as the world reels from the news that queen elizabeth has died, after suffering from what buckingham palace called “episodic mobility problems” since the end of last year, condolences have begun to flood social media.
queen elizabeth ii, was 96, and the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state,
according to reuters
, and came to the throne following the death of her father king george vi on feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
living to almost 100 is not easy. global
average life expectancy
was 72.6 years in 2019, so to make it almost 30 years past that number is impressive, and there are many lessons to learn from those who do.
prince philip came close — the queen’s husband died april 9, just 62 days short of the milestone. always in
good shape
, he was known for being strict with his diet, paid attention to his weight and exercised regularly. and apparently, his
clothing size hadn’t changed
as years passed. the queen herself seemed to be in
perfect health
, until the last year or so when rumours about her failing health began to swirl around headlines.
so, what’s the secret? how do people manage to outlive the average mortal by a three decades?
is there a diet for a long life?
this is the easy one. maintaining a diet that is devoid of processed, greasy and sugary food is definitely a
common trait
among centenarians. in 2005, national geographic author and explorer
dan buettner
wrote about the people who live in the ‘blue zones’ and how their diets and lifestyles contribute to a higher number of people living longer than average. the people of sardinia (italy), okinawa (japan), nicoya (costa rica), icaria (greece) and among the seventh-day adventists in loma linda, california all consume plant and legume-heavy diets and stay away from processed foods.