Seniors dance at a Valentine's Day party. Research shows that healthy ageing has less to do with biohacking trends than simply living with purpose and finding connection with others. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 
New science and the women who embody it suggest there may be a simpler, more powerful way to age healthily.
Eva Schippers is a 96-year-old from Germany who seems to have figured it out. At a recent global wellness and longevity summit in Cologne, where experts from across the world showcased cutting-edge advances to slow aging, this vibrant woman stunned the audience, not with a scientific discovery, but with something far simpler.
“It’s not pills, supplements or cold plunges that keep me young,” she said. “Vitality isn’t bought… it’s lived.”
Schippers lives with energy and passion, despite the hardships she’s faced.
She lives independently, travels with her daughter and occasionally enjoys a glass of Champagne with friends. She doesn’t take a single supplement.
What stands out is her strong social ties and zest for life, even after being separated from her family during the war and losing her husband of 40 years. Rather than letting these losses define her, she continues to embrace life fully.
Back in Johannesburg, 99-year-old Emma Renzi offers another compelling example.
Born in 1926, she broke ground as the first South African to sing major opera roles at Milan’s legendary La Scala. It wasn’t easy. She was young and inexperienced and unknown in Europe’s opera world. But when a leading soprano fell ill, Renzi seized her chance. The offers followed.
The opera world demanded discipline. She stayed fit by walking, ate moderately, and focused on nurturing her voice and body to meet the demands of the stage.
Now nearly a century old, Renzi still teaches singing. She’s never had a major illness. Despite worsening eyesight and some leg pain, she lives independently with the help of a friend who takes her shopping.
Her sharp hearing, undimmed spirit, and close circle of friends keep her thriving.
“Live passionately. Don’t dwell on losses.”
“Live passionately,” she advises. “Don’t dwell on losses. Music is my gift, and I live it fully.”
Further south in the Western Cape town of Pniel, 91-year-old Etheline Petersen, affectionately known as “Granny”, embodies grace and gratitude.
Petersen grew up under apartheid but refused to let the system define her. At a young age she joined the International Girls’ Brigade, which gave her the rare chance to travel abroad and see societies where people weren’t judged by the colour of their skin.
She now reflects on those years with humour and clarity.
“It almost feels like a dream. I will never forget those whites-only signs, the separate queues. But my faith helped me forgive and let go.”
As a teacher, church leader, and founder of Pniel’s flower show and crèche (both still going strong), she poured her energy into community life.
“Life’s not always easy,” she says. “But you only get one. There’s no time for grudges.”
Whether it’s opera, travel, teaching or tending community gardens, all three women share a strikingly similar outlook: they stay active, avoid overthinking, nurture close friendships, give back and live with gratitude.
They don’t try to beat ageing. They live fully despite it.
Habits count more than hacks
Dr Susan Coetzer, a specialist physician and geriatrician, says that while genetics play a role in how we age, our daily habits matter more.
“A healthy lifestyle remains the most important modifiable factor protecting against chronic disease and age-related decline.”
Take dementia, for example.
Though there is a genetic component, 45% of dementia cases are potentially avoidable through making lifestyle adjustments.
One lesser-known but important risk factor is hearing loss. Studies show that untreated hearing loss leads to reduced cognitive stimulation and social withdrawal, which can accelerate cognitive decline.
A 2023 randomised controlled trial published in The Lancet found that hearing interventions in older adults at risk for dementia reduced cognitive decline by nearly 50% over three years.
On the flip side, regular physical activity and mentally stimulating activities such as reading, puzzles or learning new skills can significantly lower dementia risk.
Coetzer adds that there are no shortcuts or recent breakthroughs when it comes to adding healthy years to one’s life. Despite the buzz around ice baths, NAD infusions (vitamin therapy), gene editing, intermittent fasting and anti-aging supplements like Metformin, most of these lack robust long-term peer-reviewed evidence and some may carry risks.
Lessons from the world’s longest-lived communities
Instead, the timeless habits found in the world’s Blue Zones, as well as in the lives of Eva, Emma, and Etheline, remain the gold standard for healthy ageing: strong social ties, daily movement, a sense of purpose, spiritual awareness, and a mostly plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats, along with small amounts of fish.
Sugar, red meat, and alcohol are consumed sparingly. These simple, sustainable choices remain our best defence against premature decline.
Existential fear can undermine healthy aging
Dr Ryan Fuller, a specialist psychiatrist, agrees. But he highlights a crucial but often rarely discussed aspect of ageing well: existential anxiety.
Unlike everyday anxiety, it comes from a deeper source: fear of death, unresolved regrets, and a sense of uncertainty about what lies ahead. It often emerges later in life, when people reflect on what they’ve lost, what they’ve missed, and what lies ahead.
“Some people are able to accept life’s ups and downs,” says Fuller.
“But others get trapped in what-ifs and should-haves. That mental loop can fuel depression, isolation, even physical illness.”
He adds that overthinking ageing or constantly chasing the next fix can, ironically, accelerate the very decline one hopes to avoid.
Clinical Psychologist Sharon Benatar says that learning to live in the present can ease the emotional weight of ageing. The practices she recommends are not new but surprisingly effective if applied consistently: starting now to live more fully and deepen healthy connections; practising self-kindness and “becoming your own best friend”; engaging in mindful activities, such as creative journaling, guided meditations and relaxations; writing down 15 things you’re grateful for each day; doing small acts of kindness; recalling moments where you brought value to others; finding moments of grace and spaciousness in how you live your life, regardless of your circumstances.
“When these habits become part of daily life,” Fuller says, “they can shift your mindset and make a real difference in how you age.”
Ultimately, he adds, healthy ageing is not just about quantity, but rather quality of life. What that looks like will differ for each person. Most new trends lack solid, peer-reviewed evidence, particularly in older populations.
AI may soon help us find breakthroughs in dementia treatment by analysing massive datasets, Fuller notes. But until then, the best tools may be the oldest: purpose, joy, connection and presence.
Just ask Eva, Emma and Etheline. They prove that ageing well isn’t about fighting time. It’s about filling the time you have with purpose. DM