Forget eating lots of vegetables and exercising – the key to longevity is never getting married and enjoying a pint of Guinness, according to a woman who recently turned 105 years old.
Kathleen Hennings, who was born in Brixton in 1919, celebrated her major milestone doing what she loves best: raising a pint of Guinness to her long and storied life.
The centenarian’s sage advice for living as long as she has? “Drink Guinness and don’t marry!”
She celebrated her birthday party at her care home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 2 October with her friends, fellow residents and supportive staff.
Hennings said: “It was so nice to see my lovely friends and neighbours. I’ve been spoilt – thank you so much.”
Her love for the iconic Irish stout is so well-known that she was even gifted a Guinness hamper, which included pint glasses, an apron, chocolates, and cans of Guinness.
Hennings previously worked as an accountant in London for many years, and enjoyed spending her evenings going dancing in Covent Garden, or attending operas and ballets.
She continued living in the capital during World War II, but decided to move to the countryside in 1965, relocating to the Cotswolds with her mother, brother, and pet dog Rusty, a daschund.
Malaika Charles, home manager at Care UK’s Sandfields Care Home, said: “We love celebrating special milestones at Sandfields, and Kathleen’s 105th birthday certainly called for a party!
“It was wonderful to see Kathleen surrounded by all her loved ones to commemorate such an incredible milestone. The team put in a lot of effort to ensure that her day was memorable, and we want to say thank you to everyone who joined us in raising a glass of Guinness to Kathleen!”
Could Guinness really be good for you?
Surprisingly, Guinness does actually have some nutritional benefits. However, it should be noted it is an alcoholic beverage, and consuming high amounts of any alcohol is detrimental to health.
In moderate amounts, though, Guinness contains some essential vitamins and minerals that can be good for health. This includes the B vitamin folate, which is needed to make DNA and cell division.
Guinness is also lower in calories than many other beers available at your favourite pub.
Writing in BBC Good Food, nutritionist Kerry Torrens added that Guinness also contains protective plant compounds that can have a protective antioxidant effect, as well as polyphenols, which boost healthy gut bacteria.
However, she warned: “It is also worth remembering that high levels of alcohol may disrupt sleep, cloud judgement and potentially interact with prescribed medication, furthermore, alcohol even at low levels increases the risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.”
Does marriage affect how long you live?
Whether or not you marry can have an impact on how long you live, as well as how healthy you are. Research shows that married men and women live two years longer on average than those who are unmarried.
However, the health benefits of marriage are more significant for men. For example, married men are less likely to die from heart failure compared to single men, a 2023 study from the University of Colorado found.
And while research shows that married women live longer on average than single women, some evidence suggests that single women are happier.
In 2019, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that the “healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children”.
Reporting by SWNS
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