Calment’s Secret of LongevityJeanne Calment came from a bourgeois family and never had to work. Her husband, a cousin, was a prosperous storeowner who offered her a life of ease revolving around tennis, bicycling, swimming, roller skating, piano and opera.
In later years, Calment lived mostly off the income from her apartment, which she sold cheaply to a lawyer when she was 90. Andre-Francois Raffray, who apparently relied on the actuarial table, signed a contingency contract with Calment and agreed to pay a life annuity of 2,500 francs ($500) a month under a deal to make him the owner of Calment's flat when she dies. Yet, he died at 77 and his family was still paying for more than a year until she died. Altogether, they paid more than 900,000 francs ($180,000), three times the value of the house.
Internationally, researchers are fascinated with Calment for both her longevity and her vitality. "She never did anything special to stay in good health," said French researcher Jean-Marie Robine. They attribute her longevity to her immunity to stress. She once said “ If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it.â€
Calment herself credited an occasional glass of Port wine and a diet rich in olive oil for her longevity. She also recommended laughter as a recipe for longevity and jokes that "God must have forgotten me." ( L'Oubliee de Dieu?). For skin care, she recommends olive oil and a dab of make-up. "All my life I've put olive oil on my skin and then just a puff of powder. I could never wear mascara, I cried too often when I laughed."
She took up fencing lessons at 85 and rode bicycle until 100. However, she used to ate two lbs. of chocolate per week until her doctor persuaded her to give up sweets at the age of 119.
She quit smoking only at 119, but her doctor said her abstinence was due to pride rather than health — she was too blind to light up herself, and hated asking someone to do it for her.
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