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Tags: longevity, senior drivers, old age, safety, Cuba, health, fitness

Got organic milk? (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)

Switching to organic is tough for many families who don’t want to pay higher prices or give up their favorite foods. But by choosing organic versions of just a few foods that you eat often, you can increase the percentage of organic food in your diet without big changes to your shopping cart or your spending.

The key is to be strategic in your organic purchases. Opting for organic produce, for instance, doesn’t necessarily have a big impact, depending on what you eat. According to the Environmental Working Group, commercially-farmed fruits and vegetables vary in their levels of pesticide residue. Some vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus and onions, as well as foods with peels, such as avocados, bananas and oranges, have relatively low levels compared to other fruits and vegetables. more

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Jeanne Louise Calment (February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) reached the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122 years and 164 days. Thanks Dr. Brickey

Shigechiyo Izumi lived 120 years 237 days

The chances of becoming the oldest person in the
world, is pretty unlikely, but only one person in today’s 6.3 billion
people is. However, that would be based on the number of babies born in
a given year.

The U.S.’s 1990 centenarian census:
In 1990, the United States had classified 37,206 centenarians, with
30,947 aged 100 to 104, and 6,359 aged 105 and above. 29,405 of them
were women and 7,901 of them were men.

In October of 2001, the U.S. Census
Bureau reported 50,454 centenarians out of 281.4 million Americans
(.01792963…) From present data, the number of centenarians worldwide
is around 450,000. But, the population of centenarians is far greater
than the population of supercentenarians.

more supercentenarians!

ADAM FORD, mild-mannered and trim at 170 pounds, doesn’t feel oddhitting his petite wife. How else will she learn to instinctively duckor perfect her combinations? Still, three years ago, whenthe couple started sparring together under a trainer’s supervision,throwing any punches at each other didn’t come easy. He’s still extracautious. He sends pillow-fight-strength shots to her shoulders ratherthan use his full force during their weekly matchups at the PrintingHouse Fitness and Squash Club in Greenwich Village. more

By Chris Hawley
USA TODAY

AJIJIC, Mexico — After Jean Douglas turned 70, she realized she couldn’t take care of herself anymore. Her knees were giving out, and winters in Bandon, Ore., were getting harder to bear alone.

Douglas was shocked by the high cost and impersonal care at assisted-living facilities near her home. After searching the Internet for other options, she joined a small but steadily growing number of Americans who are moving across the border to nursing homes in Mexico, where the sun is bright and the living is cheap.

For $1,300 a month — a quarter of what an average nursing home costs in Oregon — Douglas gets a studio apartment, three meals a day, laundry and cleaning service, and 24-hour care from an attentive staff, many of whom speak English. She wakes up every morning next to a glimmering mountain lake, and the average annual high temperature is a toasty 79 degrees. more

For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.

Countries that surpass the U.S. include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands. more

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