Following listener.co.nz’s Mysteries of the ageless brain big read, nonagenarian Valmai Shearer shares her longevity tips.
I am a fit, healthy and active 98-year-old woman who has never had cancer and, until very recently, had not had Covid. I had my tonsils and adenoids out as a child, bore five children, and had a hysterectomy at 50. A fall in my 90s gave me a fractured pelvis, but that soon healed with good physiotherapy. I rarely get a cold, so I seem to have an excellent immune system.
I believe I owe my continuing good health to six things:
• My daily half-hour walk. I have only recently had to forgo walking up steep hills. Some form of exercise is vital for good health.
• Being a non-smoker – I never got beyond the coughing stage.
• I’ve avoided antibiotics whenever possible. If I get an infected cut on my leg, for instance, I treat it with boiling water. I take a small piece of clean cloth, fold it in half one way, then the other. This gives me a V-shaped angle of cloth that I dip into boiling water then dab on the infected area a dozen times, twice a day, until the infection is gone. Heat is an old treatment.
• When I was 85, I had ongoing diarrhoea. My GP arranged a colonoscopy and the report was clear. He had no other suggestions. I visited a registered naturopath, who sent me for a blood test. The report was that I had coeliac disease, an inherited illness. Looking back, I realised my mother had that in her later years, but it was not diagnosed back then. My naturopath has tested me for vitamins and minerals, ensuring I have sufficient. Your GP could do the same.
• I have enough interests to give me a reason for getting up in the morning, from family and doing puzzles to memberships of organisations, etc.
• Most importantly, I’m careful about what I eat. I was raised on a farm in North Canterbury, where we grew our own vegetables. I continued this throughout my life, and we always had huge compost heaps to keep the veges at their best. Of course, some frozen peas are occasionally handy, and I mostly buy vegetables now. I have also avoided manufactured food wherever possible, apart from the occasional biscuit. So much manufactured food uses artificial colouring, flavourings and preservatives, which have been proven to be bad for us. I’m even careful when buying ice cream and yoghurt. Similarly, the only manufactured drinks I have come from local company Barker’s, which uses natural colourings and flavourings.
I’ve found as I’ve got older that some foods no longer agree with my body, but if I eat according to my blood type, I find the food that suits me. A book, Eat Right for Your Type, by Peter J D’Adamo, shows which foods are good and which should be avoided. It divides food into categories such as meat, fish, dairy and eggs; oils, nuts and seeds; beans and legumes; grains and cereals; vegetables; fruits; beverages; herbs and spices, condiments, sweeteners and additives. I now eat several different nuts with my muesli, which gives me extra energy.
I drink alcohol rarely – half a glass of red wine, say, once a month or every three weeks – and I have never eaten at KFC or McDonald’s, or had a commercially made pizza.
I shall be glad if this is helpful for anyone.
Valmai Shearer is an active member of the U3A Mt Albert and organises lunch trips out for residents of her Auckland retirement village.
