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100-plus: Centenarians reveal their healthy-aging secrets · 20-Minute Health Talk

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  Welcome to 20-Minute Health Talk. I'm your host, Rob Hoyle.
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  Today, you'll hear from a very special group of people, centenarians, all over 100 years old.
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  They recently shared their New Year's resolutions for 2024 in a TV commercial
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  for Northwell Health inspired by their hopes and goals.
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  We wanted to learn a little bit more about them and their secrets to living a long life.
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  Also, with us to provide some perspective and guidance on healthy aging is Dr.
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  Maria Carney. She is the Chief of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Northwell
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  Health, and she's a former Nassau County Health Commissioner.
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  Dr. Carney, welcome to the show.
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  First things first, Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Thanks for having me.
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  We're so excited to kick off this episode by listening to this commercial,
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  which aired around New Year's called Resolutions.
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  But before we do that, Dr. Carney, what's your New Year's resolution?
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  Oh, that's a good question. My New Year's resolution... And did you break it already? ready.
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  Now, I am doing Dry January. Oh, nice. Okay, good. I'm happy that that's been so far successful.
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  And my New Year's resolution is just trying to stay a little bit more active,
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  more walking and exercise.
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  So, so far, so good. Awesome. Excellent. Well, let's take a listen to this commercial that aired on.
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  What's my New Year's resolution? Now that I think about it, is that I should smile more.
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  I haven't done skydiving. I want to see more of the world.
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  To make a difference. To sleep a little later.
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  I want to dance the nectar slide.
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  I want to get a new bachelor's pad. I want to keep winning at poker.
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  Northwell, raise health. All right. That's great.
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  It's so amazing. And you look at these people and you wouldn't,
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  if you saw them out, if you met them in a restaurant or something else,
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  you would never think that they're a hundred, you know, or over a hundred,
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  they're over a hundred years old.
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  No. And we tend to categorize older adults as different, right?
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  But what these individuals did, you see a little bit of yourselves in them, right?
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  And you can say, wow, I, that, that's me. me. I'm thinking about my resolutions,
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  not dissimilar to how they're thinking about their resolution. So that could be me.
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  So I think that's another key here. Well, you know, it's interesting.
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  I think too, it's like, obviously they just took the parts for the commercial
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  because they need to fit it all into a 30 second ad, but there was a lot more
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  to the footage. And so they gave some really great insights.
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  Do you want to hear a little bit more of some of what they had to say?
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  I'd love to. Okay, let's kick it off with Lenora D'Ambrosio.
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  Today, she is 102 years old, and she says that her longevity has to do a lot with her diet.
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  People ask me, what do I attribute my longevity to?
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  In the first place, I say I owe it all to God. God's been good to me.
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  And I say olive oil because I eat a Mediterranean diet, and I have always eaten
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  a Mediterranean diet, being from Italian background.
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  And I have some neighbors that don't ever eat a vegetable, a green vegetable.
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  But I eat my green vegetables and I eat raw vegetables and salads.
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  Lenora talks about the Mediterranean diet. I hear that all the time,
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  the Mediterranean diet. Is that something that's going to help you live longer?
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  Yes. Studies have shown that antioxidants from blueberries and other fresh fruits help longevity.
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  The olive oil helps the cardiovascular system. And really, it's based on olive
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  oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meat, chicken.
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  So, yes, her background supports it. The literature supports it.
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  And there's truth to this.
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  That's awesome. She also mentions, which I think is fascinating,
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  she mentions her faith. Yes.
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  That, too, has been a key to longevity for many reasons.
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  It's not only a belief system, but I think it helps with understanding when you,
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  it creates a support system of people, of network, and also helps you deal with
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  events or traumas that you go through to give you peace and coping skills.
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  So I think having a spirituality, faith, a community that you believe in and
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  can go to helps one as we live longer.
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  Because the longer we live, the more likely we're going to face some trauma
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  and we have to learn how to cope with it.
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  And I think that it sounds like that is how it's helped her.
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  That's awesome. So let's switch gears and talk about stress.
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  One of our centenarians had a very interesting take on stress.
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  Us. This is Angelina Teresi, who is 103, and let's see what she had to say.
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  You know, when people ask you, how do you stay so young? No sex.
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  Because you know, it's true. If you don't have a husband, you don't have kids,
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  so you don't get the stress, and the stress is the biggest killer.
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  So that's the answer. No sex? No sex.
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  So there you have it there you go i don't know if we could say that's doctor's
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  orders but what's your take well i think i don't know i think stress,
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  can wear on individuals and you can reverse it you can say that you can have
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  a spouse you can can have intimacy, you can have friendships,
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  you can have relationships.
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  Those will help you in life and support you. But if you have negative relationships,
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  that can definitely cause stress and hurt you over time.
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  So I'm going to spin it that way. How about that? All right.
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  Angelina also talked about exercise, perhaps a safer bet when it comes to living longer.
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  Another one of the stars of this commercial is Isadora Blank.
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  Isadora Blank Mike, also stressed the importance of staying active in life.
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  Let's listen to this 102-year-old that people call Izzy.
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  I do my walking every day because I got walking helps you a lot.
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  I used to walk six miles a day.
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  I did a lot of walking all the time.
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  You know, Izzy has an amazing story. He was born in Romania.
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  1922, he and his family made it to America, and he went on to work on cars and
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  raise a family. What role does exercise play in longevity?
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  Exercise, activity, not being sedentary plays an enormous role.
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  It can decrease mortality twofold.
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  It is an important factor for cardiovascular health, brain health,
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  bone health, and preventing injuries and falls.
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  I have patients that, whether they play golf or do housework or are just active,
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  and that helps their mind, heart, and musculoskeletal system.
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  It is the number one issue that, as Americans, we struggle with.
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  We are sedentary people.
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  IPads, screens, TV are what we have to fight against and stay active with,
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  whether it be walking, whether it's staying active in your own home, your social networks.
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  And Northwell does that with our walk challenges. We need more of that in society.
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  Society, walking clubs, walking challenges, not running marathons necessarily,
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  because that's intimidating, but just staying active.
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  And six miles a day, that's amazing.
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  All right. So diet, exercise, and stress are all things that a doctor or doctors,
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  plurals, can help us manage along with other health conditions.
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  And keeping regular doctor's appointments is key at all ages,
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  but I imagine it gets even more critical as we get older. This is Margaret Madeline.
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  She is 101 years young, and she had this to say about it.
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  And very grateful, very grateful that my health needs are met with a home health
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  doctor who visits me monthly.
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  And that is a godsend because my vision and hearing aren't that great.
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  And that keeps me going. I don't have to worry about getting transportation
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  to my regular physician every month.
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  Yeah. Wonderful. I think the delivery of health care where individuals live
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  is the future of medicine.
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  We have to rely at a certain point on help from others when we get to a certain ability, age.
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  And that is an issue for having a caregiver.
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  And caregivers are often working. 70% of caregivers also have jobs.
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  So they have to take time off and so forth.
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  So if we can send teens to where a person lives and check on their health,
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  that will save caregiver time.
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  It will save the health system by involving or being on top of health problems
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  before they become more serious.
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  So having a primary care doctor, having a geriatrician, this woman has a geriatrician
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  because I'm familiar with her,
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  and she has a care brought to her is so unique and it should be reserved for
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  individuals who have trouble getting out and about.
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  In these interviews, a lot of people talk about his purpose.
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  You hear about a spouse dying soon after they lose a wife or husband or after retirement.
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  Let's listen to this clip from Margaret who talks about purpose that keeps her going strong.
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  I still work. Of course, it's not a paid job. It's volunteer.
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  But it serves a very needed purpose at the Independent Living Residence where I live.
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  And that fills my life because it's giving me something that I can find pleasure
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  in doing that I know is of value to others.
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  And it just makes me feel pretty good and I'm still chugging along. Great.
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  I think that's just great. That's great. A little humility, just chugging along.
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  Right. I think purpose is important for everybody at any stage of life.
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  Finding your purpose, finding your impact helps you get out of bed in the morning
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  and that's a great example.
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  Yeah. Another topic that came up a few times during these interviews is family.
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  We're going to hear from Ben Padovano. He was born in 1922.
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  He's 102 years young. And he had just to say about how his family keeps him going.
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  To be in a situation and to have reasonably still have my health.
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  But the main thing is I still have, as I say, a quality of life because I have
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  my grandchildren, my married son lives nearby, so we get together quite a bit.
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  That's nice. I love the word. I'm sorry. No, I was going to say,
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  how important is family support?
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  I think support is very important. And what you call your family has to be brought.
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  Not everybody may have a son nearby, but they have what they consider family.
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  So I think that support is very important.
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  And we can be creative or non-traditional about what family is.
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  I take care of some nuns. that live in convents across the region.
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  And there's a lot to learn from their community that has become their family over time.
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  So yes, family and what you call family is extremely important.
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  I also love what he said about his quality of life because we sometimes talk
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  about longevity, but in the literature, we're now starting to talk about health span versus lifespan.
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  And it's not necessarily how
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  long you live, but what's your quality of life in that time we all have?
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  And he speaks to that. He's realizing his quality of life is quite good.
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  And he can only say that. We can't.
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  So I think that's an important aspect we need to think about about when we think
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  about ourselves as physicians, clinicians, who we care for, what's important
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  to people, what's their quality of life, and how do we align it?
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  Yeah, it's awesome. You know what's fascinating about Benny too is that he wants to start a podcast.
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  So hopefully maybe we could be on his podcast one day. He's going to call his podcast The Way It Is.
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  Oh, that's great. That's great. I would love to be on a show.
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  Put me on the list. All right, great.
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  Another big part of his life, and it's our next topic, is pets.
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  So Benny says pets play an important role in his life. So let's listen to that.
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  Oh, I'm a cat person. I have, all my life we've had cats in my house.
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  Presently, I have four and about five or six strays that I feed each day on
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  my porch. They're wonderful companions.
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  Maybe it had something to do with my life extension.
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  Who knows? They say animals are very beneficial for people's well-being.
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  I have heard that and we've seen it and the literature has supported that pets,
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  companionship, even plants to a certain extent, it's something you're caring
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  for as well as you get feedback from, somehow helps you.
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  So I've seen that. We do have to be careful that pets don't contribute to falls.
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  Oh, right. Okay. Okay. So that would be my only caveat to be careful.
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  So don't get a, make sure that the animal.
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  Right. It's not maybe too rambunctious. Yes. Okay. Awesome.
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  But yes, in terms of companionship, pets can be very supportive and give warmth.
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  Yeah. And they always love you. They never, they never argue with you and never
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  got mad at you. They're always there for you. Right.
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  All right. Let's hear from Priscilla Edmonds who hit a hundred years old in 2023.
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  My secret is exercise a lot.
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  I used to exercise a lot. I do the push-up aerobic about an hour each day,
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  but I haven't been doing it recently.
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  Also, eating healthy, plenty of sleep, and my thing, be a good listener.
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  Listen to what people have to say instead of just ignoring them.
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  If you want to help someone, you've got to be a good listener in order to be
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  a compassion for people.
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  A few points there that were wonderful. Sleep.
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  So sleep is an important factor and the science, we're learning more about it
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  and how it's important to rejuvenating our cells, our brains, and our heart.
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  And being attuned to your sleep hygiene, your sleep patterns is important.
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  Phones, screens have come into our bedrooms and affected our sleep patterns.
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  As we age, our sleep physiology also changes. So it can worry people.
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  We may not be getting as long of sleep or as deep of sleep as we grow older.
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  So there may be opportunities to take short naps.
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  But there's a need to rest. rest.
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  And we have to be careful that we don't change our days and nights.
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  If we sleep during the day, take a nap, that may decrease our sleep at night.
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  So it's something we have to be attuned to. We have to watch,
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  but we have to rejuvenate our bodies.
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  And so it's important. And be cautious that sleep aids, sleep medications are
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  not always the simple answer.
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  Really look at your sleep hygiene and work on that first.
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  When you talk about sleep hygiene, what do you mean? I mean,
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  what is your going to bed pattern?
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  What time are you going to bed?
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  Are you looking at your phone? Are you reading? Is there noise?
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  Are there distractions? Do you have a TV in your room?
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  Are you going to a routine that promotes sleep?
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  Is there noise around that going to interrupt your sleep? Are you watching the
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  news before you go to bed that it's going to get you worried and trying to understand
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  what is helping or hurting your sleep?
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  Are you drinking alcohol that that can affect your sleep? What medicines are
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  you on that can affect your sleep?
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  So those are all the sleep hygiene kind of aspects.
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  And there's a lot out there that you can read about having good sleep, hygiene,
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  noise reduction, screen reduction, your getting to bed pattern,
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  and trying to keep your sleep at night as much as possible.
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  Okay, great. Awesome. Well, we're almost out of time here on 20-Minute Health
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  Talk. Let's close it out with Benny, who talks about genetics and how that's
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  played a role in his longevity.
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  I have had a 100-year-old grandfather, 100-year-old aunt, several aunts in the 90s.
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  I have an older brother pass away at 97.
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  I have a younger brother still living who's going to be 96.
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  No, he's going to be 97 also. So it's in the genes to a great extent. friend.
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  Not wrong, but also your genes, your genetic, your family history also promotes a social behavior.
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  How many smoked? How many did risky behaviors?
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  So there's a component. There's not all genetic. We also know with modern day
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  healthcare, who's at risk for diseases, how to a screen for diseases,
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  mammograms, colon cancers.
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  There's genetic testing we can do for many cancers, brain diseases.
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  So if you are with a thorough primary care doctor, you can go through the screenings
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  early on to promote longevity and healthy living.
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  That's awesome. Well, Dr. Carney, thank you so much for joining us here on 20-Minute
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  Health Talk. This is actually your third time on on the program.
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  And it's always been fascinating discussion.
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  But this may have been the most fun topic we got to talk about. This is great. Thanks.
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  I really enjoyed it. And it's wonderful to be here. Thank you. Awesome.
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  Thank you so much. And thank you so much for tuning in. I'm Rob Hoyle.
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  Have a great day and stay safe.
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• 19:44
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