How To Live To 100: Wine For Breakfast, Nap In Afternoon, Many Friends

Want to live to be 100? The New York Times magazine reports on the very much alive elderly on the Greek island of Ikaria, where living to 100 is not uncommon. No, the secret is not exercise, at least not exercise for exercise’ sake. That notion wouldn’t make sense to the people of Ikaria. The Times reports that people on the island stay up late, often drinking wine and dancing, and they wake up late, although on Ikaria nothing is actually “late” because the concept of time is far more fluid than ours. People who say they’ll stop by at noon could come by just about anytime during the day. Here’s what they eat: one couple, married for more than 75 years, has a breakfast of goat’s milk, wine, sage tea or coffee, honey and bread; lunch of beans (lentils, garbanzos), potatoes, greens (fennel, dandelion or a spinachlike green called horta) and whatever seasonal vegetables their garden produced; dinner of bread and goat’s milk. Money? Nobody worries about money; and everybody takes naps. Everyday. Read more about the place where life goes on.