Making it to the age of 100 is a shocking feat in itself, but what's more shocking is this woman's secret to a long life. At 104, Theresa Rowley has revealed that her key to reaching this age is drinking Diet Coke every day!
The Grand Rapids, Michigan resident celebrated her 104th birthday on January 1, 2018, with a grand cake too. "When I was 100, I thought I'd never be 104," Rowley shared with WZZM. "Then I turn 101, and nothing happens... Here I am 104, and still nothing happens."
Also read: Want to live up to 100 years? Study reveals you just have to be stubborn
As she revealed, the care home resident consumes at least one can of soda every day. And be it her secret potion to a long life or not, in her own honest words, she admits, "I drink it because I like it."
She also casually added, "I have a bag full of empty Diet Coke cans that I need to return to buy more Diet Coke." Talk about dedication to frizzy drinks!
At her age, Rowley couldn't remember the exact year she and her family moved to the Grand Rapids, only saying that she was born in Illinois in 1914, and then moved to North Dakota before eventually coming to Michigan. But what she never forgets is her daily dosage of Diet Coke.
Even though she was probably just 36 when Diet Coke was launched in the US back in 1982, scientists would disagree that the drink had any role to play in giving her 36 years of life. Especially since diet soda has been excessively linked to obesity, diabetes, stroke and dementia.
In multiple warnings over diet soft drinks, it has been revealed that despite being low in the calorie count than regular soft drinks, they are still capable of weight gain and triggering diabetes.
Especially, every modern 'diet' products confuse the human body because there are no natural counterparts of them, explain scientists.
Low-calorie drinks might still be as sweet as the normal version, but the mismatch causes disruption in the metabolism of the body.
Yale University researchers claim that in its very own nature, sweetness suggests energy, so the sweeter something taste, the more calories it contains. Also, adults who intake more than three drinks a day are more likely to be at risk of a stroke or dementia.
So instead of deeming them as the healthier alternative, scientists believe that the public should stick to water or milk.
Diet drinks are also more likely to cause strokes and dementia than the regular versions, as the study of 4,400 adults by Boston University suggested. While there was no definite link between sugary drinks and either of those illnesses, researches recommend to not drink them either.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharine could be responsible for eventually triggering strokes and dementia by affecting the blood vessels.
Yet somehow they haven't been able to deter anything significant for Ms Rowley. She has been a resident of the Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community since she was 89 and has no plans of quitting on her favourite beverage – one can of it, daily.
