When you think of living long into old age, which age do you imagine? Most of us probably consider old age living well into our 80s or maybe even our 90s. Few of us, however, imagine making it to a century, and especially not more than a decade past that. Emma Morano, however, lived almost two decades longer than 100, dying at the ripe old age of 117. Only enlisting aid in her home a couple of years before she died, the question remains: What allowed this woman to not only live so long, but also so robustly? This is the story of the world’s oldest woman and what she attributed to her longevity.

Emma Morano: The World’s Oldest Woman

Emma Morano, the world’s oldest person, lived a remarkable life that spanned over a century. Born in 1899 in the Piedmont region of Italy, she achieved the title of the last surviving person born in the 1800s. Emma’s longevity has fascinated many, and one of the contributing factors to her remarkable age was her strict and consistent diet. Let’s dive into Emma Morano’s extraordinary life and explore the secrets behind her longevity.

Emma Morano’s Life and Diet

Emma Morano, known for her spunky personality and resilience, overcame numerous hardships, including an abusive marriage, the loss of her only child, and the trials of two World Wars. She attributed her longevity to two factors: avoiding men and adhering to a strict diet. Emma’s decision to stay single after an unsatisfactory marriage played a role in her ability to reach such an advanced age. However, she also believed that her diet contributed significantly to her health and vitality.

 

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The Marriage

Like many women of that time, Emma was forced into marriage. She did love one man in her lifetime who she would have wanted to marry. Sadly, however, he died in the first world war. It was after this that a man who lived in her neighborhood forced her to marry him.

“He was someone from here, from the lake. I didn’t want to marry him, but he forced me. We lived in the same courtyard and one day he sent his mother to call me,” she explained to the Italian newspaper La Stampa in a 2011 interview. “I went there and he said to me, ‘If it suits you, you can marry me, if not I’ll kill you’. I was 26 years old. I got married.”

Her Diet

Emma Morano’s daily diet was quite specific and remained consistent throughout her life. She consumed three eggs each day, two of which she ate raw, starting this habit after being diagnosed with anemia following World War I. Alongside her eggs, she drank a traditional Italian alcoholic beverage called grappa, which she prepared with herbs and grapes. Emma emphasized the importance of digestion, claiming that her unique concoction aided in this process.

“I eat three eggs a day and to digest I drink the grappa that I prepare myself: I put it in a jar with seven sage leaves, a bunch of rue grass and some grapes. Then I drink it with a spoon.” Emma said.

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