How do you live to 100? Centenarians share secrets to living a long, healthy life

The secret to longevity? 

If you asked 103-year-old Angelina “Angie” Torrisi and 101-year-old Margaret Vaccaro, they would not tell you they surpassed 100 years of age because of their jobs, the things they owned or the money they had in their bank accounts.

Both women told FOX Business that it has a lot to do with getting rid of the stress in life, and simply being kind. It is a lesson they believe younger generations should learn. 

The women are Northwell Health patients and were recently featured in a Northwell Health ad, where they discussed their New Year’s resolutions and what it means to be healthy at an advanced age.

“I’ll have to tell them they have to be in a good frame of mind, and they have to be very kind, compassionate and be grateful for what they have and just be a… good person,” Torrisi told FOX Business when asked what advice she would give younger generations. 

Torrisi’s niece, Julia, added that when her aunt was 60 years old, she helped raise her three grandchildren after her son gained full custody of his kids. 

If you are kind, it will “always come back to you,” Torrisi said. 

Torrisi also said people should try “not to sweat the little gritty stuff of life.” 

“I think people put so much stress on themselves. They worry about things that are not important to them… you have to avoid the stress,” she said. 

To keep stress down, she said it is important to keep busy.

“If you sit around [and] do nothing, stupid thoughts will go through your mind. You have to keep busy doing other things,” she said. For Torrisi, she turns to cooking – and eating. 

“I bake. I eat,” she said with a laugh. 

Torrisi also credits her long and healthy life to being active when she was younger, which included rolling skating and basketball. She also recalled walking up five flights of stairs to her home every day. 

“We didn’t have elevators. We didn’t use transportation. We walked to school. We walked to the church. I lived on the top floor. We walked up five flights of stairs,” she said.

Vaccaro – known for being active in her community – also highlighted the importance of keeping busy and helping others. 

“What I think keeps you healthy is to just stay involved,” she told FOX Business. “What I’m doing right now is what I have done for many years, and that is to make a difference wherever I may be.”

Vaccaro has volunteered at her New York-based independent living facility for many years. She prepares the welcome packet of information for new tenants and organizes the facility’s holiday bonus fund for employees, raising more than $12,000 annually to distribute to employees. She was also the chair of the facility’s resident council where she organized the election of council members.

Vaccaro believes everyone is blessed with different abilities and talents and “that we are called upon to use those for the good of others.” 

Her advice to younger generations is to look around at what differences you can make. 

“That is critical,” she said.

Although Vaccaro knows it’s impossible to live a completely stress-free life, she said that younger generations also need to stop with the “woulda, coulda, shoulda at night.”

“Go to sleep and wake up looking forward to what you can do this day… with the beauty of the world all around us.”