Does anyone actually know of anyone who had an unhealthy lifestyle but lived to a ripe old age?

My former MIL’s heavy smoking redecorated her home tar-stain yellow. She died at 96.

PPs keep mentioning butter like it’s a terrible food. We now know that trans fats in margarine and spreads are the problem. Natural foods such as butter are not the problem. It’s the amount we eat. Used sparingly, butter is better than using spreads containing trans fats.

My mum did the same. She smoked from a young age when it was trendy to do so, and harmful smoking information was not available to her generation. She diied aged approximately 76. She had heart and lung condition, diabetes and partial blindness.The last years of her life is tumultuous. We all had to make sure she didn't get hold of a cigarette again, but she always woke up first thing in the morning and said "ooh I'd love a fag".

My father Inlaw. He doesn't smoke obsessively, I suppose 3 or 4 roll ups a day. He still going strong, and is approaching his 90th birthday. He always travels around the country in his caravan, despite having his own house. Unfortunately, my mil never smoke, always kept active, never ate rubbish, drank or did drugs a died of cancer in her 79's poor girl. I don't get it!.x

A Swedish friend’s dad was over 90 when he died, and from all I gather had basically lived on Swedish meatballs and potatoes - no vegetables - for years. Mind you my Swedish friend is no fan of veg either, esp. green veg. Very keen though on cream in absolutely everything,, cheese, ham, and eggs.

My dear Dad died two years ago at the grand age of 96, he loved his whiskey and a lager at lunchtime but never ever ate fruit, vegetables or salad. He was a total carnivore with a few potatoes, no dementia and only ill for four days at the end. He still lived independently and cooked and baked for himself.
He confounded the gp but his lifestyle suited him.

My Father died comparatively young, 49, he had cancer.
His mother and five sisters all lived long healthy lives ,two into their nineties.
My mother lived to 101 and her three brothers and one sister all lived to 80+ or ninety.
The brothers all smoked and enjoyed a drink although I don’t think to excess but I don’t really know.
They were all miners so worked very hard in a dirty job.

My Mum smoked from the age 14 to 84 when she died. But the last 20 or so years she was not healthy. She had a triple heart bypass and valve replacement at 64. She also suffered from COPD and the last 8 years she had an oxygen machine and couldn’t walk far. Apart from that she was never overweight, ate very healthily, took lots of supplements. She loved clothes and was always dressed very smart, always wore heels and impeccable accessories.
Sad that without smoking she could have been much more active.

When I was a teenager and first started going in our village pub there was a married couple who had their own places at the bar where they sat every night of the week, drinking and chain smoking. Apparently they had done that all their lives and were then in their 90s.

I used to know someone who’d always smoked and died in her sleep - no illness - at 94. She had briefly been in hospital a few months previously, I forget why, but before that had only ever been in hospital once, because of malaria, while serving in Italy during WW2!

My Aunt. Smoked heavily all her life, was probably alcholic in middle age, the amount she drank. Lived into her 90s, having survived breast cancer. Also worked full time all her life.

I think that generation had some healthy building blocks during WWII with rationing, that maybe set them up for the future. Some is luck and genetics as well.

I also had a friend who had the healthiest diet and lifestyle you could imagine, who died young. But anyone can get cancer.

TerriBull

Well the actress June Brown, a heavy smoker allegedly, lived to a ripe old age, mid 90s, not that I knew her. I think there are those who have bucked the trend as to being life long smokers and not dying of a cancer related death. Although I'm of the opinion smoking will get you sooner or later, and cigarettes cost a fortune now, so for those who have habit and aren't flush with funds, I'm thinking they do it at the cost of a decent diet maybe?

I knew June personally, she was a heavy smoker. However she also ate like a bird, and took up to 50 vitamin supplements per day. She did very little for herself, her life was arranged and choreographed by her adult children, one of them was even her manager so she only ever had to learn lines In the last 10 years of her life she was legally blind

IMO it’s so much down to luck and genes.
Mil never smoked, hardly drank, ate healthily and was never overweight - died of cancer at 68.

Her younger brother never smoked but drank in moderation, ate healthily, never overweight, died of cancer at IIRC 66.

Their elder brother always smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, lived well into his 80s and died of I forget what, but it wasn’t cancer.

Oldandproud your comment about salt acting as a preservative did make me laugh😂

I think a lot must be down to a person's genes, my old dad smoked 40 untipped cigs every days, liked a drink,
and was brough up on bread and dripping, but he died in his early fifties of a massive heart attack due to heart disease. His brother, my uncle, whose background was the same, died of a massive heart attack at 44.
Our next door neighbour, an old boy in his 90s boasts of a similar lifestyle but is fit as a butcher's dog, says he hasn't caught a virus or had covid for years, and is able to keep his allotment and garden in order as well as volunteering at the local hospital. His older brother is still alive and just went on a cruise!!

Yes! My father-in-law smoked un-tipped cigarettes from the age of 14; drank goodness knows how much beer every day; ate an unhealthy diet of fried food etc … and lived to age 86. He was only unwell for the last 6 months of his life. He didn’t have a care in the world; never worried about anything; just took everything in his stride.

On the other hand, his wife (my mother-in-law) did all the worrying for him. She was permanently anxious, bless her, and died from a sudden heart attack aged 65.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it

Thanks everyone. really interesting replies.

I agree that genetics probably play the biggest part, but those of us with a history of ancestors not making old bones can probably help ourselves by diet etc etc.

I’m always interested when I see so many very long livers in documentaries who came out of the concentration camps, emaciated, sometimes living to over a hundred?🤔

My grandad died aged 87 in 1961. It was considered a ripe old age then. He smoked Woodbines from.the age of 12, covered his food in salt., and ate a lot of suet puddings.
He was healthy all his life till a few weeks before he died of pneumonia.
On the plus side he was not fat and spent time working on his allotment.

My Uncle who smoked a pipe until the day he died, ate red meat every day, never ate vegetables, drank full cream milk and had a sweet tooth. He died suddenly at 89 never having even been "frail".

An old friend of mine died earlier this year, aged 90.
He was divorced in his forties and smoked quite heavily until his seventies and drank quite a lot aswell.
His wouldn't learn to cook and his diet when I first knew him (then in his late forties) consisted of a lot of pies!
He never bought a vegetable unless it came in a can and would combine odd mixtures of food to make a meal, for example sliced Pek canned meat, maybe a can of ravioli and potato waffles or instant mash. He loved cakes ice cream and sweet desserts in little cartons and rarely ate fruit.
He ate proper meals at my house or if we ate out, but never ever gave up his weird combinations except to have microwaved ready meals. He survived the removal of a brain tumour in his sixties, making a total recovery enjoying foreign holidays and short breaks.
However, life caught up with him and sadly he developed several tumours and died, mercifully (for him) fairly quickly.
He was a on off!

My MiL died aged 99 after years of chain smoking and drinking whisky every evening . She boasted that her attendance allowance paid for her Scotch and fags. She put her longevity down to having been starved as a child and living through rationing.

My father smoked between 40 and 60 cigarettes a day most of his adult life, and had started smoking at the age of five! He also smoked a pipe when I was little and cigars at Christmas and New Year.

He died age 89 of pneumonia, having had no serious illnesses or smoking related issues.

My sister was an alcoholic for years and died at 60 of a cancer that had no relation to her misuse of alcohol.

My dad lived to be nearly 90, smoked woodbines (a very strong cig) from 14 years old, drank whisky, ate a fried breakfast most days, basically did what he wanted. Never even caught a bad cold, in spite of not having any flu jab, and died in his sleep. Having said all that I don't advocate that lifestyle he was very lucky, I try to take better care of myself.

watermeadow

Well, this has been an interesting read.
Somewhere in the back of the cupboard there’s salt and the bottle of sherry for the Christmas trifle, both at least five years old. Must get them out and also ask sister to teach me how to smoke.
I really must try to give up vegetables and take to fatty meat.
Sorry Dog but no more walkies.
Now I can look forward to another twenty years, thanks to all your hints.

Watermeadow- you also need to find your chip pan which MiL used at least three times a week. Also buy some beef dripping and spread thickly on white bread and butter. As an alternative buy ready salted crisps add lots more salt then put between two slices thick white buttered bread. Follow this with a large cream cake and tea with four sugars.