Remember when we were all growing up and the one thing that all our parents agreed upon was the fact that chocolate wasn’t good for us? We would whine and throw tantrums – or ask politely – and they would say something like, “No. Chocolate will rot your teeth,” or “It will ruin your appetite,” or “It will make you gain weight.” Any pieces we managed to wheedle out of them tasted oh, so heavenly! They really were sweet fruits of war.
What is great news is that when an Indiana woman celebrated her 101st birthday the conversation topic eventually turned to the secret for her longevity and birthday girl Eunice Modlin from Boonville, Indiana, attributed it to eating lots of chocolate.
That’s right; not just eat chocolate, but “lots of it” too.
Eunice’s granddaughter, Tammy Modlin Gentry, says that her granny has been eating two pieces of dark chocolate every single day since she was in her 30s. While it has long been agreed that all dark chocolate is good for our health, Eunice always had a particular sweet tooth for Hershey’s chocolate. She was also careful to never eat more than two pieces, and that meant she never gained weight.
But then of course, the fact that she was a teetotaler who never smoked a single cigarette and only ate vegetables she grew in her own garden, could also have contributed to keeping her alive for this long.
“She was an avid archer and won almost every competition she entered,” says Eunice’s son Lonnie Modlin, who adds, “she could shoot an arrow for over a mile.”
Today, thanks to her healthy lifestyle she enjoys the company of her family that includes her 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. Eunice is healthy and her mind is still sharp, according to Tammy. And that is despite her husband passing away in 1991, having broken her hip two years ago, and having to reside in a nursing home for a while.
Tammy says, “At 99 you’d think she’d never leave the nursing home, but she left Four months later. Mentally she’s all there.”
Here’s a video of Eunice being interviewed on her birthday:
https://youtu.be/8ZjSi3GDGvg
Featured Image via Pixabay/Public Domain
