Data Analysis of a Supercentenarian

On August 19th, 2024, a lady named Maria Branyas Morera passed away in Spain. She was born in 1907 and lived 117 years and 168 days. At the time of her passing, she was the oldest person on Earth.

About a year before she died, scientists received permission to examine her. They wanted to figure out what set her apart. How did she live so long?

The results offer some ideas of what works to improve our own health.

Naturally there are lots of disclaimers about this study. Mostly that this is a study involving only one person. So it’s hard to draw definitive conclusions from this one study. As usual ‘more studies (and more grant money) are needed’.

The scientists took samples of her blood, urine, saliva and stool to conduct the study. In short, the scientists found these traits about her:

• Good genes (not much we can do about that)

• A healthy lipid metabolism

• Low inflammation levels

• A healthy immune system

• A very good gut microbiome

• And a very ‘young’ epigenetic age compared with actual age

Let’s start with the healthy lipid metabolism. The study pointed out that she had very low triglycerides and high HDL AND high LDL cholesterol. Her VLDL cholesterol was very low.

Normally we are told to keep our LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol very low. Yet hers was very high. That seems consistent with a lot of studies that show high LDL is associated with longevity and yet lots of doctors still push to lower LDL with statins.

The ratio of triglycerides to HDL can be a very good indicator of cardiovascular health and this woman proves it. If your ratio is above 2, you may want to do something about it. A low-carb, sugar-free diet and lots of exercise can really help.

Who doesn’t want lower inflammation levels? She certainly had low levels of inflammation. When I did some further research on this lady, I found she spent a lot of time outdoors and did a lot of gardening almost every day. I’m thinking the sunshine, fresh air, light exercise from gardening and low stress levels all helped her inflammation.

She was also mentally and socially active. She prioritized spending time with family and friends. She also played the piano and read a lot of books.

For food she ate a lot of fish, olive oil and yogurt. She ate yogurt three times a day. Interestingly, another 117 year old woman, Emma Marano, said she ate the same way since World War I - lots of eggs and chicken.

Seems like both ladies are pretty low carb. Both ladies also avoided harmful vices such as alcohol and smoking.

The yogurt may have really helped her gut. The scientists found a whole lot of Bifidobacterium in her. Other researchers such as Sabine Hazan, have found many benefits of this bacteria, including the ability to fight off infection.

Something particularly interesting is that the scientists found her telomeres, the caps on the end of chromosomes, were extremely short. Normally, people have been saying telomere length shows your genetic aging and may indicate a higher risk of chronic disease. The longer your telomeres, supposedly, the healthier (and younger) you are. Yet she showed the opposite. This might suggest that telomeres are just indicative of aging and not necessarily associated with chronic disease.

In summary, it seems like eating well, exercise, sunshine and low stress can really help your health. Who knew?