The Oldest Person In the World Attributes Her Long Life to Eating Eggs and Being Single

Ask the oldest living person in the world — a tiny, 116-year-old Italian woman — what the key to her longevity is and her response might surprise you. The Guinness World Records confirmed on Monday that Emma Morano of Verbania, Italy is now the oldest living person at 116 years and 169 days old.

The spry supercentenarian was born on November 29, 1899, making her the only person whose life has touched three centuries.

In a 2015 interview with the New York Times, Morano shared that she attributes her long life to eating three raw eggs a day — she has since gone down to two eggs a day — since she was in her teens (a doctor recommended it for anemia.)

She also largely credits her impressive life span with being single. Although Morano had many “suitors” following the end of an unhappy marriage in 1938, she never remarried. “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” Morano said.

When Morano was told that she now held the title of oldest person alive, she told the Telegraph via her caretaker, Rosi Santoni, “My word, I’m as old as the hills.”

Subscribe to TIME

Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com.