Sweet potatoes, hard work: keys to a long life

Two Vietnamese sisters, Dinh Thi Xa, 102, and Dinh Thi Long, 94, have been recognised as Viet Nam's oldest sisters by the Viet Nam Book of Records (Vietkings).

The certificate was presented to them at their homes in Dong Nai Province's Bien Hoa City.

The women have seven other siblings; three others are all over 90 years old. Their two sisters, Dinh Thi Ti (104) and Dinh Thi Nhu (100), and brother Dinh Van Trong (92), live in the US.


Mrs. Dinh Thi Xa and Mrs. Dinh Thi Long.

The two women attribute their longevity to their children's and grandchildren's loving care, along with a healthy and moderate lifestyle and reasonable diet.

"I have lived a hard life, and I also ate sweet potatoes to allay my hunger," Long says.

In fact, the two sisters often jokingly refer to sweet potato as "Vietnamese ginseng", saying it helps them maintain their physical and mental fitness as well as ginseng.

Long still helps her daughter sell banh chung (square glutinous rice cakes) to earn money.

She and Xa grew up in a poor family in Hai Duong Province. In order to earn a living, the children had to collect crabs and snails and work for others.

When Long married, she and her husband worked hard but still could not earn enough to feed their nine children.

"We ate the sweet potatoes and occasionally, we caught crabs, snails and fish to improve our meals."

"If the children caught a cold or fever, I picked rau ma (pennywort) and nho noi (dyer's weed) and ground them up for a drink."

In 1985, they moved to Trang Dai Ward in Bien Hoa City. Considered a good place to settle, she called on other siblings to help them. In three months, they built seven houses to welcome others in the family.

As a result, the living condition of the family in the new land gradually improved.

"Our longevity comes from hard work and walking a lot," Long said. "It could also be because we take care of our descendants, too."

(Source: VNS)