--- description: Did Dr Pepper pay her to say this? title: This 104-Year-Old Woman Says Dr Pepper Is What's Keeping Her Alive image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71b16e0d0c521bf5/69878483e53aba21c14d82cd/94620548.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This 104-Year-Old Woman Says Dr Pepper Is What's Keeping Her Alive by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2015 2:30 PM CUT  UNITED STATES - JUNE 19: Cans of Dr Pepper sit on a pantry shelf in New York, Tuesday, June 19, 2007\. Cadbury Schweppes Plc, the world's biggest candy company, plans to cut 7,500 jobs and sell the U.S. drinks unit that makes Dr Pepper and 7 Up to shore up profit and raise funds for expansion. (Photo by Stephen Hilger/Bloomberg via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - JUNE 19: Cans of Dr Pepper sit on a pantry shelf in New York, Tuesday, June 19, 2007\. Cadbury Schweppes Plc, the world's biggest candy company, plans to cut 7,500 jobs and sell the U.S. drinks unit that makes Dr Pepper and 7 Up to shore up profit and raise funds for expansion. (Photo by Stephen Hilger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Stephen Hilger—Bloomberg / Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2015 2:30 PM CUT The world’s oldest people have all kinds of advice for living longer. [Their secrets](http://time.com/3731504/longevity-secrets-worlds-oldest-person/ "undefined") range from staying away from men and believing in the Lord to smoking cigars and eating a ton of pork. But for Elizabeth Sullivan, a Texas woman who just turned 104, the secret to longevity is Dr Pepper. She’s been drinking three cans a day for about 40 years, [she told](http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/03/18/dr-pepper-the-doctor-of-choice-for-a-104-year-old-woman/ "undefined") Forth Worth’s CBS affiliate. “Every doctor that sees me says they’ll kill you, but they die and I don’t,” she says. “So there must be a mistake somewhere.” For her 104th birthday, Sullivan got a gift basket from Larry Young, the CEO of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. She also got a cake shaped like a can of Dr Pepper, because obviously. _Read next:_ [_Calorie Count Coming Soon to a Can of Guinness Near You_](http://time.com/3752518/diageo-calorie-count/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### These Are The Oldest Living People in the World  Misao Okawa, the world's oldest living person, looks on her 116th birthday celebration at Kurenai Nursing Home on March 5, 2014 in Osaka, Japan. Okawa, born in Tenma, Osaka, on March 5, 1898 to a family of Kimono merchants, married in 1919 and had three children, of which a daughter and a son are still alive, and has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Okawa is currently 116 years old. Buddhika Weerasinghe—Getty Images  Gertrude Weaver holds a flower given to her a day before her 116th birthday, at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, Ark., July 3, 2014\. The Gerontology Research Group says Weaver is the oldest person in the United States and second-oldest person in the world. Danny Johnston—AP  Jeralean Talley, photographed at 113, sits in her favorite chair in the living room of her home in Inkster, Mich. on April 2, 2013\. She is now 115. Kimberly P. Mitchell—AP  Susannah Mushatt Jones in her home in Brooklyn on June 11, 2014, a few weeks before her 115th birthday. Joseph C. Lin for TIME  Bernice Madigan, photographed on the cusp of her 110th birthday, is now 115. Dina Rudick—Boston Globe/Getty Images  Emma Morano-Martinuzzi was born on Nov. 29, 1899 and is 114 years old. Danilo Donadio  Antonia Gerena Rivera was born on May 19, 1900 and is now 114 years old. Gerontology Research Group  Ethel Lang celebrates her birthday with her great great grandchildren on Sept. 21, 1987 in the Bear Creek Nursing Home. Lang was born on May 27, 1900, and is now 114. John Preito—Denver Post/Getty Images  Nabi Tajima was born on Aug. 4, 1900 and is 114 years old. Kikai Newsletter  Born September 8, 1900, Blanche Arrington Cobb is photographed celebrating her 110th birthday in 2010\. Now 113, she has lived with her daughter on the Northside in Jacksonville, FL. Jon M. Fletcher—The Florida Times-Union  Anna Stoehr is photographed blowing out the 112 candles on her birthday cake with the help of her great grandchildren and about 180 guests on Oct. 14, 2012 in Millville, Minn. She is now 113. Richard Tsong—AP  Goldie Steinberg was born on Oct. 30, 1900, and is 113 years old. Market Wire  Merle Barwis, photographed at 111 years old, enjoys a birthday beer with family in Victoria, B.C. December 23, 2011\. She is now 113. Lyle StaffordL—Times Colonist [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3752352/104-year-old-woman-dr-pepper/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3752352/104-year-old-woman-dr-pepper/"},"headline":"This 104-Year-Old Woman Says Dr Pepper Is What's Keeping Her Alive","datePublished":"2015-03-20T14:30:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:51.868Z","description":"Did Dr Pepper pay her to say this?","url":"https://time.com/3752352/104-year-old-woman-dr-pepper/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71b16e0d0c521bf5/69878483e53aba21c14d82cd/94620548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71b16e0d0c521bf5/69878483e53aba21c14d82cd/94620548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cans of Dr Pepper sit on a pantry shelf in New York, Tuesday","caption":"Cans of Dr Pepper sit on a pantry shelf in New York, Tuesday","creditText":"Stephen Hilger—Bloomberg / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3752352/104-year-old-woman-dr-pepper/","name":"This 104-Year-Old Woman Says Dr Pepper Is What's Keeping Her Alive"}}]}] ```