Lessons From Earth's Elders

(WebMD)  At age 115, Bettie Wilson is a walking miracle, a study in sturdiness. Scientists have long been fascinated by people like her, the oldest of the old. What are their secrets? How do some manage to avoid the diseases that cut short most lives?

Today, about 450 people in the world are past 110, according to The Gerontology Project, an Atlanta-based independent research group that has tracked and documented the ages of these supercentenarians. Many more have hit the full-century mark: about 50,000 people in the U.S. alone and 100,000 worldwide, according to the Boston-based New England Centenarian Study.

Photojournalist Jerry Friedman has searched out 50 of the oldest of the old, and shares his photographs — as well as their stories — in his book, "Earth's Elders: The Wisdom of the World's Oldest People." He found many in the U.S. — in the Upper Midwest, the Northeast, the Deep South — and also in India, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Mongolia.

From these encounters, Friedman uncovered common threads — personal traits, habits, and attitudes that may offer secrets to longevity. What he found, scientists tell WebMD, matches what the research studies are showing. There is a pattern to longevity that we can control, to some extent. Quite simply, it means taking better care of ourselves — plus staying active, curious, and confident that things will work out.


The Common Threads

Genetics clearly were critical to their long lives, Friedman reports. "It might skip a generation, but clearly the genetic component was in each of them." Each had siblings, parents, or grandparents who had lived a century, or nearly so.

He found optimism, humor, faith, and resiliency in each, despite the harshness of their lives — disease, prejudice, wars, famine, and blizzards. Each was born to rural life where hard physical work was the constant. It provided a healthy diet — fresh vegetables, fish, soy, and grains, although none was ever a big eater, Friedman notes.

Rural life also gave them a strong family spirit, he tells WebMD. "For the most part, they talked in glowing terms about their childhoods. Their lives back then were really very hard. But they saw it as very positive. That family spirit was part of them. While things may have been hard, it gave them strength, a will to survive."

Family and friends remained an essential part of their lives, he found. Even in old age, they had a social network that kept isolation, loneliness, and depression at bay.


What Science Reveals About Aging

"The best data shows that only about one-third of longevity is due to genes," says Carl Eisdorfer, MD, director of the University of Miami Center on Aging. "The most important factors are behavioral — eating too much, eating the wrong foods, alcohol and drugs, how you view stress, how you deal with it — whether you're connected to family, if you have an extended family."

A growing body of evidence is backing up those statements.


The Role Of Genes

Genetics: At least 50 percent of centenarians have parents, siblings, and/or grandparents who lived to a ripe old age. In fact, scientists are getting closer to discovering specific genes that govern this longevity, says Robert Butler, MD, director of the International Longevity Center.

"The intent is not to genetically produce people who live 100 years or longer," he tells WebMD. "The research is really about better understanding the genetic component of longevity — then we can learn how that translates into healthier behavior ... like changing your dietary habits and getting colonoscopies if you know you're genetically predisposed to colon cancer."

Nutrition: Few centenarians have ever been obese. Studies have shown that restricting one's food intake indeed can slow the aging process. It seems to reduce oxidation of cells and increases a cell's resistance to stress, which may protect against various diseases like heart disease and cancer. "This has been found in recent studies of rodents and in a whole range of animal species including nonhuman primates and monkeys," Butler explains. "It may be applicable to humans as well."

Also, a healthy diet helps combat this cell damage — which is why eating antioxidant-rich foods like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and nuts is advised. There's yet another benefit of restricting our food intake — it controls our weight, which also adds years to our lives.

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