It looks like we’re going to have to go buy a case of soda — or several. 104-year-old Theresa Rowley from Michigan claims her secret to a long life is drinking Diet Coke every day. Rowley, who doesn’t look a day over 80, told her local news station WZZM13 in January 2018 that she never thought she’d live to be this old. But hey, a can of Diet Coke a day keeps the doctor away, apparently.
“When I was 100, I thought I’d never be 104; I thought I’d pass away by that time but it just didn’t happen,” Rowley said. “Then I turn 101, and nothing happens. Here I am 104, and still nothing happens.”
Rowley, who hit the age of 104 on January 1st, 2018, leads a fairly active lifestyle for someone her age. She goes out shopping, she carries on friendships at her senior home, and she religiously eats potato salad and drinks Diet Coke.
“I drink it because I like it,” Rowley told WZZM13. “I’m going shopping Wednesday, and I need more Diet Coke. I have a bag full of empty Diet Coke cans that I need to return to buy more Diet Coke.”
Keep the Diet Coke coming, people. Rowley’s longevity depends on it!
This 104-year-old woman drinks a Diet Coke every day https://t.co/gXQmZTcIWh
— TIME (@TIME) January 5, 2018
Of course, we can’t say for certain that potato salad and Diet Coke is what has helped Rowley live as long as she has. Genetics certainly may have something to do with it, as well.
We should definitely mention that Rowley’s father lived to be 102.
Yeah, so there’s that. We still like the Diet Coke theory, though.
"I drink it because I like it" is gonna be my 2018 mantra. pic.twitter.com/XIJ8sKWODo
— Sarah Anne Hughes (@sarahanne_news) January 4, 2018
Rowley obviously had no idea she would end up out-living her father by at least two years.
“I’m surprised that I’m 104,” said Rowley. “It just doesn’t seem like I should be that old.”
Found out a 104-year-old woman drinks a can of diet coke a day. There’s still hope
— Jad Naamani (@JadNaamani) January 6, 2018
Listen, it’s a definite tossup.
But if we had to choose, we’d go with Diet Coke.
Is her longevity linked to:
— Story Teller (@StoriesandViews) January 5, 2018
We’re not the only ones about to hop aboard the Diet Coke-a-day train.
Twitter loved Rowley’s story.
My type of girl!
— Sand Cole (@sandcoleman) January 5, 2018
And icon and a legend.
Raise a can to Rowley.
She is my hero 🤗🤗
— Celi Rodriguez Torres (@ceil_rodriguez) January 5, 2018
Some supplied their own proof that the Coke diet for longevity is real.
This person’s Coke-loving mother lived to 91.
Woah. Plot twist.
She’s actually twenty-seven.
— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) January 6, 2018
However, some are seeing the dark side to this story.
Yikes.
Jesus, Trump will live for eternity then.
— Michael Griffin (@MikeAJGriffin) January 5, 2018
And others are pointing out the flaws in Rowley’s regimen.
Diet Coke has only been around since 1982, Theresa!
Diet COKE has NOT been around for 104 years. Please ✋
— WizzyWeirdo (@wizyweirdos) January 5, 2018
But Rowley isn’t the only century-old lady who swears by Diet Coke.
116-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan, who was just named the “Oldest Person In The World” by Guinness World Records, also says soda and sweets have kept her going in her old age.
Our new oldest person living record holder Kane Tanaka (116) was given a box of chocolates as a gift today at the certificate presentation - she immediately ate them!
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) March 9, 2019
Later when she was asked how many chocolates she wants to eat today, she said "100" 😄🍫 https://t.co/rgrgP0JcRp pic.twitter.com/T48UWK562k
Look, we realize Diet Coke has little to no nutritional value.
In fact, it’s pretty much just caffeine and (artificial) sugar.
But how can we say for sure that it hasn’t magically helped Rowley live well past 100 years old?
We can’t!
If you’re thinking, “Oh good, now I can indulge in Diet Coke every single day,” maybe don’t get TOO excited.
There’s a lot of evidence that suggests diet soda isn’t good for your health.
According to a 2018 report from Purdue University, artificial sweetener really messes with our bodies. Author Susan Swithers, a behavioral neuroscientist and professor of psychological sciences, states that drinking diet soda “[messes] up the whole system, so when you consume real sugar, your body doesn’t know if it should try to process it because it’s been tricked by the fake sugar so many times.” She adds that habitually drinking diet soda, our bodies then fail to release a hormone that regulates our blood sugar and blood pressure.
But the American Beverage Association said that this report was “an opinion piece, not a scientific study.”
In February 2019, Health.com published an article stating that there is a correlation between drinking diet soda and a higher risk of stroke and heart disease. This comes from data the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association compiled: they collected results from 82,000 women ages 50-79, and found that of the study participants who drank two or more diet sodas per day (5.1 percent), those women had a 23 percent higher risk of a stroke and 29 percent higher risk of heart problems.
There have been many, many studies about diet soda, and many of them conclude you really shouldn’t be drinking diet soda every single day, like Rowley.
And if you want to put that Diet Coke theory to the test, we’ll totally check back with you 80 years from now.
