Veggies, fruits, fish: Lingayen’s oldest grandma’s secret to longevity

LINGAYEN, Philippines — A 104-year-old grandma, the oldest living centenarian in this capital town of Pangasinan, does not break a habit she has developed over the years: eating vegetables, fish and fruits, which is her secret to longevity.

Aquilina Todio of Barangay Libsong West, known as Nanay Inay, was born on Jan. 4, 1916 and has 10 children. She worked as a vegetable vendor in Bayambang town public market where she originally hailed from and sold piglets in nearby Tarlac province during her prime. The vegetables were from her backyard garden.

Erlinda Campued, her seventh child, told The STAR that her mom stopped selling vegetables in 1990 when she migrated to the United States to be with Nanay Inay’s eldest. She stayed there until 2008 and returned home with her other child and stayed in Novaliches City for eight years, then moved to Lingayen in 2015 where she has been staying with Erlinda.

Nanay Inay can still talk and remember her name, as well as her late husband’s name and the number of children they have.

“When I ask her what food she’d want to eat, she’d say catfish and boiled banana (locally known as seba in Pangasinan dialect or saba in Filipino),” Erlinda said.

She also loves patupat, a native delicacy made of sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves and cooked with coconut cream and molasses or brown sugar. She would also crave for binuburan, another Pangasinan delicacy made of fermented rice served with sugar syrup.

“She eats vegetables daily,” Erlinda said, adding her mom’s good habit must have been because she came from a poor family and veggies were readily available in the backyard.

Her regular breakfast would include oatmeal, a boiled egg, a glass of a popular brand of milk for the elderly and banana.

“She behaves well,” Erlinda said.

When she turned 100 years old, her family celebrated it among family members and close friends. She also got her centenarian cash incentive from the government.

Nanay Inay is gifted with good health, without any need for maintenance medicine.

But at her age, she stays in bed most of the time now.

Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil, Vice Mayor Judy Vargas-Quiocho and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Lorenza Decena visited Nanay Inay on Sept. 9 and awarded her with a certificate, cash gift and a basket of fruits.

She is now the oldest living centenarian in Lingayen. The other living centenarians here are in Barangays Poblacion, Malimpuec and Balangobong.

Erlinda, who retired as a nurse supervisor at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, said it gives her so much joy to take care of her mom with the assistance of her child.

She said she, too, reminds her children to take good care of their parents.

“It’s not easy but it feels good, a different kind of happiness deep inside,” Erlinda said.