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longevity

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A woman sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat

Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.

However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.

NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.

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Eating less could lead to a longer life.

Ever since Clive McCay published his landmark 1935 study that showed mice with severely restricted diets lived 33% longer, many have wondered whether caloric restriction could extend the human life span, too.

It makes for an interesting philosophical question: Would you trade the joy of eating for a longer life?

There are a few reasons why some say this type of caloric restriction could work to extend human life spans. First, larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones because they have slower metabolic rates. When we consume fewer calories, we have less to metabolize.

Second, it’s speculated that caloric restriction reduces free radical damage in the body, slowing the aging process.

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via Facebook / Bupa UK

Dorothy Flowers recently celebrated her 108th birthday at the Southlands Care Home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in England.

When Flowers was born back in 1911, humans had just learned to fly, the first World War was on the horizon, and nobody would know what a selfie was for at least 90 years.

It feels nearly impossible to imagine the changes that Flowers has seen over the years. She's lived through two world wars, the invention of radio, television, and the Internet.

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If you love being single, you'll love Emma Morano, once the oldest person on Earth.

Emma Morano spent the vast majority of her 117 years single as can be, and she was perfectly OK with that.

Emma Morano had eaten about 100,000 raw eggs, give or take.

For most of her 117 years on this Earth*, Morano ate three eggs every day (nowadays, though, The New York Times reports, she's down to two). She picked up the habit about a century ago, when her doctor recommended the diet to ward off anemia.

But it wasn't raw eggs she craved on Nov. 29, 2016, with friends and family — and members of international media — huddled around her dusty, two-bedroom apartment in northern Italy. It was birthday cake.

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