Featured Image Credit: OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Health, World News, Food and Drink
Niamh Spence
Topics: Health, World News, Food and Drink
Now, we've all heard the secrets to living longer, and it usually means getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating all the right foods.
Yet, one Italian woman who lived to the age of 117 once revealed that she ate one thing every day since she was young, and she credited this as being the winning secret to living longer.
Emma Morano was born in 1899, and didn't pass away until 2016, meaning she has officially seen three centuries, two World Wars, nearly twelve decades, and over 90 Italian governments in her lifetime.
Getting to the age of 117 is quite a rarity, and according to records, there's only ever been just 12 verified cases of people living that long.
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Morano lived a long and full life, and had a relatively simple formula, which included following a strict diet and steering clear of relationships with men.
She was married once, but divorced in 1938, a year after her baby boy and only child passed away at just six months old.
She chose never to marry again, which she credited to helping her live longer, as she explained she 'didn't want to be dominated by anyone'.
Her secret wasn't anything as obvious as eating only cucumbers in the morning or drinking green juice everyday, in fact, it was one simple thing; eggs.
She revealed that she ate three eggs - two raw - each day for more than 90 years, a habit she had begun after being diagnosed with anaemia in the wake of WWI.
And just before you think Morano's tip is the epitome of health, she also said she did pair these with a traditional Italian alcoholic beverage of grappa.
Morano previously explained her daily trick: "I eat three eggs a day and to digest I drink the grappa that I prepare myself: I put it in a jar with seven sage leaves, a bunch of rue grass and some grapes. Then I drink it with a spoon."
Her doctor of nearly three decades, Carlo Bava, told AFP that Morano rarely ever ate fruit or vegetables, so that certainly wasn't behind her living longer, and that her egg trick appeared to have been the secret.
He said: "When I met her, she ate three eggs per day, two raw in the morning and then an omelette at noon, and chicken at dinner."
In the build-up to her death in 2016, Morano was said to have 'cut down' her egg intake, but still had two a day, as well as a few biscuits to keep her going.
Now, while eggs could well be the secret to living past the age of 100, there's also the case of genetics, as Morano's family before her also lived well into old age. Her mother reached 91, and a few of her sisters had reached their 100th birthdays.