Jeanne Calment is the oldest person to have ever lived. She died at 122 in 1997, and her long life left many astonished. Even though she ate a lot of chocolate, drank wine, and even smoked up until her final years, it never seemed to mess with her health. So what was the secret? An expert has perhaps found the reason.

Jeanne Calment was an extraordinary figure. She was born in 1875 in Arles, southern France, and lived to the age of 122 and 164 days.

Birth records, census data, marriage documents, and photographs have been examined by demographers and historians to be sure. Her status as the longest-lived human is widely accepted by the scientific community, and she’s also recognized by Guinness World Records.

She remains the only person verified to have lived past 119. While the age of 122 is an incredible number, let’s just take a quick look at what Jeanne Calment got to experience.

The woman witnessed the invention of the light bulb, the telephone, the construction of the Eiffel Tower, two World Wars, the automobile, the internet age, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, three American presidents, and the growth of the United States Black Civil Rights Movement.

Talk about having experienced a lot!

The incredible life of 122-year-old Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Calment did not slow her life as she approached 100. She used her bicycle well into her 90s, and on her 100th birthday, she walked to every house in Arles to thank those who had wished her a happy birthday.

Did she eat only all-natural, locally produced products and drink only water? Well, not quite. Jeanne Calment ate two pounds of chocolate a week and had dessert with every meal. Also, she smoked cigarettes from the ages of 21 to 117, and drank port wine in moderation.

Per Prospect Magazine, on her 120th birthday, she told reporters: “I see badly, I hear badly, I can’t feel anything, but everything’s fine.”

The interest in Jeanne Calment and in how she managed to live such a long life has sustained interest in her life after her death. The lady often credited her longevity to simple factors, such as staying active, keeping her mind engaged, and maintaining a humorous outlook on life.

The key behind Jeanne Calment long life

Even in her final years, she had a lot of humor, even saying she had “only one wrinkle and she was sitting on it.”

But if not the food, what helped Jeanne live for so long? According to medical researcher Jean-Marie Robin, who collaborated with Calment’s physician on a biography, her calm outlook on life was a significant factor.

The medical researcher told The New York Times, “I think she was someone who, constitutionally and biologically speaking, was immune to stress,” he said in a telephone interview. “She once said, `If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it.’ “

Jeanne Calment had an outlook on life that many of us today would find helpful to adopt. Please share this article to honor this marvelous lady!

Do you have any tips for staying healthy? Please share those with the other readers in the comment section on Facebook.