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Key to living past 100 may hinge on your gut health, study of centenarians shows TOKYO — Centenarians have unique gut bacteria that enables them to live to a ripe old age, according to new research. Scientists in Japan say this unique gut makeup fuels bile acids that protect against disease. The discovery could lead to yogurts and other probiotic foods that increase longevity. “In people over the age of 100, an enrichment in a distinct set of gut microbes generate unique bile acids,” says lead author Professor Kenya Honda of Keio University in a statement per South West News...

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has surpassed 80,000 for the first time amid the rapid aging of the country’s population, government data showed Tuesday. The number of centenarians rose 9,176 from the previous year to 80,450 as of Tuesday for the 50th consecutive annual increase, with women accounting for 88.2 percent of the total, according to the data released by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. Centenarians marked the largest annual increase with the number of men rising 1,011 from last year to 9,475 and women up 8,165 to 70,975, the tally showed. The ministry...

Longtime friends and neighbors Matilda and Mickey both turned 100 years old within days of each otherWhen asked about the secret to a long life, 100-year-old Matilda Curcia told NBC 7 San Diego that she has one beer and three potato chips every night. She later admitted with a grin that she might eat a little more than three chips. "I've experienced good health," Matilda said. "I have no pain and do my exercises every day. And have my beer. Eat my potato chips. That's about all." Matilda and her neighbor, identified as Mickey, both turned 100 years old this...

I know, I know, Megyn Kelly, but this segment on Lt. Jim Downing, 104, is worth a watch.

The inspector general for the Social Security Administration has found that 6.5 million active Social Security cards belong to people claiming to be 112 years old or older. Worldwide, the number of people currently living to be 112 stands at 35. Clearly, most of those people are dead, and relatives never bothered to tell Social Security about it. But a significant number of those claiming to be 112 years old are thought to be stealing the identity of dead people. From Washington Post: "The Social Security Administration’s inspector general said in a report on Monday that the questionable identification numbers...

Centenarians have found a way to beat the common diseases of old age, such as cancer and heart disease, research suggests. The study by King's College London found they were more likely to die of infections such as pneumonia, unlike younger groups of elderly people. Researchers said 28% of 100- to 115-year-olds died of "old age" and a fifth of pneumonia. Cancer claimed the lives of fewer than 5% and heart disease fewer than 9%. The study was based on an analysis of 36,000 death certificates. By comparison, these diseases were the most common reasons for death among the 80-...

Jeremy Vandel/Flickr There's no magic bullet to living beyond the age of 100. But some places are on the right track.  National Geographic writer Dan Buettner seeks out "Blue Zones," a few pockets around the world where a higher number of people live for a remarkably long time. The remote island of Ikaria in Greece is one hotspot of exceptional human longevity. Here, there are more healthy people over 90 than any other place on the planet. Buettner and his team spent 15 months studying the centenarians of Ikaria. The trip was documented in a series of videos, in which...

Almost a fifth of the people living in the UK today will live to see their 100th birthday, a government study reveals. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, an estimated 10 million of Britain's current residents, or 17% of the population, will live to be at least 100 years old. The report predicts that by 2066 there will be at least 507,000 UK residents aged 100 or over, including 7,700 people aged 110 or over. The figures represent a significant increase on the current 11,800 people in the UK who are at least 100 years old, while those...

One of Britain's oldest women was among four pensioners who were forced to leave their council-run care home today after losing their fight to keep it open. Louisa Watts, 106, had vowed not to leave Underhill House in Wolverhampton, and her son, Derek, warned that the upheaval could kill her, but this morning the elderly residents were moved to a different home a few miles away. Ms Watts, believed to be the fifth oldest woman in Britain, moved to the care home four years ago, following the death of her daughter. Five other women who had lived at the home,...

WASHINGTON — It's starting to get crowded in the 100-year-olds' club. Once virtually nonexistent, the world's population of centenarians is projected to reach nearly 6 million by midcentury. That's pushing the median age toward 50 in many developed nations and challenging views of what it means to be old and middle-age. The number of centenarians already has jumped from an estimated few thousand in 1950 to more than 340,000 worldwide today, with the highest concentrations in the U.S. and Japan, according to the latest Census Bureau figures. Their numbers are projected to grow at more than 20 times the rates...

When Hazel Homer was 99, more than one doctor advised that there was little to be done about her failing heart except wait for it to fail a final time. But Mrs. Homer was not interested in waiting to die of what many would call old age. Now, at 104, her heart is still ticking, thanks to a specialized pacemaker and defibrillator that synchronizes her heartbeat and can administer a slight shock to revive her if her heart falters. Her operation, a month before her 100th birthday, reflects what some doctors are hailing as a new frontier in medicine: successful...

Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Invecchiamento, Universita La Sapienza, Roma. Cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to the most common causes of death in the elderly and contributes to the higher death rate and disability rate associated with many chronic illnesses that are common in this age group. The combination of smoking along with other risk factors like hypertension and diabetes increase high frequency disease, and disability as well as adding to an increase in mortality rate. In order to verify if a healthy lifestyle really favours longevity and how much smoking is incompatible with extreme longevity, we investigated the prevalence of...

<p>Mother Ruby Muhammad had hoped to get her watermelons and summer annuals into her Sacramento County garden before a trip to Chicago. But there hadn't been enough time.</p> <p>And she'd like to write another poem.</p> <p>At 106, Mother Ruby is downright vivacious. She was sad for a friend who confided to her that she was just waiting for the Lord to take her to heaven.</p>