Older than dirt

This morning, I read an article in the Chicago Tribune about a new entrée that the Cheesecake Factory had called the Bistro Shrimp Pasta.

This “heart attack on a plate” was listed as having 3120 calories, 79 grams of saturated fat, and 1500 milligrams of sodium. The article also mentioned a few other dishes at other chains that should give you pause, which included the Bacon Cheddar Double Cheeseburger at Johnny Rockets.

This monster burger has 1770 calories, 50 grams of saturated fat, and an astonishing 2380 milligrams of sodium. It actually has more calories than THREE Quarter Pounders with Cheese. Believe it or not, though, this is NOT the largest hamburger sold in America. That 'honor" goes to Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, which can sell you a FIFTEEN POUNDER. A man named Brad Sciullo, a chef from Pennsylvania, consumed one in October of 2008 - in one sitting.

By now, most of us know that a healthy diet, combined with a healthy lifestyle, can extend our lives longer than what would normally be expected. I’ve done some “tweaking” recently in both my diet and my lifestyle, so I re-took the RealAge test again this morning to see how old I am from a health standpoint. Chronologically, I’ll be 66 in August, but my “Real Age” is actually 60.6 years old. If you’d like to find out YOUR Real Age, just click on the link below, set up a password, and take the test:

how old AM I?

We’ve all heard stories about why the Mediterranean diet is good for you, and that Japanese people all live longer because they eat a lot of fish, but what IS the secret to a long life?

The link below will allow you to look at a verified list of the 100 oldest people in the world, and you’ll find quite a few surprises.:

who are you calling an old geezer?

For one thing, of the oldest 25 people ever recorded, only 2 of them were Japanese, and only 2 others lived in areas that would normally follow the “Mediterranean Diet”. The country that has the MOST people (14 out of the top 25) living past 100?

The United States, home of the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

The world’s oldest human, Jeanne Calment, lived a life of leisure, and survived on a Mediterranean Diet, but the ages of most of the other old folks on the list often defied logic.

Although she took up fencing at the age of 85, and rode her bicycle until she was 100, there are other parts of her lifestyle that will make you scratch your head. For one thing, she smoked from the time that she was 21 until she was 117, ate over two pounds of chocolate every week, and frequently consumed port wine.

America's oldest living veteran ((Richard Overton) recently met with President Obama in the White House. He is now 107 years old, and has survived by taking no medicine other than aspirin, drinking whiskey with his morning coffee, and smoking up to 12 cigars a day.

Sarah Knauss, number 2 on the list, was born in an impoverished coal mining town in Pennsylvania, and was a homemaker for most of her life. She confessed to a fondness for chocolate turtles, cashews, and potato chips. Her daughter (who lived to be 101 herself) attributed her mother’s long life to the fact that “she was a very tranquil person, and nothing fazes her”.

Lucy Hannah, number 3 on the list, was one of the eight children born to slaves living in southern Alabama. After she and her husband moved to Detroit to work in the auto factories, they also had 8 children. Two of Lucy’s sisters lived to be 100, and her mother (who was whipped every day when she was a slave) lived to be 99.

Elizabeth Bolden, number 7 on the list, was born in southern Tennessee, and was the daughter of freed slaves. She and her husband had 7 children, most of whom passed before she did. She is survived by a LARGE NUMBER of relatives, including 75 great-great-great-great-children.

Besse Cooper, number 8 on the list, was the third of eight children born to her parents in a tiny town in Tennessee. She was a school teacher for many years, and her husband was a farmer. After her husband’s death, she lived alone on their farm for 48 years, and finally moved into a nursing home when she was 105.

Finally, Maggie Barnes (number 9 on the list) was also the child of slaves. She married a tenant farmer, and they had 15 children together, 11 of whom preceded her in death.

If you want to live a long life, it’s good to watch what you eat, and to live a healthy lifestyle, but now you know the REAL SECRET to living to a ripe old age:

Be poor - and stay calm.