- Three of my grandparents lived past the age of 90.
- My paternal grandmother, Mimi, lived to be 95 years old.
- She cared about her community, loved traveling, and worked out every day.
I was lucky enough to know three grandparents who were well into their 90s, but my paternal grandmother, Mimi (she died at the young age of 95, as she was called) lived the longest. It felt like she deserved to live to her old age. In fact, her intentional lifestyle choices played a huge role in keeping her healthy and moving for her 95 years.
For as long as I've known her, Mimi has tried to eat healthy, simple food. Although she was a trained nutritionist, she avoided following fad diets, preferring healthy eating and doing her best to limit the use of preservatives and toxins. She reminds us to avoid nitrates found in processed meats, steam vegetables whenever possible instead of frying them, and limit tuna intake to a few times a week due to its mercury content. He gave it to me.
Moderation was key for Mimi and for her maternal grandmother, my grandmother, who lived to be 93 years old. Her grandmother always enjoyed bread, cheese, and nuts every day, but in small quantities. They both had dessert every once in a while and kept something sweet on hand to serve us. Snacks consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables or something crunchy like walnuts or whole grain cereal. Because of her acid reflux, Mimi limited the acids in foods such as tomatoes and chocolate. Neither Mimi nor Grandma cared much for alcohol and drank very little (if at all), which helped keep their minds sharp.
She moisturized daily and avoided the sun
In Mimi's community in Florida, it was not uncommon for someone to stop her and ask for the name of her orthopedic surgeon. But she never had elective surgery. Her youthful, taut, wrinkle-free glow was the result of her healthy lifestyle and religious home skin care routine (her genetics probably played a role, too) . Mimi frequently massaged Bi-Oil into her face with simple hand massages. She also uses carrot seed oil on her face and vows to moisturize her skin from head to toe every day.
She lives in a warm climate and has had a pool for decades, but she hasn't spent much time sitting in the sun. She always wore her hat and applied plenty of sunscreen when she went outside. She took care of her appearance in other ways as well. As the daughter of a clothing manufacturer, she believed in quality over quantity when it came to wardrobe and maintained a closet full of carefully crafted items.
she exercised every day
For all of my grandparents, physical activity was part of their daily routine to build muscle strength and endurance. Mimi was an early advocate of her home workouts, which suited her lifestyle as a stay-at-home mom from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Long before spin classes became popular, she was using an exercycle to stay fit at home and watching Jack LaLanne's fitness classes on TV. Even as she grew older, she never stopped moving. Whether she practiced aerobics or chair yoga, she was keen to incorporate movement into her daily life. And all my grandparents made sure to take a walk at least once a day.
All of my grandparents loved to travel and always stayed sharp by learning new things.
Lifelong learning was a lifestyle tenet for both of my grandparents. They spent years traveling the world, seeing and learning about different cultures. These memories sustained them even after they could no longer travel far.
Mimi kept a travel diary, which she has since given to me. In her entries and stories, she detailed her travels by train in Japan and Israel, along with her luxurious clothes and the food she ate.
Grandma remembered her travels through the trinkets and decorations she collected around the house. Additionally, her apartment was filled with shelves of books and magazines ranging from Shakespeare to encyclopedias, and she loved cutting out magazines and sharing them with us.
All of my grandparents read the newspaper every day to keep up with the news. In addition to reading, they took classes to further their education well into their 80s and into his 90s. Whether they were learning a new language or taking classes on history or art, they were constantly taking in new information, which stimulated their brains and helped them stay youthful.
Staying connected kept Mimi and other grandparents young
Most of all, they stayed connected to friends and family. They never lost touch, whether by phone, visit, or letter. My grandparents moved into nursing homes and senior care facilities as they got older, but they never stopped making new friends.
They worked to maintain the community around them, such as sharing group meals in the dining room and enjoying painting classes. This gave them joy every day.
