Alcohol and tobacco feature prominently.

Although modern-day experts recommend a balanced diet with plenty of antioxidants, plenty of exercise, avoiding stress and all-round moderation, those few who are living to 100 now didn’t have the benefit of that knowledge when they were growing up.

They just did whatever took their fancy so, when asked years later for their secrets, told of whatever daily indulgence took their fancy. Unsurprisingly, plenty drank and smoked - and lived many years to tell the tale.

Wine

Antonio Docampo García, who died in January 2016, aged 107, attributed his longevity to his drinking habits - four bottles of red wine a day, and no water. He liked two bottles of wine with lunch, and another two with dinner. “He could drink a litre and a half all at once,” said his son Miguel.

Bacon

Texan Pearl Cantrell was 105 when she revealed the secret to her longevity in 2013. Bacon. “I love bacon. I eat it every day. It’s got to be crispy.” She urged others to follow her lead: “I want other people to eat bacon and I tell them to.”

Her claims were backed by 116-year-old Brooklyn woman Susannah Mushatt Jones, who will “eat bacon all day long,” according to her niece.

Beer

Agnes Fenton, 110, credits beer for her long life. Fenton claims that following a benign tumour many years ago, her doctor advised her to drink three Miller High Lifes a day. So, for the last 70 years, Fenton has been doing just that, and adding a shot of scotch for good measure.

More beer

Mark Behrends, who died at 110, was adamant that his secret to his old age was a beer he consumed each day at about 3pm. “He always joked that that was his medicine,” his daughter said.

The local hooch

The residents of Chiangmai, in southern China, where there are more than 200 residents aged over 100 out of a population of 560,000, have sage advice for those seeking to eke out more years. They claim a healthy reliance on alcohol was vital. Xu Yuhe, whose residency permit lists her as 104, told AFP that she takes daily shots of “Three Coconut Spring’’ a local grain spirit.

Coffee

Downing Jett Kay of Baltimore was celebrating her 107th birthday when she revealed her secret to a long life: caffeine. She said drinking lots of coffee was a big part of her longevity.

Whiskey and Cigars

When he turned 107, Richard Overton — who is now 109 - said he added whiskey to his morning coffee and smoked up to 12 cigars a day.

Cheap cigars

Actor George Burns, who lived to 100, did the same. His secret was to smoke 10 to 15 cheap cigars a day, drink a couple of martinis a day, keep your sense of humour and never, ever retire.

No booze

New Yorker Alexander Imich was the world’s oldest man when he died, aged 111 in 2014. He was mystified by his long life but was adamant a healthy diet and never drinking helped him survive longer than his peers.

Olive oil

Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment who lived to 122, said her longevity and relatively youthful appearance was due to a diet rich in olive oil (which she also rubbed onto her skin).

Chocolate

Calment, officially considered the oldest woman who ever lived, ate nearly one kilogram of chocolate every week.

Cigarettes

Calment also smoked … she would go through several a day from the age of 21, finally giving up 96 years later.

Bananas

Salustiano Sanchez Blazquez, who died in 2013, aged 112, was, for a time, the world’s oldest man. He had a simple formula for longevity: eat bananas.

Spanish-born Sanchez said a daily banana was his secret to a long life, along with six pain killers.

Porridge

Jessie Gallan, who was Scotland’s oldest woman when she died in 2015, aged 109, said her secret to a long life was a bowl of warm porridge every morning, along with staying away from men. “They’re just more trouble than they’re worth.”

Sleep . and pickled mackerel

A decent night’s rest was the key for Japanese woman Misao Okawa, who died in 2015 at 117. She made sure she slept eight hours a night and ate three square meals a day - one of which always contained pickled mackerel, something she swore by as helping her lead a healthy life.

Raw eggs

Europe’s oldest woman, Italian Emma Morano, swears by raw eggs. The 116-year-old has been slurping down three each day since she was a teenager after a doctor told her it was great way to ward off anaemia.

Sun bathing

On his 115th birthday, the former oldest man in Japan, Jiroemon Kimura, attributed his longevity to sun-bathing.

Dr Pepper

Texan woman Elizabeth Sullivan, who turned 104 in 2015, credits the soft drink for her long life. She fell in love it when she was in her 60s and has three a day. “Every doctor that sees me says they’ll kill you, but they die, and I don’t, so there must be a mistake somewhere.”

Push-ups

Duranord Veillard, a 108-year-old from New York, who has been married to his wife Jeanne for 82 years, gets up at five each morning and does five to seven push-ups.

Abstinence

Clara Meadmore, who was Britain’s oldest virgin when she died in 2011, aged 108, attributed her longevity down to her abstinence. Clara never had sex because she was “too busy” for intimate relationships, which seemed like “a lot of hassle.”

Parsley tea

Queenslander Miriam Schmierer, who lived to 110, told The Courier Mail in her final years her secret to a long life was a diet of parsley tea and dedicated reading of The Bible.

Behave yourself

NSW centenarian Jane Gray , who died in 2014 aged 112, said her secret was to eat plenty of good food and don’t drink booze or smoke. “Just behave yourself,” she said on her 11th birthday.

Keep waking up

Australia’s oldest man, Alfred Date, 110, who achieved celebrity in 2015 when he knitted jumpers for penguins, his secret to longevity is “waking up every morning.”

Don’t fear death

Walter Breuning was 114 when he died in 2011. His advice for a long life was simple: “We’re all going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you’re born to die.”