DHAKA: CNN on Wednesday (September 21) published a report on secretes of living 100 years. Centenarians in Italian town Acciaroli expressed their experiences to CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman.

“Eat badly and work hard,” 94-year-old Giuseppe told me when I asked him the secret to a long life.

Giuseppe was taking me to his garden, which he tends to every day, growing tomatoes, peppers, lemons, oranges and lotus fruit.

We had come to his hometown of Acciaroli, south of Naples, for a report on the amazing longevity of its inhabitants, one in ten of whom, according to Mayor Stefano Pisani, is classed as a centenarian.

The reasons put forth for their amazing longevity are many -- the so-called “Mediterranean diet”, regular exercise, a mild climate.

Mother-of-eight Luigina Vigiconte, 101, says you must “always be optimistic, never bitter, and always be polite with people”.

For his part Giuseppe laughs off all the talk about clean living, pointing out that until five years ago he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.

His prescription is somewhat more adult-themed. His secret? “Donne”, he says -- women.

He told me that after his wife died six years ago he became depressed. “But then”, he recalls, “I thought it’s not the end of the world. I should go on living. So I asked a donnina (little woman) if she would go with me,” and she said yes.

“I noticed that too is indispensable,” he says. “It makes you happy, more cheerful.”
“But does it still function?” I asked.

“Of course!” he replied. “Once it really worked.”

A neighbor told us Giuseppe had already gone through several caregivers because he had made too many unwanted advances.

At 103, Vincenzo Baratta says eating once a day and having “a lot of women in his life” keeps him young.

Just where the Mediterranean diet comes in to this was -- so far, at least -- something of a mystery. The diet consists of plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, a modest quantity of carbohydrates, and fish.

The next morning Elisabetta, the mayor’s assistant, took us to the home of Caterina, 81, who was going to show us how to prepare a typical meal based on the Mediterranean diet.

So while she was cutting up potatoes, tomatoes and garlic to fry with olive oil, I asked her if she liked fish. She giggled, crinkling her nose.

“No, not really. I prefer meat,” she replied. “And ice cream too. I love sweets.”

From the other room Elisabetta laughed with a hint of exasperation as this “promotional event” for the Mediterranean diet suddenly collapsed.

Anna Gravina, 96, says it is important to “always do something, never get bored,” in order to stay healthy.

BDST: 1358 HRS, SEP 21, 2016
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