Maria
Branyas Morera was born on 4 March 1907, is an American-born Spanish
supercentenarian who, at the age of 116 years, 345 days, has been the world's
oldest verified living person since the death of Lucile Randon (1904–2023) on
17 January 2023.
Maria
Branyas was born in San Francisco, California, to Joseph
Branyas Julia (1877–1915), and Teresa Morera Laque (1880–1968). Maria Branyas
Morera was in an expatriate Spanish family (of Catalan origin) who had moved
there in 1906, the year before she was born.
She was born
in California in 1907 and moved to Spain in 1915, when her family decided to
return to Catalonia. Branyas has lived through two world wars, the opening of
the Panama canal, the Russian revolution, the Spanish civil war, the
introduction of television, the founding of the United Nations, the lunar
landing, the 1918 flu pandemic and Covid. In fact, she is thought to be the
world’s oldest living Covid survivor.
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According to
Branyas’ relatives, she has never had a major health issue. And she herself,
a mother of three, grandmother of 11 and great-grandmother of 11, confirms
this: “For the time being I am in good health. I can still enjoy the great
advances that the country provides us, although they are not for me anymore.”
Her love for
her children and other descendants make her want to live even longer, she tells
CN, as well as the fact that “there is always something left to learn.”
What’s her
secret to living so long?
She said “I
think longevity is also about being lucky. Luck and good genetics. And good
nutrition is so important, like the lifestyle we lead: order, tranquility, good
connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability,
no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and away from toxic people."
Many people
ask her what diet she follow to live so many years, she said "I have
always eaten little, but everything, and I have never followed any regime or
specific diet.”
Read more: 6 reasons to try the Mediterranean diet and easy tips for starting it