply shut my eyes. My girl was speaking about loss of life the opposite day and declared
she will't wait to search out out what occurs. Well, I really feel just about the identical approach.
I've no worry of loss of life. It's simply one other part once we're completed with our
work. I'm content material to cease anytime now."
But she brightens at the thought of her junior husband, Bill:
"He's my incentive!" she says merrily. "My youngsters are all
unbiased...they do not want me. Bill does. He wants soul to boss him! I
look ahead to what's but to return."
All in all, is being 107 a blessing or burden?
"Both," she answers calmly. "It's a burden as a result of I used to be a voracious reader
till I grew to become much blind. So I've misplaced the factor that I beloved probably the most,
although I can hear to books on tape. But it is a blessing attributable the issues I
notwithstandin can do. Here's my poem: "My hearing and vision--neither one are very
good; and I sometimes stumble when I walk; but when you ask me any
question about my life, I sure am glad I still can talk!"
"So I'm an OPTIMIST," she declares in parting, "grateful for everymatter. Every
day. At dinner, every bite is exciting because I ne'er know what I'm going to
eat. The cup is always full. I have ne'er been in want. Everymatter is good.
Nomatter bad.
"After poring over my memoirs," she smiles, "my nephew requested me if there
was somematter dangerous in my life, and I declared: 'If there was, I forgot it!"
* * * * *
Side-Bar RX
In a culture obsessed by youth, "common people have gotten to understand," says Dr. Perls,
"that your 70's and 80's could be probably the most implausible time of your life. I see
common people go after second or third careers, or volunteer actions, improve
relationships with their homes, whereas their expertise and cognition is at their
peaks. Life is their oyster. And it notwithstandin could be at 100!"
Here are a number of well being secrets and techniques for anybody on Wall Street to 100, a prescription
from Dr. Perls, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston School of Medicine, and
geriatrician at Boston Medical Center.
Age accelerators to keep away from: smoking, star publicity, extreme alcohol , high-
fats weight loss plan, ionising radiation, poisonous chemical compounds, extreme risk-taking, and psychological
stress. Make health, laughter, and gratifying recreation a precedence in your life!
Age de-accelerators: Exercise (weight coaching, aerobics, meditation, yoga); a
weight loss plan of yields, greens, grains, legumes, with a stripped of meats and
sweets, processed meals, and animal fats or butter.
Supplements: To forestall arteriosclerosis, coronary heart illness, stroke, Alzheimer's
Parkinson's, originative and discerning issues, cancers, and creaky arthritis, I suggest
taking:
*Vitamin E [400-800 IU per day] to forestall and delay psychological feature
deterioration;
*Vitamin B advanced (with folate)
*Calcium with Vitamin D (to lower the danger of osteoporosis)
*Omega Fatty Acids #three and #6 (derived from flax seed oil or fish oil,
availablein capsules, 1,000 mg day by day]
*Selenium [100-200 mcg per day].
*Baby St. Josep (81 mg) every day which reduces the danger of coronary heart assault by 50%.
*Green tea--noted by the Chinese custom for 3000 years as a well being
booster.
Author's notice: Since these interviews had been carried out, Fred Hale, documented
because the world's oldest man, died at age 113 on November 20, 2004. He was
bodily lively and mentally alert proper up till the tip says his son, an
octegenarian.
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