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Elizabeth Francis was the oldest living American at 114 years and 217 days old.
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She attributes her longevity to God, but her family believes lifestyle factors also play a role.
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These include quitting smoking, cooking food from scratch, and being close to your family.
He was succeeded by William Taft in 1909. theodore roosevelt Even after becoming president of the United States, women still could not vote in the United States, making Elizabeth Frances the oldest living American.
She took the title from Edie Ceccarelli, who died of unknown causes on February 22 at the age of 116 years and 17 days.
Francis, who is 114 years and 217 days old at the time of this writing, was born in Louisiana but moved to Texas in 1920.
She has lived with her 94-year-old daughter Dorothy Williams since 1999, and a caregiver visits her every day, TODAY.com reported last summer.
The Washington Post reported that she began using a wheelchair in 2017, when she was 108 years old, but was bedridden by the time of the Post's interview in August 2023.
Francis also has memory problems, but is mentally alert and aware of his family, Williams told TODAY.com. When researchers from LongevyQuest, an organization that verifies the ages of supercentenarians, visited her on her 114th birthday in July 2023, she gave four hours for her visitors. A court could be held.
Francis has no secret to living to 114, but he credits God for his longevity. “It's not my secret. It's the Lord's good blessing. I'm just thankful to God that I'm here,” she told TODAY.com last summer.
However, her family believes that several lifestyle factors contributed to her living this long.
Frances' family believes her healthy lifestyle allowed her to live to be 114 years old.
Until the age of 90, Frances always took good care of her health, walking regularly and never smoking or drinking alcohol, her granddaughter Ethel Harrison told TODAY.com.
According to TODAY.com, she always cooked with vegetables she grew in her garden, including collard greens, mustard greens, carrots and okra.
Harrison told ABC13 she never saw her grandmother eat fast food.
“Whenever I went to her house, I didn't care what day of the week it was, she would cook for me. So I think that had a lot to do with it,” she said of her grandmother's longevity. talked about.
Nutritionists typically recommend a diet centered on whole foods, and one study suggests that eating more plants and less processed foods can add 10 years to your life.
Frances also spends a lot of time with her family. Harrison visits her mother and her grandmother's house almost every day, and she told TODAY.com that “her family unit always does things together.”
Research shows that building strong relationships and being social leads to longer, healthier lives.
Frances also worked hard to support her family as a single mother and continued to be active after retirement. “She was a hard worker. That's what I remember most about her. Even when she retired, she still worked. She did housework, but she was always working.” said Harrison.
LongeviQuest researchers previously told BI that while it is common for centenarians they have encountered to work as long as possible, a 2016 study showed that early retirement increases the risk of death. He said he was there.
Read the original article on Business Insider
