Story highlights
An Italian woman celebrates her 117th birthday
Emma Morano often hides cookies under her pillow
(CNN) —
The oldest person in the world, Emma Morano of Italy, credits her longevity to a diet of raw eggs and ending her abusive marriage long before divorce was even legal.
Morano celebrated her 117th birthday on Tuesday and is now the only person alive known to have lived through three centuries.
She was born November 29, 1899, in the Piedmont region of Italy, back when King Umberto I reigned.
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Emma Morano is the only person alive who was born in the 1800s.
Morano became the world’s oldest living person in May, after American Susannah Mushatt Jones died at the age of 116.
Jones, who was born in Alabama, did not smoke or drink and credited her long life to sleep and loving relationships.
Longevity seems to run in Morano’s family: Her mother lived to 91, and some of her sisters made it to a century.
But it was the peculiar diet she began after World War I that Morano says helped her become one of the oldest people ever.
When she was a teenager, a doctor suggested that Morano eat raw eggs to combat her anemia. She followed a stringent diet of two raw eggs, one cooked egg, a little minced meat and pasta for the past 90 years.
With age, her diet has been cut down to just two eggs a day and some cookies.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO/AFP/Getty Images
Italy —
The Italian diet, combined with a climate that promotes outdoor activity, is thought to play an important role in healthy aging among Italians.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Japan —
Japan has the longest-living population in the world, with the average 60-year-old going on to live until age 86. Experts say this is due to good diets, active lifestyles and supportive family structure.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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Cristina Arias/Cover/Cover/Getty Images
Spain —
Spain's version of the Mediterranean diet combined with strong family networks is believed to enhance life expectancy among its population. In Spain, average life expectancy at age 60 is 85.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
France —
France also tied second with the other countries in southern Europe with, those over 60 living to the age of 85, on average. Pictured, a couple sit on a bench in Cannes.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images
Andorra —
Diet and outdoor lifestyle in Andorra help to keep the country's elderly population healthy.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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Brendon Thorne/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
Australia —
The universal health care system in Australia, combined with Australians' outdoor lifestyle, help people live longer, according to experts. Pictured, a war veteran during ANZAC Day.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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Ross Land/Getty Images
New Zealand —
The outdoor lifestyle and health infrastructure are credited with keeping New Zealanders healthy and living longer.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Switzerland —
Switzerland's wealth and health care system are credited with boosting the nation's longevity.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Singapore —
After Japan, Singapore has Asia's highest life expectancy at age 60.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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Courtesy Monaco Press Centre
Monaco —
The extensive wealth of the residents of Monaco is likely to be the main factor supporting health in the elderly.
Photos: The countries where people live longest
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MARCEL MOCHET/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
San Marino —
Like many of the other long-lived countries, San Marino's strong economy and infrastructure are thought to be the reason for its long-lived residents.
Morano’s doctor, Carlo Bava, said she has perfect cholesterol and glucose levels.
“She is in a great state of health and mind,” he said. “The fact that she has never had much variety in her diet is proof that she is so well-preserved thanks to genetics.”
And despite her age, Morano has a childlike love of cookies.
“She particularly loves Savoiardi cookies and hides them behind her pillow so no one will eat them,” Bava said of the traditional Italian treat, also known as ladyfingers.
The other secret to Morano’s long life: separating from her husband in 1938, decades before divorce was even legal in Italy, she says.
Morano’s one true love was a boy killed during World War I, and she did not intend to marry anyone else, she told Italian media outlet La Stampa in comments confirmed by her niece Antonietta Sala.
But she eventually married after her future husband forced her to do so. “He said, ‘If you’re lucky, you marry me, or I’ll kill you,’ ” Morano told La Stampa.
A year after her 6-month-old child died, she left her husband. “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” she told the New York Times.
