Florence Baldwin, Britain’s oldest lady at 113, says that her longevity is down to her daily fried egg sandwich.

And while medicine can tell you exactly what shortens your life span (smoking and being overweight come to mind) researchers have for along time struggled to identify things that contribute to living longer.

Eating healthy helps of course, but just what foods should you choose?

So, a good start might be to look over the list below which includes ten different food choices revealed by centenarian’s when asked about the secret to their longevity.

1) Herring and orange juice – This is the secret of 115-year-old Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper. Herring is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids known to be beneficial to your heart and cardiovascular system. Her glass of orange juice a day provides vitamin C and a whole load of antioxidants.

2) Vegetables – A variety of these healthy foods cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, and are a regular part of the menu for 120-year-old Mariam Amash. Green veggies are the staple of a good diet and offer a lot of key vitamins and minerals like iron, carotene and dietary fiber.

3) Custard cakes – 114-year-old Mitoyo Kawate swears by this very sweet treat and who can argue with her? Experts say that as a part of a healthy, balanced diet, a few treats now can make a stricter diet in other places easier to maintain.

4) Alcohol – in moderation is the secret of 113-year-old Lucy d’Abreu. A few drinks have been shown to bring down the risk of heart disease; but alcohol intake has also been linked to cancer and too much drinking is known to bring a variety of health complications. Moderation is key.

5) Sausage in bread – was the extravagance of rural Ukranian Hryhoriy Nestor, though conventional wisdom balks at eating processed meat doing so hasn’t hurt this still active elder. Experts insist such foods should only be part of a balanced diet that includes lots of veggies and plenty of regular exercise.

6) Bread, dripping, salt – Perhaps living to over 100 came in spite of this highly unhealthy diet choice. Still Yorkshire woman Ada Mason swears this food is the secret to having celebrated 111 birthdays.

7) Porridge – Scotswoman Annie Knight, 111 years old, starts her mornings by eating this traditional Scottish breakfast, giving her body a regular dose of fiber. Adding milk makes porridge full of other nutrients like calcium too.
Boiled rice and chicken – is a fantastic source of starch and low fat protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Yukichi Chuganji, At age 114, who doesn’t like vegetables, continues to enjoy this comination regularly.

9) Cottage cheese – which is a good source of calcium, essential nutrients, important to your bones, teeth and body health. This is the favorite of the world’s oldest woman, Sakhan Dosova, who has just attained her 130th birthday.

10) Donkey milk – although you won’t find this in local grocery store, 116-year-old Maria Esther de Capovilla, swears this milk is the reason she’s lived so long.

Before you stock up on some of the more unconventional “goodies”, it’s critical to note that what these people eat may only be part of the reason they live so long.

Genetics certainly play a large role, as well as the things these people did early in life.

Maybe lack of stress in early life could be part of the picture. No one knows for sure.

And something else to think about there’s one other trait that Dr. de Grey, whose Methuselah Foundation is funding research into regenerative medicine for aging, says those in the over 100 club have in common, “If there’s one thing we can say about centenarians, it’s that nothing bothers them.

Next – just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on the 10 foods eaten for longevity, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for more details on this longevity diet study.