That is interesting! Good for her!

My Aunt Marian was another elder that didn't have aches and pains...I never understood it either...her sister My DH's mother was a chronic complainer and had a long list of them...the one thing different in their lives is that Aunt Marian worked hard all her life and wasn't afraid of work..She and her husband owned a diary in Florida and she worked right along side him picking up milk, processing milk and delivering milk...

Alisande, maybe your neighbor could take you out and teach you. She might enjoy the company, and you'd learn something new, free and healthy, :o)

I know her well, Petra, and that's a good thought, but.... She and I talked gardening for many years, and I remember her suggesting that I cook up some purslane. But I pushed that thought aside. I guess this is where my city background shows. LOL

Ruthie, Laura and her husband were dairy farmers too! So much for my theory that cow's milk isn't very healthy.... :-)

(Of course, they probably drank it raw.)

This post was edited by alisande on Tue, Jul 15, 14 at 12:38

My grandmother died at the ripe old age of 96. Prior to that, in her 80's she was still walking 2 miles to get her hair done....for the exercise.

My mother explained her mothers excellent health this way: she lived in the South, had a maid, a cook and a gardener all her life. She didn't do anything so nothing wore out!

******************edited to add:
My grandmother led a stress free life, eating Southern cooking. My mother didn't & lived to the age of 83. Mom had a heart attack and stroke at age 76 and she was a health food nut.

This post was edited by nicole__ on Fri, Jul 18, 14 at 11:40

Maybe what she *doesn't* eat has a lot to do with it, too:
fatty red meats
sugar
salt
nitrites
MSG (has anybody else heard how the ancient Romans discovered this? gag)
high-fructose corn syrup

I think that people who stay interested in stuff live longer, or at least live *well* longer, & people who move do better than people who sit.

Since I had my knee replaced, I don't have aches or pains...although I am not as old as your neighbor. However, I think attitude accounts for a lot of it. My mother was extremely healthy...mowed her grass with a push mower until she was 80...she never, ever complained of aches and pains. She never got sick....and for that matter, she didn't believe anyone else did either.

I'd be surprised if Laura's family doesn't eat fatty red meats, sugar, salt, and nitriates. And high-fructose corn syrup. I know they've always had a big vegetable garden, but I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't eat the standard American diet. Her husband died of heart disease a long time ago.

Of course, I could be wrong. But my diet (plus a few other things) makes me an anomaly around here.

Great to see seniors who go go go. Many elder activities would have us young uns' gasping for breath. I never thought of my dear mother as being 'old' at 86. Always driving somewhere, enjoyed shopping, loved doing laundry (in a wringer washer), piddling in the yard, cooking, 2nd term president of the Senior Center, out dancing 2-3 times a week, never complaining. Let's hope we can enjoy those golden years too.

My mother's only vice was Coca Cola. If she had a 12 pack of it, she would drink all 12 in a day. That and a couple of cups of coffee. Her doctor told me that for her age, he had never seen a healthier person. She did eat red meat...not a lot of it...and not much salt...because she didn't like it...and lots of vegetables and fruit, but the food she did eat was pretty close to nature...not prepackaged, microwavable stuff or boxed anything.

She ate eggs every day. I used to cook her breakfast and she was very picky that they had to be over easy. If I cooked her egg too much, she would slide it off into the cat's dish and tell me to cook another one. Also, she never had margarine in the house....she only cooked with butter, which we are finding out now, despite what we were told for so long, is that it is better for you anyway.

One of our friends who lives at our local seniors home turned 100.....when asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said, "A laptop!!".....that was 2 yrs ago....she's still going strong & her laptop gets a daily workout, emailing & surfing the 'net....she's an amazing lady & says she still has a lot to learn!!.....

I love visiting with her.....

My mom will be 97 in September. She still drives, goes out for lunch with friends, gardens (nothing big or heavy -- but she grows tomatoes and flowers). She has aches and pains but keeps on ticking. She says the secret is to drink milk every day.

These stories are wonderful! As I've said many times here at the KT (and other places), diet and health are so individual. Most diet books to the contrary, what's good for one person might not be good for another--and vice versa. :-)

I once met a very cool 90-something-year-old woman at a Christmas party;
she was the former grandmother-in-law of my date (his ex-wife's grandmother, the great-grandmother of his children).

She told me that she used to have arthritis but "when I turned 90, it seems like it passed off, & I don't have it any more."

something to look forward to!

That's pretty awesome! My parents are 80 and 82 and mom is only on 1/2 a pill a day for cholesteral. Dad goes to the rec center (he walks the four blocks to it), the swims in the summer and rides the stationery bike in the winter. Only because he's getting older and traffic is really getting busy in the city they live in. He rode an old 1950's bike up until just a few years ago. My coworkers mother is 95. Other than a bit of a hearing problem which isn't that bad, she's in excellent health and lives with her daughter.

What follows are just my personal views:

Some unfortunate souls develop debilitating conditions or diseases that lead to an earlier than "normal" disability or death. Others don't. Such may often just be a result of how the genes fall.

In other cases, I think many people (especially in some parts of the US) age prematurely from poor lifestyle choices. I believe inadequate exercise and physical activity, poor eating habits, being overweight, smoking, etc, shorten your life and hasten the onset of medical problems. Once you lose your physical mobility, it's hard to get it back.

Other than what's been proven to date (like the Mediterranean diet for heart health), I'm not a believer that eating certain foods contributes to better health. But I do believe in the opposite - fast food, fried food, overly processed food that's too prevalent in stores - these things will kill you sooner than not.

My mil died at age 99 and never had an ache or pain, she was interested in everything even though, in the last five years of her life, she went blind. She still knew every politician and all the news of the day, listened to music and books on tape. She didn't move around much in her last years as she never adapted to being blind but, prior to that, she was physically active. She started every day off with two espressos and fried hot hot chili peppers, so hot her face would turn red and tears flowed. What was the secret? Who knows, she was orphaned at age 10 when her mother and seven brothers and sisters died of the Spanish flu in one week. Just that fact alone shows she had a strong immune system with death all around her. I think all people who live longer than average believe it's their dna. My Mom was one of eleven children. All of them lived to their nineties and two are still alive!! One is 99 and the other is 100 so go figure. Your friend has great DNA.

' She started every day off with two espressos and fried hot hot chili peppers'

Now that's my kinda breakfast!

My mom didn't have any aches or pains in her 80s. Her orthopedist said he thought old folks just didn't feel the aches and pains. He said when he would look at their x-rays he would think if that was him he would be in pain.