Longevity of the earth for the existence of humanity. The longest living people on the planet - who are they?

In the most ancient book it is said that a person lives “...70 years, and with greater strength 80 years...”. According to average statistics, this figure is much less, but what can be said about the unique exceptions to the rules? About those who live longer than others. About people who personal experience they know what life is like after a hundred years.

According to historical data, the longest living person in the world lived in China. His name was Li Qingyun. This man was born in 1677 and died at the beginning of the twentieth century (1933). In total, he lived 256 years, and, according to eyewitnesses, he looked 50 years younger. How did he manage to live so long? During his lifetime he was often asked such a question, and he paid attention first of all to proper nutrition And physical exercise.

It is known that he was so physically strong that at the age of 70 he became a teacher in Chinese army martial arts In addition to nutrition and exercise, he early childhood spent a lot of time collecting and studying medicinal herbs, from which he often made health-promoting infusions. Therefore in modern history of humanity, this is the most unique man who lived the longest.

Centenarians today

According to the UN decision, a person can be considered a centenarian if his age exceeds 90 years. All over the world you can find people who live the longest, but in some countries they are especially numerous. For example, in Japan there are about 50 thousand centenarians, and these are only those who survived the turn of the century. Of these, approximately 87% are women, whose average lifespan in this country is about 86 years.

Especially outstanding personalities entered the Guinness Book of Records. Now it includes Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman who is 115 years old. She is considered the oldest woman in the world. Before her was Koto Okubo, who died earlier this year at the age of 115 years and 19 days.

As for long-living men, the oldest is now almost 116 years old. He's the one old man in the world of the living. He lives in Kyoto (Japan) and his name is Jiroemon Kimura. He twice became a Guinness World Records holder and, born in 1897, achieved three centuries during his lifetime. During his lifetime, people invented the television, the car and the Internet. While he lives, Britain has had 6 monarchs, the USA - 20 presidents, Japan - 5 emperors, collapsed Soviet Union, and with it the communist regime.

This amazing man was a postman for 40 years and a farmer until he was 90. He has a very big family: 7 children (he survived two of them), 14 grandchildren and granddaughters, 25 great-grandchildren and already 13 great-great-grandchildren. According to him, life expectancy depends on moderation in food. Therefore, he recommends never eating more than necessary, even if the dish is very tasty.

Centenarians in the past

Other most long-lived people who have already died are also worthy of attention. There are not many of them, so they will be listed below.
Long-lived women:

Jeanne Kalman lived 122 years and 164 days (02/21/1875-08/04/1997);
Knauss Sarah lived 119 years and 97 days (09/24/1880-12/30/1999);
Hana Lucy lived 117 years and 248 (07/16/1875-03/21/1993);
Maria Louise Mailer lived 117 years and 230 days (08/29/1880-04/16/1998);
Maria Esther de Capovilla lived 116 years and 347 days (09/14/1889-08/27/2006);
Ikai Tane lived 116 years and 175 days (01/18/1879-07/12/1995);
Elizabeth Bolden lived 116 years and 118 days (08/15/1890-12/11/2006);
Besie Cooper lived to be 116 years old and 100 years old (08/26/1896-12/4/2012).

Long-lived men:

Christian Mortensen lived 115 years and 252 days (08/16/1882-04/25/1998);
Emiliano Mercado del Toro lived 115 years and 156 days (08/21/1891-01/24/2007);
Brüning Walter lived 114 years and 205 days (09/21/1896-04/14/2011);
Chunanji Yukichi lived 114 years and 189 days (03/23/1889-09/28/2003).

It did not decline and its strength was not exhausted"), Joseph the Beautiful and Joshua lived 110 years each.

True, some scientists believe that the age of the patriarchs could be measured according to the ancient Egyptian calendar - at the rate of one month per year, or according to the custom of the ancient Jews - two months per year. Then there is nothing unusual about the age of these centenarians. As the Bible says, subsequently people began to sin more and more, gradually reduced and finally, according to Moses, it was established in “three terms and ten years” (3 times 20 years and 10 years, that is, 70 years).

An interesting case is described by English historians. In 1635, the peasant Thomas Parr came from the provinces to London to appear before King Charles as a miracle of longevity. Parr claimed that he had outlived nine kings and was 152 years old. In honor of the long-liver, the king threw a magnificent feast, after which Thomas Parr suddenly died. It was opened by the famous English William Harvey, who discovered blood circulation. According to V. Harvey, Parr died from, but, as legends say, the cause of his death was the abundant treat at the king's table. Parr was buried with honors in Westminster Abbey.

Of the most famous centenarians The following can also be noted:

Zoltan Petridzh (Hungary) - 186 years old.

Peter Zortai (Hungary) - 185 years old (1539-1724).

Cantigern is the founder of Glasgow Abbey. Known as Saint Mungo. Lived 185 years.

Tense Abziva (Ossetia) - 180 years old.

Huddiye (Albania) - 170 years old. His offspring numbered 200.

Hancer Nine (Türkiye). Lived 169 years. Died 1964

Sayyad Abdul Mabud (Pakistan) - 159 years old.

200-300 years ago, many centenarians were found in Russia. Now there are few of them in our country and we rank one of the last in terms of life expectancy. Places in Europe. If you look into history, you can find quite a lot interesting facts about the centenarians of our country . Captain Margeret, who hired himself into the service of Tsar Boris, in his book “The State Russian state"(1606) wrote with surprise: “Many Russians live to be 90-100 and 120 years old and only in old age are they familiar with diseases. With the exception of the king and the most important nobles, no one recognizes medicine. Feeling sick, a commoner usually drinks a good glass of vodka, pouring a charge of gunpowder into it, or mixing the drink with crushed garlic, and immediately goes to the hospital, where he sweats in extreme heat for two or three hours.”

The average life expectancy of the Russian population in 2003 was 65 years, with men - 59 years, women - 72 years.

IN developed countries There is a constant struggle in the world for the survival and improvement of the nation, for increasing the life expectancy of each person.

An increase in life expectancy in all countries of the world is achieved by reducing child mortality and reducing mortality from and. In this way, by defeating diseases, humanity strives to move closer to achieving the upper limit of human life.

Leonard Hayflick, professor of anatomy at the University of California, based on his human survival charts for individual countries and different periods obtained a theoretical curve with an upper limit of 115 years. At the same time, Hayflick discovered another interesting pattern: it turns out that a person’s life expectancy is proportionally related to the ratio of brain weight to body weight. The greater this ratio, the longer life, and it changed quite sharply at certain periods during evolution. The last time its strong increase occurred was 100,000 years ago, after which it practically did not change, just as the ratio of brain weight to .

Leonard Hayflick also expressed an original point of view on the aging of the body. According to him, aging occurs after growth stops, and those creatures whose growth does not stop over time (shark, sturgeon, Galapagos tortoise) age very, very slowly.

About the upper limit of human life various world scientists they speak differently. The famous medieval physician and chemist Paracelsus believed that a person could live 600 years. Albrecht Haller and F. Hufeland (scientists of the 18th century) considered the age of 200 years to be the limit of human life. Russian scientists Ilya Mechnikov and A. Bogomolets spoke about 160 years.

As paradoxical as it may sound, rarely do any long-livers die a natural death directly from old age. Almost always the cause of death is various diseases - cancer, cancer.

In his “Etudes of Optimism” I. Mechnikov pointed out that “in 1902 in Paris, out of 1000 deaths between 70 and 74 years, only 85 people died of old age. Most of the old people died from contagious diseases: pneumonia and consumption, from diseases , kidney or cerebral hemorrhage."

Even the previously mentioned famous long-livers, the Englishman Thomas Parr (152 years old) and the Turk Zara Aga (156 years old), died not from age, but from illnesses (the first from pneumonia, the second from uremic in 1888 in the newspaper “New Time” he wrote with irony: “ ... It turns out that among the centenarians there are all kinds of subjects - fat and skinny, straight and hunched, strong and weak, smokers and non-smokers, with and without them, plethoric and anemic, rich and poor. More than 2/3 of these centenarians are women. ...

...How they glorified, for example! And yet, almost all hundred-year-old Englishmen ate animal food and sometimes large quantities. One hundred-year-old woman had such a nice meal that she went so far as to eat three fried chickens for breakfast. But she drank little and never drank wine. In contrast, one of the men in the English collection was drinking more than he could at 104 years old.”

Each of the factors that, at first glance, can seemingly be attributed to influence durability, eludes when considering a sufficient number of examples. Moderation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for longevity, although, of course, not the only one.

Among centenarians, they are not very rare. Politiman died at 140 years old (1685-1825); From the age of 25, he used to get drunk every day after finishing his studies. Gascony, a butcher in Trieu (Pyrenees), who died in 1767 at the age of 120, got drunk twice a week. The example of one Irish landowner Brown, who lived to be 120 years old, is striking. He bequeathed a tombstone inscription to be made for him, stating that “he was always drunk and so terrible in this state that death itself was afraid of him.”

But some centenarians loved wine, others. So, for example, the famous Voltaire loved coffee very much, and when one doctor began to tell him that coffee is poison, Voltaire replied: “It will be 80 years since I have been poisoned by this poison.” Another long-liver, Elizabeth Durien, lived to be 114 years old. Contemporaries testified: “Her main food was coffee, she drank up to 40 cups of it a day. She was of a cheerful disposition, ate well and drank so much black coffee every day that the most ardent Arab could not keep up with her. The coffee pot was always on the fire, like the English teapot.”

They say that smoking shortens life. However, many centenarians liked to abuse the poisonous potion. Ross, who received the Longevity Award at age 102 (1896), was a heavy smoker. In 1897, the old widow Lazennek died. She lived all her life (104 years) in a slum and with early years smoked a pipe. She died with her.

Scientists have always been interested in the so-called “foci of longevity” - isolated areas where people live much longer than in other places and retain vitality and energy until the end of their lives. One such region is Abkhazia, where almost 3% of the population are centenarians, over 100 years old. The American scientist A. Leaf examined the mountainous regions of Abkhazia and mountainous regions in the Andes (Ecuador) and came to the conclusion that the living conditions of people in these areas are very similar, and longevity here can be attributed to heredity and the absence of so-called “harmful genes” in some residents ", increasing the risk of diseases. In small closed communities, like isolated mountain villages, some individuals who lacked these genes became the ancestors of separate clans of centenarians.

Even 300 years ago, it was noticed that residents of the same family often become centenarians, and this gave reason to consider this phenomenon hereditary. The son of the long-lived Thomas Parr lived to be 127 years old and died in 1761, maintaining clarity of mind to the end.

In 1654, Cardinal D'Armagnac, walking down the street, noticed an 80-year-old man crying. When the cardinal asked who had offended him, the old man replied that his father had beaten him. The cardinal decided to look at this man. They presented him with an old man, 113 years old, very vigorous for his age. “I beat my son,” said the old man, “for disrespecting my grandfather. He walked past him without bowing.” The cardinal also saw his 143-year-old grandfather.

Thus, it becomes obvious that heredity plays a very important role in the matter of longevity. Based on this, many fortune tellers try to predict life expectancy by lines. In the official journal of the English Royal Society in 1991, an article appeared in which Dr. Paul Newrick from Bristol argued that there is a direct connection between the length of the “life line” and life expectancy. He made this conclusion based on an examination of 100 corpses.

On August 29, 2001, the human gene for longevity was discovered.

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Unfortunately or fortunately, human life is limited. Few people manage to live to see their centenary anniversary. In any case, they talk about centenarians and interview them, trying to revive memories of bygone times and the secrets of health. There are several people left in modern history who can safely be considered record holders in this area.

Those whose confirmed age exceeds 115 years can generally be called supercentenarians. Interestingly, some of them for a long time smoked, abused alcohol. Others cite exclusively healthy image life.

Of course, one can recall the Japanese Shigechiyo Izumi, whose age reached 120 years, or the legendary Azerbaijani shepherd Shirali Muslimov, who according to rumors lived to be 168 years old. However, such impressive figures have never been documented. We will tell you about those supercentenarians whose age has been verified.

Christian Mortensen (1882-1998). This man is officially considered the most important long-liver among the stronger sex. Born in Denmark, he lived most of his life in America. In total, Mortensen's age was 115 years and 252 days.

His birthday was August 16, 1882, and he died on April 25, 1998. The unusual thing about this centenarian is not only that he was a man. Indeed, among this category of venerable elders, nine out of ten representatives are women.

Mortensen managed to stand out because for 95 years of his life he smoked several cigars every day. Although scientists believe that marriage prolongs life, the man himself was single for most of his long life. He lived in marriage for only 10 years. In 1903, the Dane moved to the USA, where he worked as a tailor and milkman for a long time.

Maggie Pauline Barnes (1882-1998). This woman was born a slave on March 6, 1882. And she died 115 years 319 days later on January 19, 1998. Little is known about Maggie Barnes, but based on her impressive age, we can assume that her life was full of events. She passed through adversity with honor, including outliving 11 of her 15 children. The centenarian died from complications caused by a small infection in her leg.

Her record is also surprising because at the beginning of the 20th century, the average life expectancy for African Americans was 40-42 years, and for the white race it was slightly higher - 47 years. Although the gap is constantly narrowing, Barnes truly did the impossible - she lived 75 years longer than the average life expectancy in her time.

Bessie Cooper (1896 -). The already legendary woman was born on August 26, 1896. She has already celebrated her 116th birthday, becoming in 2011 the oldest inhabitant of our planet. She described the secret of her longevity simply - “I don’t pry into other people’s affairs,” adding, “I also don’t eat junk food.” Cooper's life spanned three centuries, she survived two world wars and witnessed significant turns in history.

Bessie started working as a teacher in Georgia. At the age of 28 she got married, her marriage lasted until the age of 69 with the death of her husband. Since then she has lived alone on the family farm. At 105, Bessie moved into a nursing home. 4 children, 12 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson congratulated her on her 115th birthday.

Elizabeth Bolden (1890 - 2006). This woman was born on August 15, 1890 and lived until December 11, 2006. At that time she was 116 years and 118 days old. She was born in Tennessee, in a family of blacks freed from slavery.

Life has been pretty hard for Mrs. Bolden. Her longevity genes were not passed on to her children, so the woman was destined to outlive five of her seven children. But thanks to her, an enviable and numerous offspring appeared, which, most likely, will preserve the valuable longevity gene.

After Elizabeth Bolden's death, it turned out that she had more than 500 direct descendants, including 75 great-great-great-great-grandchildren. The woman worked on a farm all her life. She was always a family person and loved to give valuable advice.

In 2004, Elizabeth suffered a stroke, after which she began to speak little and sleep almost all the time. She died in a nursing home, having had time to taste ice cream and candy on her 116th birthday.

Thain Ikai (1879 - 1995). Ten Ikai has a confirmed lifespan of 116 years and 175 days. She is the most important centenarian, both in Japan and in Asia. She was born on January 18, 1879 in the city of Kansei, into a family of farmers. At the age of 20, the woman got married and had four children, all of whom she outlived by 1995.

Throughout her life, Thane enjoyed embroidery and ceramics. The basis of her diet was rice. Perhaps it was traditional Japanese food that saved her from cancer and heart disease. An autopsy of the woman after her death showed that she died of kidney failure. This is the only centenarian who underwent an autopsy procedure.

Maria Capovilla (1889 - 2006). This centenarian represents Ecuador. She was born on September 14, 1889, becoming the same age as the Eiffel Tower. As a result, Mary lived 116 years and 37 days. She went down in history as the oldest South American and oldest resident Southern Hemisphere. Capovilla died just a month before her 117th birthday.

The centenarian led a very healthy lifestyle. She never smoked, only occasionally drinking alcohol. Maria was born into the family of a colonel, her life began among the local elite. In 1917, the woman married an officer of Italian origin, Antonio Capovilla. The couple had five children, two of whom Maria eventually outlived.

At the age of one hundred, Maria almost died and even managed to take communion. However, she managed to recover without experiencing further health problems. The supercentenarian walked without a cane, read newspapers and watched TV. Her health declined rapidly, she stopped reading and talking.

Maria Louise Mailer (1880 - 1998). The woman died on April 16, 1998, when she was 117 years and 230 days old. One of her sons was with her in the same nursing home, and her daughter was already 90 years old at that time. And the French-Canadian centenarian was born in Quebec on August 29, 1880. At the age of 30, Maria Louise became a widow - her husband died of pneumonia.

After the tragedy, she moved to the Ontario-Quebec border, where she met her future second husband, Hector Mailer. Maria Louise herself believed that her longevity was her reward for her hard work. She really had a hard time - in two marriages she gave birth to 10 children. The centenarian liked to drink a glass of wine from time to time; she also smoked for a long time, getting rid of this addiction only at the age of 90.

Lucy Hannah (1875 - 1993). Surprisingly, this long-lived woman was never considered the oldest person on the planet. The fact is that she lived at the same time with Jeanne Kalman, the owner of such an honorary title. Be that as it may, Hannah lived to be 117 years and 248 days.

She is the oldest African American woman on the planet, and only two people have lived longer than her. modern history. Although her relatives claimed that due to confusion with documents, Lucy was a year older, this fact does not change her place in our ranking.

Lucy was born in Alabama on July 16, 1875. To escape racist persecution during the Great Migration, the woman moved to Detroit. In 1901 she married John Hannah and the couple had eight children. At the time of Lucy's death, only two of them were alive. It should be noted that Lucy owes her long life to her genes - her two sisters exchanged a hundred years, and her mother lived 99 years.

Sarah Knauss (1880 - 1999). Sarah is the second oldest person in history. She died when she was 119 years and 97 days old. She was born on September 24, 1880, and died just a few days before the new millennium. However, the honorary title of long-liver was of little concern to Sarah herself. When she was informed that she had become the oldest person on the planet, her only response was “So what?”

The woman lived all her life in Pennsylvania. She married at 21 and worked as a professional seamstress. Even your own wedding dress and Sarah sewed the tablecloths for the celebration herself. She started sewing at the age of 4. Sarah's daughter described her as very calm person, which nothing can disturb.

This is precisely where her secret of longevity lies, because it is known that stress greatly affects human health. Sarah had one child who lived to be 102 years old. She survived both her daughter and her husband, having been married for 64 years. Sarah Knauss survived 7 wars in America, the Great Depression, and lived under 23 US presidents. At the time of her death, she was older than the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Sarah herself, at the age of 115, said that she liked living this long because she was still healthy enough to do some things on her own. Her passions became watching golf on TV and making sharp needles. She adored milk chocolate, nuts and chips.

Jeanne Kalman (1875 - 1997). This woman's record remains unsurpassed; she is the oldest person to ever live on the planet. It's hard to believe that anyone will soon be able to beat her record of 122 years and 164 days. Jeanne was born in Arles, France on February 21, 1875, and she died on August 4, 1997. During Jeanne's lifetime, humanity invented the automobile, cinema, learned to build airplanes and smelt stainless steel, and television appeared.

There was an amazing meeting in the life of Jeanne Kalman. At the age of 13, she met Vincent Van Gogh himself. She recalled that the great artist seemed dirty, gloomy and unkemptly dressed to her. Like Sarah Knauss, Zhanna's longevity is directly related to her immunity from stress. The woman was also witty, telling at each of her new birthdays about a new secret of her longevity.

On her 120th birthday, Jeanne was asked how she saw the future. To which she wittily and sadly replied: “Very short.” Up until she was a hundred years old, Jeanne Calment was still riding a bicycle and drinking port, and she generally smoked almost until her death. The woman claimed that she managed to deceive her age thanks to her strong stomach and physical activity. She advised people: "If you can't do anything about the problem, then there's no need to worry."

Interestingly, at the age of 90, Zhanna made a deal to sell her apartment to lawyer Raffrey. He undertook to pay a certain monthly amount to Mrs. Kalman, and after her death, the old woman’s property was to become his property. At that time, the cost of the apartment was equal to 10 years of contributions. As a result, Zhanna outlived the greedy lawyer by two years, living another 30 years after the deal was completed.

The oldest man on earth

The length of human life depends on many factors: lifestyle, nutrition, place of residence, genetic predisposition to certain diseases. In the CIS countries, the average life expectancy is somewhere around 60 years for men and 65 for women. In countries Western Europe this figure is slightly higher. But the people who will be discussed further broke all records and demonstrated great love to life.

Supercentenarians

Oldest man in history

The person who lived the longest was a woman (statistically, women live longer than men). The name of this heroine is Jeanne Louise Calment, this woman was born back in 1875 on February 21 in France, and died on August 4, 1997. Her total life expectancy is 122 years and 164 days (44724 total quantity days). Zhanna became a person who lived the most long life of all those known to science. The woman outlived her daughters and even her grandchildren. Information about the life expectancy of this heroine is carefully documented in scientific papers.

Oldest man

There is some debate regarding the age of the oldest man. The Guinness Book of Records claims that the record holder is the Japanese Shigechiyo Izumi. He is said to have been born on June 29, 1865, and died on February 21, 1986. If the date of his birth is correct (apparently no documents have survived), then the centenarian from Japan lived 120 years and 237 days. Only a long-liver from France, Jeanne Calment, survived it. Shigechio was not only the oldest man on the planet, he also set the record for the longest labor activity for a person, 98 years old. Surprisingly work experience far exceeds the Japanese average duration life in Europe today. His name was recorded in Japan's first census in 1871. Interestingly, the man started smoking at the age of 70. However, after the death of a centenarian, the Department of Epidemiology in Tokyo and the Institute of Gerontology reported that based on the records family registration Shigechio died at the age of 105 years. Whether this is true or not, we probably won’t be able to find out.

The second candidate for the right to be called the oldest man who ever lived on Earth is Thomas Peter Thorvald Christian Ferdinand Mortensen (August 16, 1882 - April 25, 1998). Although Thomas's date of birth is not shrouded in darkness, the Guinness Book of Records nevertheless considers him second, after Shigechio Izumi. Christian Mortensen is the oldest person born in Denmark, he is one of the ten oldest people on the planet. In total he lived 115 years and 252 days. There can be no doubt about Christian Mortensen's lifespan; there are birth records, church baptism records, and even Danish census records that indicate his date of birth is correct.

Oldest person alive today

The oldest woman turned out to be Anna Eugenie Blanchard (born February 16, 1896), a French centenarian. The woman has lived for more than 114 years and 142 days. The oldest man alive today is Walter Breuning, born on September 21, 1896, a long-lived American. At the age of 113 years 290 days, he ranked 4th among the oldest people on the planet, ahead of him were only three women, one of whom was Anna Blanchard.

Health 10/17/2016

Dear readers, today on the blog I want to talk about the phenomenon of longevity. Gerontologists and other specialists involved in studying the capabilities of the human body claim that we live a criminally short time. The human body is programmed from birth for 100-120 years of not just existence, but active existence. That is, we live on average 30-40% less than the time allotted by nature. Why? There are many reasons, but now we will talk about them only indirectly. Using the example of unique long-lived people, we will look at what gives people the strength to go through life for so long, and often fruitfully.

Who should be considered long-livers?

Remember the old movie “The Makropoulos Remedy” based on the play by Karel Capek? The author posed a philosophical question: is immortality such a good for us, to which people sometimes carelessly strive? Well, maybe not immortality, but living for a very long time is also sometimes a heavy burden. “Old age is no joy,” people of retirement age sometimes sigh.

From the point of view of the “champions” of longevity, the world’s centenarians from the Guinness Book of Records, they are very young, but tired of life. However, there are plenty of such “old men” even among 30-year-olds. Therefore, we will talk here, first of all, not about many years to come in general, but about how individual people manage to accomplish the almost impossible: to remain at 100 years old and at a more advanced age in a clear mind and in physical health.

To begin with, it’s worth deciding who is considered long-livers?

It is generally accepted to include people over 90 years of age in this category. This figure is enshrined in the WHO classification.

I must say, there are many such people in the world. Even in our country, traditionally criticized for its low life expectancy, about 350 people have exceeded this age limit. And every year the number of “elders” continues to grow.

The second essential point: does a person have official documents, confirming his date of birth. This is more difficult, after all, the world over the last century has experienced two global wars and many other cataclysms, and purely family problems sometimes lead to the loss of such papers. Therefore, there are so-called verified long-livers of the world and unofficial, speculative ones. The latter have to provide some indirect evidence of their records.

An indisputable fact: there are many more long-lived women than men. This also still baffles scientists. Although in general the life expectancy of the “stronger” sex is almost universally shorter than that of their fair halves. There are quite objective reasons for this. The main thing is the one on the surface: they more diligently shorten their lives bad habits and sometimes excessive workload.

Phenomenon of the place: Japan, villages in Italy and a tribe in India

The question of how this phenomenon relates to the locality is also interesting. Why do people live much longer in some countries and certain regions than in others? Ecology, the level of medicine and social benefits, food traditions - researchers take these and many other factors into account. But these statistics do not provide accurate and comprehensive answers. The mystery still remains.

It is well known that many people of very advanced age live in mountainous regions of the planet (but not too high, where the air is already very thin). Georgia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and other territories former USSR noted for this advantage, many of the world's longest-living people also live in Japan.

In the Country Rising Sun more than 40 thousand citizens have passed the 100-year mark. The UN has predicted that by 2050, if trends continue, there will be a million centenarians in this country. This even raises concerns among those in power: the nation is aging, and the percentage of elderly Japanese in the total population is constantly increasing.

86% of age record holders are women, and Japan is no exception. If we look through the lists of official centenarians in the world, we will see many representatives of this country. Let's say Misao Okawa passed away last year, reaching the milestone of 117 years and 27 days. And now living Nabi Tajima was 116 years and 72 days old on October 16, 2016.

Scientists from Italy recently published research results about the phenomenon of the inhabitants of the village of Acciaroli. 300 people there are over 100 years old. Moreover, they work and live actively, enjoying all the joys of life, including sexual ones! You can read about this in And here you can learn a lot of interesting things about how modern medicine can help everyone who seeks to extend their earthly journey.

But what scientists still cannot solve is the mystery. We will not find the names of its representatives in the rankings of the world's longest-livers in the book of records; probably, they simply have no time to deal with formalities. But, living for more than 110 years (all of them!), these natives have excellent vision, have excellent teeth without signs of caries, and generally enjoy enviable health.

The only secret that is visible to the naked eye is the dietary habits of the tribe members. They eat fruit and raw vegetables, meat is consumed only on major holidays. They prepare juices for future use and drink them in the most difficult times, when there is no time to new harvest or the weather, nature brings unpleasant surprises.

Another distinctive property of the Hunza is its constant physical activity, hardened by the habit of bathing in cold water. 60-year-old women of the tribe calmly give birth to healthy, strong babies and live, in the full sense of the word, happily ever after. By the way, this may be the most important factor in their resilience: impenetrable optimism!

Other record-breaking countries for the number of centenarians

The same rule is also used by the world's longest-livers today who live in Abkhazia. There, the long life expectancy does not surprise anyone; almost 3% of the population have birth dates of the beginning of the last century in their passports. " Evil people“They don’t live long” - this is one of the common Abkhaz sayings.

More than 80 thousand people in the United States also belong to centenarians. Everything is different here: not brilliant environmental performance, high tempo existence with inevitable stress. But the country can boast quite high level life in general and medicine in particular.

The example of Cuba is even more impressive. Here, for a population of 11 million, there are 3,000 centenarians and those who have passed this age limit. Again, the secret is the close attention of the state to health issues.

Taiwan has long been considered another “hotbed of longevity.” In a small country there are more than 1,200 people aged 100 years and above. This, apparently, has to do with the Eastern traditions of nutrition and unhurried life, and a philosophical attitude towards the world.

Legends of the world: undocumented “champions”

There lived such a character in China: Lee Chung-yan. He passed away in 1933 and claimed that the year of his birth was 1680, that is, he lived 253 years. He did not hide the origins of his cheerfulness: physical activity, special breathing exercises and... oriental equanimity. “You need to keep your heart calm and sleep as if in last time“- he taught those around him.

What do they say about it historical facts? Archivists found documents where we're talking about about congratulations to a person named Lee Chung-yan Chinese Emperor. And the supreme ruler congratulated him on his glorious anniversaries of 150 and 200 years. Whether this is the same person or a complete namesake, a relative of a long-liver of the 20th century, remains a big question. But I really want to believe!

Other centenarians of the world called different terms: for example, the Hungarians Zoltan Petras and Petr Zortai claimed that they lived 186 and 185 years, respectively. Pakistani Mahammad Afzia - 180, as well as a number of representatives of other countries.

The Soviet Union even issued a postage stamp in honor of Mukhamed Eyvazov. He died in 1959 at the age of about 151.

Here is an instructive story from English antiquities experts. In 1935, King Charles invited the peasant Thomas Parr to London, who claimed that he was 152 years old and had outlived 9 kings. Karl did not skimp on the magnificent celebrations. But after a lavish feast, the unique guest died. It was officially announced that he suffered from pneumonia and was buried with honors in Westminster Abbey. But most scientists agree that the real reason The tragic ending was banal overeating at the royal table.

World record holders for longevity

If you look at the lists proposed by Wikipedia, they list the 100 most “long-lived” inhabitants of the planet, whose proven age at the time of death exceeded 114 years. The lists of the “younger” ones, 100 years and older, are much longer.

And here we again encounter mysteries and contradictions. If somewhere decent living conditions help you enjoy years, then how can you explain the phenomenon of Maggie Pauline Barnes, who lived 115 years 319 days (from 1882 to 1998). This is truly unique: she is the only representative of the world's centenarians who were born into slavery.

The mentioned lists and examples from the Guinness Book of Records also mention the names of American women Bessie Cooper, Elizabeth Bolden, Japanese woman Tane Ikai, representative of Ecuador Maria Capovilla and dozens of other “champions” who have crossed the line of 116-year life expectancy. And Sarah Knauss was over 119 years old at the time of her death (she is from the USA).

Japanese Tane Ikai said that her success is associated with her love for seafood, which is what she always preferred in her diet. But Canadian Maria Louise Mailer safely reached the age of 117 years and 230 days, but all her life she worked tirelessly, and in difficult conditions. Two husbands, 10 children. In addition, Maria did not refuse a glass or two of wine, and quit smoking on her 90th birthday.

There are few men in this glorious cohort. In the category of world centenarians, the Guinness Book of Records recorded the name of a Japanese man who lived just over 116 years. This is Jiroemon Kimura. Christian Mortensen, a Dane who emigrated to the USA, enjoyed life for 115 years and 252 days. Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro is also among the record holders with a total of 115 years 163 days. There are several “junior” champions.

Jeanne Calment: the fierce Frenchwoman

For many years, the list of the world's longest-living people was headed by Jeanne-Louise Calment with a phenomenal result of 122 years and 164 days (1875–1997). Just imagine: she could see the first flight of the Wright brothers, survived two world wars and a bunch of other significant events in world history.

I suggest watching a video about her and the Top 10 centenarians of our planet.

It turns out that her recipe for success is constant physical activity. A bicycle, and not a recreational one, she was almost a pro in racing! And at the age of 85, she learned to fence decently. To last days She was alert and clear-minded, and had an excellent sense of humor. And a taste for good clothes!

Louise Kalman explained her record by her ability to follow simple rule: “When problems cannot be solved, there is no need to worry.”

By the way, the frantic Frenchwoman did not eat nectar and ambrosia at all. Do you know when she denied herself the pleasure of drinking a glass of port every day? At 117 years old! One unlucky notary decided to “bless” 92-year-old Jeanne-Louise by undertaking to pay her life annuity. She lived for another 30 years, long outliving the notary who never came to see her modest apartment.

Antisa Khvichava: an example of hard work

But who should be considered the officially recognized longest-living person in the world in all of history, at least modern history? This is Antisa Khvichava, an ordinary Georgian woman, just shy of 133 years old. She worked on tea plantations for 85 years.

There are documents confirming the authenticity of her birth in 1880. This was recognized by specialists from the Guinness Book of Records, who issued the Georgian a corresponding certificate.

Antisa Khvichava was illiterate, so she did not undertake to tell the numerous guests about the origins of her uniqueness. But she was interested in the latest science and wanted to learn how to use a computer. Her liveliness of mind and natural curiosity remained with her until her last breath.

What do scientists know about the secret of longevity?

Let's try to sum up some results. Who are they, the long-livers of the world: self-made people or lucky ones, darlings of fate?

Of course, a lot is being done in terms of the overall development of healthcare and increasing the life expectancy of entire countries and peoples. Infant mortality rates are decreasing, and a lot has been done in terms of searching for new methods of treating oncology and diseases of the cardiovascular system. But they still take the most human lives, making his own black edits to the statistics.

University of California anatomy professor Leonard Hayflick discovered an interesting pattern: human life expectancy and the ratio of brain weight to body weight are proportionally related. The more private it is, the longer life is. According to him, aging begins when we stop growing. In fact, from about 30 years old, or even earlier. And here are the sharks Galapagos tortoises and a number of other creatures age very slowly, since almost all their lives they grow slightly in size.

Paracelsus, meanwhile, was confident that a person could live 600 years. His Russian colleagues Ilya Mechnikov and Alexander Bogomolets gave us a term of 160 years.

We can say that the process is influenced by heredity, and this is partly true. Ecology, nutrition, healthy lifestyle - all these are influencing factors. But even from the above examples it is clear that “our” centenarians were not angelic creatures. Some drank, by the way, some, even quite decently, others smoked or even smoked recklessly, and still others abused coffee.

The Irish landowner Brown, who is believed to have lived to be 120 years old, bequeathed a tombstone inscription for himself. Here is her text: “He was always drunk and so terrible in this state that death itself was afraid of him.”

Here are thoughts for all of us... But there is, after all, one thing in common that unites all the centenarians of the world - this is an inexhaustible love of life and optimism. They lived long because they sincerely loved life. And she reciprocated.

I wish us all health and the simple joys of life. We all have something to learn from long-livers: the same positivity, hard work and a calmer attitude towards stress.

And for the soul we will listen today Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Piano Concerto No. 23 , A major, 2nd movement Adagio. Piano: Vladimir Horowitz. Listen to such wonderful music more often. Mozart is light, purity and simply spiritual joy.