By Judd Matsunaga, Esq.
Not too long ago, seeing a person 100 years of age was a rare thing. Now, they’re becoming more commonplace. There are an estimated 90,000 centenarians living in the U.S. It’s still a small percentage of the population, but it’s a number that’s expected to keep increasing. By 2060, there could be about 600,000 people who are 100 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Is there a secret recipe for a longer life? What’s it take to get there? That’s a question geriatrician Thomas Perls, M.D., has been investigating for decades with the New England Centenarian Study.
As expected, there’s no miracle drug or radical regimen that will guarantee centenarian status. Scientists say environment and lifestyle both play a role, as do genetics — especially for those who live past 100. (Source: www.aarp.org, “This Is What 100 Looks Like,” Nov. 15, 2023)
“Look at your family history,” Perls says. If people are living into their 90s and beyond, “I think that can be very, very good news for you.” It’s all the more reason to “set your sights high and do the right things to help facilitate and enable that tremendous gift that you’ve been given,” Perls adds. “This means exercise, eat right, don’t smoke, socialize with others and make sure you’re getting enough sleep — that’s what the research says, at least.”
The Okinawa Centenarian Study (OCS), which began in 1975, is the longest-running study of centenarians in the world. Over the last 50 years it has analyzed the diets, exercise habits, genetics, spiritual practices and behavior patterns of more than 3,000 people. The study has found that, in Okinawa, roughly one-third of centenarians are functionally independent and have had high levels of physical activity throughout their lifetime.
Much of the longevity of Okinawa centenarians is attributed to the Okinawan diet, which is typically low-calorie, comprising vegetables and fruits with reduced consumption of meat, refined grains, saturated fat, sugar, salt and full-fat dairy products. The composition of this diet is similar to diets that have been studied in the West and are associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases (www.technologynetworks.com, “Geonomics Research,” Jan. 18, 2024)
A 2023 study of Japanese centenarians found a unique combination of bacteria and viruses in their gut, suggesting the gut microbiome constitution could contribute to longevity. “High microbial diversity is usually associated with a healthy gut microbiome, and we expect people with a healthy microbiome to be better protected against aging-related disease,” said Dr. Joachim Johansen, a postdoctoral researcher at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research.
That’s the scientific advice. What about the practical advice from centenarians who have actually experienced it? We can learn a lot from people who have lived 100 years. The remainder of this article is advice from centenarians to reflect on what it takes to live a healthy and happy life, and to share the advice they would have given to their younger selves from a Washington Post article. Here’s what they said: (Source: www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/02/02/100-year-old-advice-life-centenarians/)
- Leonard Samuel ‘Sam’ Baker, 101, Scottsdale, Ariz. Advice — Choose the right life partner.
Baker met his wife Janet in Sacramento in 1954. Janet was “a perfect soulmate,” he said. She was calming and always gave good advice. Janet died of a heart valve condition at 88. “I was lost for a while” after that, Baker said. “I kept asking myself for a long time, ‘Did I ever tell her enough times how much I loved her?’” It took him years to process his grief. “You have had these 50-some … years of togetherness, closeness. suddenly, it’s taken away from you,” he said.
But he realized he was “still whole, and God still had plans for me.” New hobbies and pursuits keep his mind engaged. And, he said, it’s good to have goals. He wants to live to 105 because he wants “to try to solve the water problem in Arizona, and it will take until 105 to do it.” His life feels “full,” though there is always “something missing,” he said. “Janet isn’t here to enjoy it with me.” - Shitsui Hakoishi, 107, Nakagawa, Japan. Advice — Do what you love.
At 107, Hakoishi is determined to claim a Guinness World Record. “The title for oldest barber in the world is currently 108 years old, so I need to work until I’m 109,” she said. The key to a long life, Hakoishi said, is a career that fills you with joy. “My job is my passion,” she said. “Every day is a blessing.”
She credits her ongoing health to tea that she makes out of dried Japanese ginger, dayflowers and thistle. She drinks three cups with every meal. In 2021, Hakoishi carried the torch for 1.3 miles as part of the relay for the flame-lighting ceremony at the Tokyo Olympic Games, an accomplishment that fills her with pride. “I have always told my children: Don’t get angry, don’t hate, don’t envy,” she said. “I have always lived by these words.” - Queenie Evelyn “Robbie” Hall, 100, Stowmarket, Suffolk, Britain. Advice — Don’t neglect your education.
When Hall thinks back on her 100 years on Earth, she has one main regret. “I wish I had a decent education … The only thing I wanted was pocket money,” she recalled. Hall would tell her younger self: “Get yourself a decent education. And then you can’t go wrong.”
Today, Hall stresses to everyone, but particularly women and girls, the importance of pursuing an education. For her, it’s not just about the crucial skills you learn, but the ease with which educated people can move through society, even when they come from humble upbringings. Hall has passed up other opportunities in her life because “always, at the back of things, I feel my lack of education,” she said. “Study well, study hard.” - Colin Bell, 102, Sidcup, Greater London. Advice — Learn tolerance.
Bell has learned the importance of patience and a sense of humor in his 102 years. But these virtues didn’t come as easily in his 20s when he and his wife, Kathlyn, had children. “I didn’t understand the importance of kindness and tolerance at that age,” said Bell, who lives in southeast London. “I like to think that I’ve developed it since.” He now wishes he could tell that younger self to “be kind” and “more tolerant,” particularly of his two children.
“By the time I became a grandfather … I had learned tolerance, I had learned kindness,” he said. “My lovely Kath was my tutor because she was an incredibly kind and tolerant woman. … I think over the years it rubbed off on me.” - Madeline Paldo, 101, River Grove, Ill. Advice — Cherish your friendships.
When Paldo and her husband were raising their two sons, they would meet once a month with six other couples who lived around Chicago. They called the group “Club 14.” The couples would visit each other’s houses to chat; some would play pinochle, a card game. “You could just stop in and visit,” Paldo said. “Everybody had their doors open. They had the pot of coffee on all the time. You could stop by anybody. But today you can’t do that.”
At age 101, Paldo finds it remarkable that she still has friends. They come over for lunch, including a friend of 60 years. Paldo’s husband died in 1991. Her advice: “Enjoy your friends while you have them. I’ve lost a few through the years but the ones I’ve got, I cherish.” - Pearl Taylor, 103, Dayton, Ohio. Advice — Think positive.
Taylor was 39 when her first husband left her. She recalls sitting on her bed, “very upset and depressed,” when she found a forgotten gift from a friend: “The Game of Life and How to Play It,” a guide to spiritual philosophy and positive thinking by Florence Scovel Shinn. The philosophy in the book — which, at 103, she still reads from every day — taught her “Everything in our life, our whole life — we create it” and to believe in the importance of self-worth, she said.
“The mind is very, very powerful,” Taylor says in a video that’s been viewed more than 900,000 times. “Whatever thought you think, good or bad, it’s coming from your mind. And, so, it materializes.” - María Ambrocia Ruiz Gutiérrez, 101, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Advice — Learn from your elders.
Gutiérrez grew up on her family’s farm in Santa Cruz, in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province, where her parents — and eight siblings — guided her. “My viejitos were very good,” Ruiz said, referring to her parents. Her advice: Learn by watching and listening to elders and others who love and support you.
Ruiz remembers her mother as caring and hard-working, making sure the children had nice clothes, which she would sew, and notebooks for school. “When we went out, she would tell us, ‘May God be with you, my little children. Behave well, don’t hurt anyone so that they don’t bother you,’” Ruiz said. - Mildred “Milly” Skjordahl, 110, Tucson, Ariz. Advice — Believe in your own potential.
When Skjordahl was young, her father told her that she could do anything he could — as long as she worked hard. But she lacked confidence and passed up opportunities because she didn’t think she was “good enough.” Now 110, Skjordahl wishes she could tell her younger self to believe in herself. “I didn’t have self-confidence, but I should have had it,” she said. “In retrospect, I could have done almost anything.”
Growing up poor also made her feel like she wasn’t meant for greater things. Now in an independent living community in Tucson, she keeps up with the news, visits friends and paints. Skjordahl’s advice to others: “Don’t be a slacker.” - Matilda “Mattie” Clune, 102, Oneonta, N.Y. Advice — Be kind.
Clune said no matter how hectic life gets, it’s important to help people and show up for your loved ones. Her advice: “Live your life in a kind way. If you can, help somebody without making a big to-do about it. Kindness always comes back to help you.” When she was in her late 70s, she volunteered at the thrift store of a hospice. Then, when her husband was diagnosed with bone cancer, they needed the hospice’s support. He died in 2001, but she continued to volunteer there for 15 years. “It was a very rewarding experience for me,” she said.
Recently, Clune said, a friend said she brings “sunshine” wherever she goes. “I guess that sunshine helps brighten my day, too,” she said. - Treasure Zimmerman, 103, Coronado, Calif. Advice — Keep moving.
Zimmerman calls herself “a little” independent. That independence has empowered her to jump into all sorts of adventures. For her 95th birthday, she drove by herself in her red Jaguar convertible from California to Kansas City. Staying on the move has helped her live a long life, she said.
A former physical education teacher, Zimmerman still walks every day with her dog Gigi, a 12-year-old Havanese. Her advice: “Even when you’re not feeling good, keep walking, keep moving.”
In conclusion, are you 100 years old? Or know someone who is? If so, what an accomplishment! Wouldn’t it be nice to share your secret to living to 100? Imagine, Japanese Americans giving secrets to a long life in The Rafu Shimpo. It can happen.
Please send to me, care of The Rafu Shimpo, the following and I’ll write an article on Japanese Americans’ “Secrets to a Long Life”: 1) What is the secret to living to be 100? 2) What advice would you give your younger self? 3) Your name; 4) Date of birth; 5) City of residence. 6) Send photo (optional)
Judd Matsunaga, Esq., is the founding partner of the Law Offices of Matsunaga & Associates, specializing in estate/Medi-Cal planning, probate, personal injury and real estate law. With offices in Torrance, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena and Fountain Valley, he can be reached at (800) 411-0546. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.