115-year-old woman credits raw eggs, singlehood for long life

New York, Feb 22: A 115-year-old woman, the oldest living person in Europe, believes the secret to her longevity is eating raw eggs and staying single for most of her life.

At 115 years and nearly three months, Emma Morano in Italy is the oldest person in Europe and the fifth oldest in the world. Morano's elixir for longevity consists of raw eggs, which she has been eating - three per day - since her teens when a doctor recommended them to counter anemia.

Morano is also convinced that being single for most of her life, after an unhappy marriage that ended in 1938 following the death of an infant son, has kept her kicking, 'The New York Times' reported.

Morano never chose another partner because she "didn't want to be dominated by anyone." Morano lives alone in a two-room apartment in Verbania and the few times that she has been ill, she has refused to set foot in a hospital.

She even had blood transfusions or stitches done at home, said Carlo Bava, the doctor who has cared for her since she turned 90. Her general health is good, he added.

PTI