berner

This post might as well be in training and nutrition but I think it will be appreciated more here. Jeanne Calment, World's Elder, Dies at 122 - The New York Times Madame Calment rode a bike up to about her 100th year or so. In the last few days, a report on research puts a large amount of blame on carbs for bad health and fats are viewed with a much kinder eye. The French are not shy about fats in the diet and they are generally long lived. It seems diet as well as lifestyle have far reaching consequences.

Rollfast

Then again, the last oldest human to die was the last known survivor of the Holocaust and centenarians do a lot of the things the rest of us do - smoke, drink and eat stuff they say is bad or good for you depending on who needs to pay their bills at the time.


The final arbiter is fate.

Rick@OCRR

Fun article, thanks for sharing even though they don't give much detail about her cycling. Sounds like she was quite a character in all aspects of life.

All good for her!

Rick / OCRR

mapeiboy1

Long life : for average Joe/Jane is the luck of the draw . Whereas the royals/very rich all over the world live a long life all because they don't have stress in their daily life .

peterws

They do. The difference is, they thrive on it . . . . .

jeromeoneil

I dropped 50lbs by doing nothing other than regulating my carb intake, so I can vouch for that aspect of it's health benefits. I also never felt like I was denying myself good eating while I did it. I can eat meat, fish and green vegetables all day long and be completely happy. I'm not crashing on the carbs any more (whole grain breads, etc..) but I really don't eat the sugars that I used to. I'm due to have my cholesterol check soon (life insurance inspection coming up) and I'm curious to see what the increased fat intake means there.

I've still got some weight to lose, but I'm going to do that via increased physical activity, and keep drinking beer.

berner

Madame Calment seems to have consumed quite a bit of chocolate. I don't know how important this may have been to her longevity but I just stocked up chocolate just to be on the safe side. She also was an advocate of the "don't worry, be happy' school. In the past we have been warned about the cholesterol in chocolate but I've decided not to worry about it.

OldTryGuy

Let's not forget about the best medical care and finest foods that they have.

John E

In moderation, really dark chocolate (85-90% cacao, the stuff my wife and I eat at home) is good for you.

jeromeoneil

Yup. Rich in anti-oxidants. It's the sugar we add to "milk chocolate" that makes it delicious death candy.

Machoman121

longevity studies have always pointed out war time survivors lived the longest - it seems the less food you eat the the longer you live. I think maybe food clogs up our arteries......First world problem - it can be hard to eat just to live.....the rich don't necessarily live longer.....they sometimes eat too well.....

chelvel

They just had a better health, that's why they had survived.

atitagain

war survivors definitely live the longest compared to the casualties . I have been whole food plant based vegan for 2 years . Feeling too good to even consider going back to a SAD diet . I'll let you know about the longevity issue when I'm done . Peace .

FBinNY 

Speaking of long life, the article the OP referenced is 20 years old.

chelvel

It killed her.

bargeon

There was a king reigned in the East:
There, when kings will sit to feast,
They get their fill before they think
With poisoned meat and poisoned drink.
He gathered all that springs to birth
From the many-venomed earth;
First a little, thence to more,
He sampled all her killing store;
And easy, smiling, seasoned sound,
Sate the king when healths went round.
They put arsenic in his meat
And stared aghast to watch him eat;
They poured strychnine in his cup
And shook to see him drink it up:
They shook, they stared as white's their shirt:
Them it was their poison hurt.

—I tell the tale that I heard told.
Mithridates, he died old.

https://www.shmoop.com/terence-this-...poem-text.html

europa

What's this "moderation" of which you speak?

As the wise man said, everything in moderation, including moderation

My mum's in the 'small square of dark chocolate a day camp'... but us kids know how much she loves chocolate so maybe... Mind you, she's 87 so I'm not going to begrudge her any luxury she wants.

Keith777

IMHO A lot of the a average Joes/ Janes have a boat load of stress. Unfortuealy they are more likely to consume mostly the garbage SAD diet that is thrown at them via the media. in many cases that's compounded by lack of time( sometimes 2-3 jobs) for decent exercise. BTW not knocking wealthy people at all. The world typically is better off for all when they factor in to the population. Just frustrated by how the crappiest food sells the most.
I've had good success ( lost 57 lbs) cutting out junk and carbs. Trying to take it to the next level now by cutting back on a lot of meats. We are most definitely on a tight budget but your $ goes a long way on fresh produce.
If I could market it I'd love to sell a diet called The No Ad Diet lol! It's simple. If it's advertised in the media DONT eat it lol!

berner

Speaking of stress, I've recently read a book by two micro biologists which talk about telomeres and stress. It was confirmed in a number of studies that stress itself will cause telomeres at the cell level to shorten and shorter telomeres leads to poorer health and shorter lives. This explains the cause of post traumatic stress syndrome in soldiers or even in long term caretakers for a family member. It was noted in the article that Madame Calment had a relaxed attitude toward life and it's stresses. So did my grandmother and she lived to 102.

On Chocolate, I've been enjoying my recently aquired stash and I'm feeling better already.

CliffordK

I'm not sure about Jeanne Calment. But, Robert Marchand sounds like an interesting fellow, and at 105, he is still doing time trials

Is it all about the bike?

I suppose there have been more than a few cyclists that haven't reached 100.

berner

What is it about those French? They eat with rich sauces, smoke, and live forever. That Monseur Marchaud led a full life and is still at it.

VintageRide

Really, when you get right down to it genetics and outlook are the foundation - all kinds of extremes out there from smokers, eating meat, exercise fanatics, well, you name it but in today's world there is very definitely an increase in cancers due to a more toxic environment. The old saying that tells us "everything in moderation" is probably just about the best advice.


Plenty of health conscious people who stayed fit have died on the early side or succumbed to cancer, conversely I have come across older individuals in their 80s and even '90s who smoked although granted not smoking is the better option - makes you wonder how much better off they would be if they never smoked!


There is such a thing as overworking your body - I look at all of these guys bulking up and trying to look like they are all muscle these days and whatever they take to get there is probably not going to do their long term health any favors.