Could sushi & eight hours sleep be the secret to a long life?

The world’s oldest man and woman share their secrets – and sushi and sleep top the list.

sushi
Sushi a day keeps you young? Maybe.

The world’s oldest person, 116-year-old Misao Okawa, last week revealed her secrets for a long and healthy life: sushi and sleeping eight hours a night. Ms Okawa is also convinced that oily fish such as mackerel kept her out of a nursing home until she was ninety-eight.

In August last year, Bolivian farmer Carmelo Flores Laura claimed to be 123 years old. This was impossible to verify because Bolivia only started issuing official birth certificates in 1940, but his baptism certificate does date from 1890.

At 123 years of age, Mr Laura credits his longevity to a diet of quinoa, mushrooms and coca. He also says that he goes for long walks every day. He won’t eat rice or noodles, but grows his own potatoes, beans and oca (an Andean tuber).

At 123 years of age, Mr Laure credits his longevity to a diet of quinoa, mushrooms and cocao

Mr Laura drinks only the water that comes from the snow-capped peak of one of Bolivia’s highest mountains. He also says that he has never been seriously ill in his life, although he does have no teeth and his hearing is ‘not what it used to be’.

Using statistics gathered from the oldest people alive, the consensus is that eating well, drinking well, sleeping well and working hard outdoors will give you a longer life. Stressing less will also help; if you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it.

By BB Intern Yael Brender

Do you have an anti-aging health secret to share?

Yael Brender

I am a freelance writer, dreamer and booklover. I write, rewrite, bang head against keyboard. Edit, re-edit, bang head against keyboard. I write for Bondi Beauty, Eat Drink Play, Warhol's Children and ZOS Magazine. Coffee is just as important as breathing, plus it makes me type faster! We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.

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