Published November 29, 2008 03:08PM
Last week the world’s oldest woman, Edna Parker, passed away at age 115. While I’m sure her attitude about life played a dominate role in her longevity, I was curious to see that it was also her active life that helped her roll along for over 100 years. According to her grandson, Don Parker, “she would be pushing other patients in their wheelchairs” whenever he went to visit. No doubt many of those patients were decades younger than her.
Another guideline: Parker skipped alcohol and never touched tobacco.
If all that seems ridiculously simple, well, that’s because it is. It doesn’t involve a magic pill that lets you eat and drink whatever you want, whenever you want. It doesn’t involve some freaky new exercise class that Hollywood stars and pro athletes swear by. All it involves is not eating what you know is bad for you and keeping active by taking care of the mundane daily tasks that make up our lives. I’m talking about walking the dog, gardening, cleaning your house, etc.
Doing anything above and beyond that, stuff like climbing mountains, scores you bonus points.