Latest news with #supercentenarian
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
117-year-old reveals eating three yoghurts a day could be the secret to a long life
The key to a long life is eating plenty of yoghurt, according to a woman who lived until the age of 117. Maria Branyas Morera was the oldest living person on earth and since she died in August 2024, she has been the focus of scientific interest. Researchers from Barcelona, Spain, have studied her gut microbiome and published a paper on their findings. The results have not yet been peer-reviewed on the supercentenarian - someone who lives longer than 110 years - but they still provide an insight into how dietary choices could help extend your lifespan. The study suggested Ms Morera had an exceptionally healthy gut and had cells that functioned as if they were 17 years younger than her age. Researchers say her microbiome was 'anti-inflammatory' and contained high levels of bifidobacteria – a genus of gastrointestinal bacteria, also known as gut microbiota, that resides in our digestive tract. Before she died, Ms Morera told an interviewer that the secret to her longevity was avoiding smoking and alcohol, going on daily walks, following a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and eating three yoghurts a day. She also put her long life down to being surrounded by friends and family and avoiding 'toxic people'. It is thought Ms Morera's varied diet of fruit and veg and plenty of yoghurt boosted her gut health and perhaps even extended her lifespan. Inside your gastrointestinal tract, there are trillions of bacteria and microbes, which all contribute to the gut microbiome. This is instrumental in keeping your immune system functioning. Those with a greater variety of microbes in the gut have lower inflammation, which is known to decrease the risk of experiencing chronic conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes - that's why experts believe good gut health boosts longevity. However, yoghurt is particularly good at boosting gut health because it is a fermented food – it's made by heating milk, adding bacteria and incubating it. This process produces probiotics and when consumed, the bacteria can support the gut by outcompeting harmful microbes. 'Natural yoghurt contains live bacterial cultures that help maintain a balanced gut microbiome, which plays a role in everything from digestion to immunity, mood, and inflammation,' Rob Hobson, nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Life, told The Independent. 'Regularly eating fermented dairy like yoghurt has also been linked with lower levels of inflammation and a reduced risk of metabolic disease, certain cancers, and age-related decline.' But he stressed that yoghurt isn't a 'silver bullet'. Instead, it is the overall quality of her diet and lifestyle that contributed to her old age and gut health. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is one of the best things you can do for your gut, he explained. Mr Hobson said: 'They're packed with fibre and polyphenols which are plant compounds that feed beneficial gut bacteria and help them flourish. 'This boosts microbial diversity, which is a strong marker of good gut health. In turn, your microbes produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which help lower inflammation and keep the gut lining healthy,' he added. In addition, a daily walk also likely helped improve her gut health. That's because 'regular movement encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, especially those that produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. These are known to reduce inflammation and support the gut lining,' according to Mr Hobson.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Eating three yoghurts a day could be the secret to a long life, said 117-year-old
The key to a long life is eating plenty of yoghurt, according to a woman who lived until the age of 117. Maria Branyas Morera was the oldest living person on earth and since she died in August 2024, she has been the focus of scientific interest. Researchers from Barcelona, Spain, have studied her gut microbiome and published a paper on their findings. The results have not yet been peer-reviewed on the supercentenarian - someone who lives longer than 110 years - but they still provide an insight into how dietary choices could help extend your lifespan. The study suggested Ms Morera had an exceptionally healthy gut and had cells that functioned as if they were 17 years younger than her age. Researchers say her microbiome was 'anti-inflammatory' and contained high levels of bifidobacteria – a genus of gastrointestinal bacteria, also known as gut microbiota, that resides in our digestive tract. Before she died, Ms Morera told an interviewer that the secret to her longevity was avoiding smoking and alcohol, going on daily walks, following a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and eating three yoghurts a day. She also put her long life down to being surrounded by friends and family and avoiding 'toxic people'. It is thought Ms Morera's varied diet of fruit and veg and plenty of yoghurt boosted her gut health and perhaps even extended her lifespan. Inside your gastrointestinal tract, there are trillions of bacteria and microbes, which all contribute to the gut microbiome. This is instrumental in keeping your immune system functioning. Those with a greater variety of microbes in the gut have lower inflammation, which is known to decrease the risk of experiencing chronic conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes - that's why experts believe good gut health boosts longevity. However, yoghurt is particularly good at boosting gut health because it is a fermented food – it's made by heating milk, adding bacteria and incubating it. This process produces probiotics and when consumed, the bacteria can support the gut by outcompeting harmful microbes. 'Natural yoghurt contains live bacterial cultures that help maintain a balanced gut microbiome, which plays a role in everything from digestion to immunity, mood, and inflammation,' Rob Hobson, nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Life, told The Independent. 'Regularly eating fermented dairy like yoghurt has also been linked with lower levels of inflammation and a reduced risk of metabolic disease, certain cancers, and age-related decline.' But he stressed that yoghurt isn't a 'silver bullet'. Instead, it is the overall quality of her diet and lifestyle that contributed to her old age and gut health. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is one of the best things you can do for your gut, he explained. Mr Hobson said: 'They're packed with fibre and polyphenols which are plant compounds that feed beneficial gut bacteria and help them flourish. 'This boosts microbial diversity, which is a strong marker of good gut health. In turn, your microbes produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which help lower inflammation and keep the gut lining healthy,' he added. In addition, a daily walk also likely helped improve her gut health. That's because 'regular movement encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, especially those that produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. These are known to reduce inflammation and support the gut lining,' according to Mr Hobson.
Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Eat three yogurts a day and other secrets from the woman who lived to 117
For 18 months, until she died in her sleep last year at the age of 117, Maria Branyas Morera was the oldest living person on Earth. Born on March 4 1907 in San Francisco, US, to Catalan parents, and resident in Spain from the age of eight, the supercentenarian (a person aged 110 or older) has been the focus of intense scientific interest since she passed away in August 2024. Researchers seeking to uncover the secret to Morera's longevity have studied her gut microbiome and published a paper on their findings. While the results have not yet been peer-reviewed, they provide a fascinating insight into dietary and lifestyle choices that could help to extend our lifespan. An analysis of Morera's genes and microbiome revealed that cells in her body functioned as if they were 17 years younger than her actual age. The study found that Morera had an exceptionally healthy gut, with what it describes as an 'anti-inflammatory' microbiome showing high levels of bifidobacterium – a genus of gastrointestinal bacteria, also known as gut microbiota, that resides in our digestive tract. According to the researchers, her microbiota 'mirrored that of an infant'. Before her death, Morera told an interviewer that her longevity was because of a range of factors: she avoided alcohol and smoking, enjoyed daily walks, and followed a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, as well as eating three yogurts a day. She also had friends and family around her and 'avoided toxic people'. 'As a dietitian and nutritionist, I find it fascinating to look at what centenarians and supercentenarians eat,' says Dr Megan Rossi, the founder of The Gut Health Doctor and a research fellow at King's College London. 'The principles Morera lived by very much support optimal gut health, and one of the things the research showed was the diversity of her gut bacteria. Currently, that is considered one of the best markers of someone's gut health.' Individuals with a greater variety and 'balance' of microbes in their gut seem to have a lower risk of experiencing around 70 different chronic conditions, ranging from heart disease to Type 2 diabetes, as each type of bacteria or microbe does something different for the body. 'If you've got lots of different types of microbes inside you,' says Dr Rossi, 'you've essentially got more skills. In a sense, they're doing a wider range of jobs for you.' For this reason, experts believe good gut health promotes longevity – by protecting us from the various ailments that approach in older age, conditions that have the potential to end our lives prematurely. Health lessons from a supercentenarian When considering the case of Morera, it's important to remember two key things. Firstly, in her own words, she was blessed with 'luck and good genetics'. Secondly, it was not just one factor but a combination of dietary and lifestyle choices that enabled her to reach such a ripe old age… 1. She ate three yogurts a day It may be tempting to deduce from this that 'if you eat three yogurts a day, you'll live longer', but the reality is more nuanced. Moreover, Dr Rossi points out, it's not just yogurt but a wide range of other fermented foods, including kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut, that have been shown by research to be beneficial for gut health. 'We know that fermented foods are associated with increasing your microbial diversity,' she says, 'and some studies have even shown that eating them reduces inflammatory markers in the body.' Inflammation is associated with an array of health problems including atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries), cancers, metabolic disorders, coronary artery disease, obesity and chronic lung disease. While more research is needed to understand the connection, nutritionists believe that consuming fermented foods will reduce it. But how exactly is eating a yogurt better for us than, say, drinking a glass of milk? 'When you take something like cow's milk and add certain bacteria to it [to create yogurt], those bacteria change the structure of some of the milk proteins and sugars,' explains Dr Rossi. 'They break down the lactose [sugar] and produce organic acids, which have been associated with various health benefits. They also change the structure of some of the proteins to make them bioactive proteins, which are thought to have heart health benefits. In other words, the fermentation process produces active chemicals that we wouldn't just get from cow's milk alone.' It's worth noting – before you dig into that Müller Corner – that some yogurts are more effective than others. Make sure you choose a plain, unsweetened yogurt with a high concentration of live and active cultures and no emulsifiers. 2. She ate a diet rich in fruit and vegetables 'If we look at Morera's lifestyle,' says Dr Rossi, 'she was very much eating a Mediterranean diet. People with optimal gut health tend to eat a range of different plant-based food groups that I call the 'Super Six'. This consists of whole grains, such as quinoa, wheat and oats; vegetables; fruit; nuts and seeds; herbs and spices; and finally, legumes – things like chickpeas, lentils and butter beans. Each category provides your gut bacteria with different types of fertilisers. For me, the two key principles for optimal gut health are: eating across the Super Six most days and having fermented food in your diet.' She adds that embracing a more gut-friendly diet is a lifestyle choice rather than a quick fix: 'Once you're in the habit, it's actually quite easy to maintain, but the truth is that if you stop eating a diverse range of plants, your microbiome can change after a couple of days. So when we're thinking about good gut health, it's a marathon, not a sprint.' 3. She exercised regularly Moderate exercise offers numerous health benefits and can reduce the risk of serious illnesses such as coronary heart disease, stroke,Type 2 diabetes and cancer. Research also suggests that exercise can enhance the number of beneficial microbial species in your gut and increase microflora diversity, boosting gut health. As Dr Rossi explains, physical activity improves blood flow to the digestive tract and helps us keep our bowels regular, which means the food passing through our gut is regularly replenished. 'The gut is actually a muscle,' she says, 'so moving around can help keep the food pumping through and replenishing that nutrient supply to your microbes, which keeps them well fed and satisfied.' 4. She cut back on alcohol As much as we might enjoy the occasional tipple, alcohol is known to make the gut more permeable, or 'leaky'. One of the roles of the gut is to act as a kind of gatekeeper, dictating what can pass through your intestinal lining into your blood system. 'It acts as a barrier,' explains Dr Rossi. 'But when you have too much alcohol, that barrier becomes permeable, allowing things that shouldn't pass from your gut into your blood system to get through, resulting in an inflammatory response. In other words, consuming any more than, say, one glass of wine can create low-grade inflammation in your body.' 5. She avoided 'toxic people' Having people around you that you don't get on with can be stressful, and Morera was correct to avoid this dynamic, not just for the sake of her mental health but also the wellbeing of her gut microbiome. There's an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that gut health and mental health are linked via the gut-brain axis – a network of nerves, chemical messengers and microbes that constitute your gut microbiome – and that the food you eat can have a significant impact on your mental health. Elevated cortisol levels, often the result of chronic stress, have a negative impact on gut health. Studies have shown that cortisol can disrupt the gut microbiome and increase intestinal permeability (leaky gut), potentially leading to digestive issues. Stress can also trigger our body's 'fight or flight' mode, which essentially puts the brakes on digestive function, prioritising blood flow to the organs needed for survival. This can lead to a range of unpleasant symptoms, from bloating to constipation. It may even be the case that some people are literally toxic to have around. 'There's a growing amount of research showing that we share microbes with the people we come into contact with, because we not only have a gut microbiome, we also have a skin microbiome,' says Rossi. 'Studies have discovered that housemates – even non-romantic – share microbes. We may even share microbes with people who catch the same Tube or bus. It's interesting that Morera avoided certain individuals, not only because of the gut-brain axis – so she didn't get stressed out – but one theory could be that it also meant she was less likely to share 'bad' microbes from those toxic people.'
CTV News
07-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘Every day is fun because I'm still alive,' says 110-year-old Canadian veteran
Burdett "Burd" Thomas Sisler, centre, a 110-year-old-veteran who served during the Second World War, is seen at his birthday party at a Royal Canadian Legion in Fort Erie, Ont., in an April 13, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Alex Heidbuechel, *MANDATORY CREDIT* One of Canada's oldest veterans, Burdett Sisler, says it's not that hard to make it to 110 years old – all you have to do is stay alive. 'Anybody can do it,' the supercentenarian said in a recent interview. 'I don't feel any different as any other day really, except I can't move as fast or think as fast.' Sisler is believed to be the oldest living man in Canada, according to the Gerontology Research Group. He celebrated his 110th birthday on April 13 at a Royal Canadian Legion in Fort Erie, Ont., alongside his family, friends and community members. 'It was amazing,' he said. 'To me it was going to be just another birthday and it turned out to be an amazing display.' Eighty years after the Allied forces' Second World War victory in Europe, Sisler said he's grateful that his service is still recognized today – even by strangers on Facebook – but his mind goes to fellow soldiers who were sent to the battlefields. 'I have to think back to those who had a rougher time than I had. I never got the chance to go overseas,' he said. 'A lot of soldiers didn't come back.' Born in Akron, Ohio, Sisler moved to the Toronto area when he was three years old. He met his wife, Mae, through a high school classmate and they married in 1939 – just three days after Britain declared war on Germany. When Sisler enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army in 1943, Mae expected him to go overseas and not come back so she asked for something that would remind her of her husband, their son Norman said in an interview. 'So they had a baby girl in 1943,' Norman said. Sisler said he originally wanted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force but even though enlistment officers told him he was one of their best candidates, he was turned away because of 'one bad eye.' 'I'd never needed glasses in my life,' Sisler said. 'They were afraid I couldn't bring the airplane into the landing.' Instead, Sisler joined the army. While waiting to be sent to basic training, he volunteered for chemical warfare trials in Ottawa – a series of experiments involving chemical and biological agents that left thousands of soldiers with chronic health problems. One trial tested how mustard gas would react to a salve placed on Sisler's skin for 14 days. 'I got a raise in pay after that,' he recalled. Many years later, Sisler was part of a class-action lawsuit against the Department of National Defence and received a settlement. Sisler trained to become a military gunner in Nova Scotia and later took radar training in Barriefield, Ont., where he became a telecommunications mechanic. In 1945, he joined the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers, where he ultimately became a sergeant. The Second World War ended before Sisler had a chance to fight overseas. He stayed in the military until 1947, and after the war he worked with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps just outside of Montreal, where he examined war equipment coming back from Europe. He was stationed there for 13 months before he was discharged due to demobilization. A civilian once again, Sisler settled his young family in Fort Erie, where he soon became a customs agent with the Department of National Revenue, stationed at the Peace Bridge border crossing. The couple had four more children – twin boys and two more girls – and made frequent summer camping trips to Ontario's provincial parks. Sisler also sang in a barbershop quartet in the 1960s and ran a side business with a friend fixing TVs and radio sets. '(He had) an ad in the newspaper that said, 'If you've got a whistler, call Hanes and Sisler,'' Norman said with a laugh. Sisler's wife died in 1985, a few days before his 70th birthday. He has 11 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 14 great great grandchildren. He stayed in his Fort Erie home until 2022, supported by family members until the COVID-19 pandemic eased up, and now lives at a retirement home where he gets frequent visitors. When asked for the secret to longevity, Sisler admitted he didn't have any significant tips. It helps that he never enjoyed the taste of cigarettes, he said, and mostly liked to have a cold beer after mowing the lawn on a hot day. Even though he's not as mobile as he used to be, he still enjoys a good meal, reading the newspaper and keeping in touch with his grandchildren. 'Every day is fun because I'm still alive.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025. Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press
