Welcome to the 2nd in our series on centenarians. Maria Esther Heredia Lecaro de Capovilla lived from 9/14/1889 to 8/27/2006, a total of 116 years and 347 days. She is #10 on the list of all-time longest-lived people.
Maria was from Ecuador, which is not one of the 37 different countries where RAF is heard, sadly. She was born in the city of Guayaquil. She is the last person born in the 1880’s and is still the longest-lived person from South America.
Incidentally, while Maria is the oldest human from Ecuador, she is not the oldest Ecuadorian. A giant tortoise named Harriet, born in the Galapagos islands, lived 175 years. She was said to have been discovered, or captured, or rescued by Charles Darwin in 1835 when she was five years old. At her death she was living in a zoo in Queensland, Australia.
Ms. Capovilla was married for 31 years, but her husband only lived to be 85, so she lived the last 57 years of her life as a widow.
Quality of life:
Until the end of her life she was able to walk. She never needed a wheelchair, but she did need assistance. She read the daily newspaper. At age 116 she could only read the headlines, but she did not use glasses, which might have helped her. Her memory and hearing also suffered in the last few years of her life. And she did not leave her house during her final two years.
Diet:
Maria liked chicken and lentils for lunch. She had coffee with warm milk at night, so I guess she wasn’t worried about it keeping her awake. She also liked bread with cheese or jam, and each day she would have something sweet such as ice cream, cake, or gelatin. One article claimed that she drank donkey milk as a child.
The super-centenarian never smoked, and did not drink hard liquor. But she did take a small cup of wine with lunch. She played the piano. She was religious, in fact she prayed every day and took communion once a week.
During the last twenty years of her life, she lived with daughter and son-in-law.
Concerning the relevance of Maria Capovilla’s life to ours, I think a lot of things in her lifestyle make sense to adopt. Coffee and wine in moderate amounts are known to improve longevity. Playing the piano would keep one mentally active. Religion and having family around are good stress relievers. And my guess is that her 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and some greats and great-greats probably kept her active as well.
So take note. If you want to live to be 116, Maria Capovilla’s story can help you do it.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_people
https://www.webcitation.org/6HRXnWmv4?url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/12/16/116-year-old-ecuadorean-woman-is-oldest-living-person/
https://web.archive.org/web/20060719201539/http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=17942
https://www.livescience.com/53365-jonathan-tortoise-is-oldest-animal.html
Weight 7-day Avg. (change since Jan 2018): 215 (-60)
Workout time: 113 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 7.64 Miles (484.12)
Steps: 7,536
Muscle Mass 7-day Avg. (change since Aug 2018): 152.45 (+9)
Body Fat 7-day Avg.: 29%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 7 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat