She says heredity is a factor, but it's not the main thing.  She says the key was her diet - eating healthy foods.  She was raised and spent most of her life on a farm in Wisconsin.  So inevitably she eat a lot of fat from farm products, which included raw milk, butter and cream.  Perhaps she was fortunate to have a lactose intolerance, which restricted her intake of cheese and too many dairy products. Incidentally, raw milk as it turns out, is healthier than pasteurized milk.  The pasteurizing process boils at such high temperatures that it loses the enzymes, vitamins and minerals.  

My grandmother also grinds her food because she only has 12 teeth.  This also could be a blessing, being that food is easier to break down by the body's digestion system to extract for nutrients needed for full function.  

Below is a partial list of the items she eats regularly: 

Her Breakfast Includes the Following:  Lactate milk, 2 eggs with ½ yolk, oatmeal, instant rice.  She tries not to exceed 3 egg yolks per week.

Her Supper Includes the Following:  Chicken soup, oatmeal with potato and rice in it, chicken, ½ teaspoon tuna fish – not too much because of the salt, broccoli, celery, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, rutabagas. 

Her advice is to "keep busy, keep busy, keep busy."  She says, "keep your brain busy – use your brain.  You have to think.  Just like exercising to get big muscles, you have to use your mind to get more brain power." 

One of her ways to keep busy is reading.  She says reading is relaxing. If she has had a strenuous day she will read to relax before she goes to bed.  She especially enjoys true stories, such as reading the Bible (everyday).  She’s already read bible 10-13 times.  She'll read a little, then think about it.  A book she recommends reading is, The Heavenly Man by pastor Wun.  

She enjoys going outdoors for walks in the sunshine.  It's interesting to note that she's aware of the importance of vitamin D, so she gets outdoors for sunshine on arms and face 2x / week.  Vitamin D is proven to increase immune function, fights diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disease. 

My grandmother often thinks about other people.  She has a book about a little boy named Greasy, which is a true story that she gives away to the new people she meets.  Every time she goes to church, she sits by someone new and gives them a book.  She loves telling stories and meeting new people. She also stresses the importance of keeping in touch with people.

What I find it amazing, is the way she lives her life parallels what the research tells us put years to our life and life to our years.