{"id":909759,"date":"2026-09-26T01:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T01:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909759\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T01:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T01:06:20","slug":"woman-100-who-loves-bacon-blueberries-and-chocolate-has-5-tips-for-a-long-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909759\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman, 100, Who Loves Bacon, Blueberries And Chocolate Has 5 Tips For A Long Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a 100-year-old shares her diet habits, it\u2019s fascinating to consider which foods might be part of the longevity puzzle<\/a>. For Natalie Groeger, bacon, blueberries and chocolate are regularly on the menu.<\/p>\n

She turns 101 in October and plans to celebrate with a party that will feature mushroom pizza, another favorite, and a drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoda, not liquor,\u201d she emphasizes in an interview with TODAY.com. The centenarian doesn\u2019t drink alcohol.<\/p>\n

She was born in 1925 in a house in Brooklyn, New York; wed at 21 and worked as a switchboard operator, her favorite job.<\/p>\n

\"NatalieNatalie Groeger.Courtesy Natalie Groeger<\/p>\n

Groeger and her husband were married for 68 years, a union that produced two children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She now lives in an assisted living facility in Englewood, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

When asked what contributed to her longevity, she\u2019s matter of fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea,\u201d Groeger says. \u201cYou just have to be very open-minded, and you have to take it the way it is. That\u2019s it. You have to take and enjoy living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some of her simple tips for a long life:<\/p>\n

Eat a Healthy Diet<\/p>\n

Groeger always starts her breakfast with blueberries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI eat a lot of blueberries. I love them,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Registered dietitian Samantha Cassetty picks blueberries as the healthiest fruit<\/a> because of all the health benefits they provide. Blueberries have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and improvements in cognitive performance, she notes.<\/p>\n

Groeger has also been a life-long fan of apples, which have benefits for heart health<\/a>, diabetes, cancer, gut health, weight loss and inflammation.<\/p>\n

\"NatalieNatalie Groeger has loved dancing all her life. At 100, she still participates in chair dancing.Courtesy Natalie Groeger<\/p>\n

She enjoys avocados, a creamy fruit that research links with heart health, skin health and weight management<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The centenarian doesn\u2019t have a specific diet she follows: \u201cI eat basically everything,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Enjoy a Treat<\/p>\n

Groeger loves chocolate, especially the dark kind, which is considered to be the healthiest chocolate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dark chocolate contains the most cocoa bean solids, which have phytochemicals shown to have anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antihypertensive properties, dietitians say.<\/p>\n

Another favorite treat would probably get less approval from nutrition experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love bacon,\u201d Groeger says. \u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t eat bacon, but I eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her breakfast regularly includes two over-easy fried eggs with bacon and an English muffin. <\/p>\n

Other centenarians have expressed love for bacon.<\/a> But just because they can indulge and live a long life doesn\u2019t mean everyone can. They have a very rare combination of protective genes that reduces their risk for age-related diseases, Dr. Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study, previously told TODAY.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dance<\/p>\n

The centenarian loves ballroom dancing and taught her husband how to dance.<\/p>\n

Every Sunday after breakfast, she would put on records and the couple would dance \u201call over the living room and dining room,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Groeger also recalls dancing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music when she was 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like a Rockette because that\u2019s how high my legs went up. But I can\u2019t do it anymore,\u201d she says. Today, she\u2019s still moving to music by taking part in chair dancing.<\/p>\n

Dancing is both aerobic and weight-bearing exercise that comes with many benefits including better heart health, balance and coordination; plus improved mood and a lower risk of dementia, the National Library of Medicine notes<\/a>. It\u2019s also incredibly social and fun.<\/p>\n

Try a Hobby to Calm Your Mind<\/p>\n

Groeger\u2019s mom taught her how to knit when she was a young girl and she\u2019s been knitting much of her life, creating blankets, hats and sweaters. She stopped only a couple of years ago because of hand issues.<\/p>\n

Crafting comes with mental health benefits. For example, crochet makes people feel calmer and happier, with people using it to manage grief, chronic illness and pain, a study<\/a> found.<\/p>\n

The centenarian also likes playing solitaire on her iPad and Canasta, a card game, with friends. Board and card games can help older people maintain cognitive functions, studies<\/a> have found.<\/p>\n

\"GroegerGroeger with one of her great-grandchildren.Courtesy Natalie GroegerDon\u2019t Take Things Too Seriously<\/p>\n

Everyone experiences stress, but the ability to manage it can be a factor in longevity, researchers note.<\/p>\n

Groeger tries not to dwell on obstacles that come in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the type of person who doesn\u2019t talk really about my problems, and that makes life easier for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a happy person. I like to laugh. I like to joke around. I used to be a very good storyteller and a dirty joke teller.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being under heavy stress shortens life expectancy by almost three years \u2014 more than the lack of exercise, a study<\/a> found.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a \u201csignificant relationship between cumulative stress and age acceleration,\u201d but \u201cpsychological resilience,\u201d emotion regulation and self-control can slow that process, researchers reported in a separate paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Be an Optimist<\/p>\n

In a related trait, optimism is associated with \u201cexceptional longevity,\u201d or living to age 85 and beyond, studies<\/a> have found.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely an optimist,\u201d Groeger says. \u201cI think everything is going to be good. Even though I\u2019ve had some bad times in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

People with higher levels of optimism tend to have healthier cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and pulmonary systems, leading to an 11-15% longer life span, the study authors note.<\/p>\n

Optimism may promote healthier behaviors and foster protective coping mechanisms such as \u201creframing situations as challenges rather than threats,\u201d they add.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a 100-year-old shares her diet habits, it\u2019s fascinating to consider which foods might be part of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49,48,84,395],"class_list":["post-909759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}