Is bacon the new fountain of youth? It might seem that way for 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones, the world's oldest woman who says she eats bacon every single day.
Jones' morning breakfast includes the favorite basics: eggs, grits and a whole lot of bacon. But just like most people, the craving for bacon doesn't end after breakfast.
An aide in the Brooklyn facility where she lives said Jones would eat bacon through the day. Bacon fix seems to be Jones' only bad habit.
"I never drink or smoke. I surround myself with love and positive energy. That's the key to long life and happiness," said Jones in an interview with Guinness World Records who confirmed on July 6, 2015 that Jones is the oldest living person on Earth. The Guinness World Record certificate was presented to Jones on her 116th birthday in the summer.
Jones also chews gum every day and takes regular naps. She sleeps an average of 10 hours a day, said her niece Lois Judge.
Jones was born on July 6, 1899 in a small farm town in Alabama. She had 10 other sibling and attended school for black girls. In 1922, she graduated from high school and picked crops to help her big family. In 1923, she shifted to working as a nanny in New Jersey and eventually in New York. Jones never had her own children, despite being married for several years. Nevertheless, the 116-year-old auntie adores her nephews and nieces.
Jones isn't the only one who has a bacon addiction. The late Pearl Cantrell, who died in 2013 at the very old age of 105, also had a fascination for bacon. The Texan woman also ate bacon every day. Another Texan woman, the 104-year-old Elizabeth Sullivan swears Dr. Peppers might be the key to her longevity.
Jones never claimed bacon as the 'source' of her longevity. She credits it to her abstinence from smoking and drinking. She also points to her good sleeping habits. While the Texan woman has a wall sign that reads 'Bacon makes everything better', this doesn't mean people should eat bacon by the pound.
"By no means should anyone, therefore, think that eating bacon is good for them because [Jones] eats bacon," said Dr. Thomas Perls in an interview. Perls heads the Boston Medical Center's New England Centenarian Study.
Perls and his team have have been studying the scientific reasons why some people have distinct longevity compared to others. Their studies include research on centenarians and supercentenarians or people who live past the age of 110. Perls suggests that Jones might have 'good genes' that can make up for her only bad habit.
