Monterey, CA Centenarian Tells Her Story Of Living To Be 118

At Family inHome Caregiving, the majority of our clients are in their 90's and we have had many over the years that have been well over 100.  Many people are chasing the fountain of youth and are seeking the keys to longevity.  When asking centenarians what has helped them live so long, they often give some unexpected answers.  One woman, Emma Morano, who is the fifth oldest person in the world at 115 and 3 months, is no different.  She told The New York Times that she believes that eating three raw eggs per day since she was 16 (a doctor told her to do so in order to counter her anemia) was one of the reasons that she lived so long.  Most cardiologists would be shocked by someone eating over 100,000 eggs over their lifetime and living to be 118.  She also cited quickly ending an unhappy marriage and remaining single since 1938.  "I didn't want to be dominated by anyone," she said.  She has some fascinating stories to tell. She's the oldest person in Europe and while living in Italy she has watched the country evolve from a monarchy to a republic which has seen 70 governments in seven decades, including two decades of fascism.  No one knows for sure what allows some people to live much longer than others but diet and genes clearly pay a role.  “We do know that the ability to make it to 110 is heritable, so you have a large increase in chance if you have several people in your family to live to a late age,” Dr. Valter Longo, a gerontologist, told The Times.  One of Emma's sister died just short of 100 years old while another lived to be 102.