Thirty minutes of sport a day, protein at every meal, a circle of friends: it is possible to stay healthy until age 100. The Journal offers you simple and realistic tips for fending off illness and the secrets of centenarians about their longevity.
For Janette Bertrand, growing old is an opportunity. The one who in a few months will become the most famous centenarian in Quebec has had enough of the endless images of “sick old people” and wants to recognize the value of seniors.
“Where does the fear of aging come from? asks Janette Bertrand, in an interview with The Journal. It’s because they always show us sick old people!”
According to her, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated ageism towards seniors. Not only did thousands of them die in CHSLDs, but they also “felt the target” of all the health measures aimed at protecting them.
But growing old is not a “shipwreck,” argues the woman who was born in Montreal and has always lived there.
Restore esteem
By publishing the book One hundred years of love in the fall, Janette Bertrand hopes to give back to the elderly some of the self-esteem they have lost.
And get rid of the idea that at 65 we no longer do anything or, worse yet, we no longer serve any purpose.
“Doing nothing has never valued anyone,” she said. There’s nothing worse than sitting and watching TV all day. You don’t exercise, you don’t see people and it’s passive.”
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
She rails against those who invented retirement and this idea that after work, active life is over.
“As if you lose everything you have built, even though you have all the experience of life,” she says, of the elders. They have things to say, things to do and they need to take care of themselves, says Janette Bertrand.
Work and move
The writer believes that it is important to work, even when you are older. Whether by volunteering, like his years at Tel-Aide or with the Geriatrics Institute, or with a part-time job.
“What makes you happiest is helping others. You give to others, but it earns you,” she says.
She also enjoys entertaining her family, including her three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. “Afterwards, I’m really tired, but that’s the fun.»
The latter also believes that it is her secret to healthy aging. To move, to go out, to be stimulated… and to forget your problems or your ailments.
“I have all the little ailments of old age, we can’t get out of that,” admits Mme Bertrand.
But growing old is the only way we have found to stay alive, she writes in her latest book. “If you are lucky enough to be old, old woman, congratulate yourself!”
