Anyone who’s lived over 100 years is sure to have a few tips and tricks for staying healthy, and Lucia DeClerck is no different.
The 105-year-old credits a mix of gin-soaked raisins, prayer and no junk food for her longevity, and it seems to have worked pretty well for her so far.
After living through the Spanish flu outbreak as a toddler, the centenarian recently managed to beat COVID-19 after being diagnosed with the virus on her 105th birthday last month. It was a pretty unwelcome birthday present, but DeClerck was lucky to have a very mild case.
“I didn’t know I had it,” she told TODAY Food over video chat. “I feel very good now.
DeClerck, who lives at Mystic Meadows Rehab and Nursing Center in Little Egg Harbor, NJ, has become somewhat of a celebrity since kicking COVID-19, but she still doesn’t quite understand what all the fuss is about.
“Oh my goodness, I’m flabbergasted because I’ve never had that much attention,” she said.
Still, the centenarian should be used to the love. After all, she’s got a huge fan club that includes six grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, and 11 great-great grandchildren, and the entire staff at Mystic Meadows, who playfully fight over who gets to take care of her.
DeClerck has experienced a lot during her life — two World Wars, three marriages and case of heart failure, for starters — and she says her religious faith has seen her through it all. The New Jersey resident runs a weekly prayer service at Mystic Meadows and always has her rosary beads on hand.
“I try to be good to God and he’s very good to me,” she explained.
(Read more at: https://www.today.com/food/105-year-old-who-survived-covid-19-credits-gin-soaked-t210056)
Headline photo: A photo from DeClerck’s 103rd birthday. Courtesy Shawn V. Laws ONeil
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