Living to be Really, Really Old

Since the beginning of time (almost), humans have tried to discover the “fountain of youth” and/ or reverse the aging process. For whatever reason we just don’t want to get old. In the 1997 Farmers’ Almanac, we interviewed four seniors all over the 100 mark. We told some great stories. Fred Hale, for example was 105 at the time.  A year earlier he had to  surrender his driver’s license because he failed the eyesight test. Fred was the oldest driver on record. Eventually, Fred moved in with his son (age 84) and lived to be the oldest person in the world passing 4 days shy of his 114th birthday.

Recently, I read a study of what are being called “supercentenarians” or individuals 110 years or older. Edna Parker at 115 is the oldest known person alive.  Not many years ago, a woman in France lived to be 122. The bottom line is that while it is good and important to eat healthy foods, exercise, limit stress and more, your genetics is what may determine your eventual age. We still want to get the most out of life by being healthy, but if your mom and dad lived to be very old, you have a darn good chance of the same fate. Scientists are studying genetic from healthy individuals  110+. They are looking for a mix of genetics that either allow a person to avoid illnesses or slows down the aging process.

My dentist (not my physician) and I got into a conversation, or as much  I could with his hand in my mouth, about how people are going to live to be 150 going forward. There will be pills for everything and replacement parts so you will not only live 1 1/2 centuries, but your quality of life would be just dandy. Maybe not in my lifetime, but that is the theory.

For my part my Dad first broached the subject of being the Farmers’ Almanac editor when I was seven years old. After all,  no one who held the job passed away before the age of 86. Ray Geiger only lasted to 83 but at that time it sounded like a ripe old age. Well, it isn’t 110 or 150, but if I get to 86, I will have felt that I did my job.

If you or a relative is 100+, I’d love to hear about their “secret” of life. Contact me at pgeiger@farmersalmanac.com.