The Secrets of Supercentenarians- Maria Branyas Morera

From My Readings on Aging and Longevity This Week

Unlocking the Secrets of Supercentenarians: What Maria Branyas Morera’s Genome Reveals About Aging

When a supercentenarian—someone who lives past 110—is interviewed, the question inevitably comes up: What’s your secret to longevity? Some credit olive oil, others red wine, faith, or family. But what if the real secret isn’t just in lifestyle, but written into their DNA?

This is the fascinating question scientists sought to answer in a recent paper published in Cell Reports Medicine. The study examined the genome of Maria Branyas Morera, a U.S.-born Spanish woman who, at the time of her death in August 2024, held the title of the world’s oldest living person. She was 117 years and 168 days old.

A Life Spanning Three Centuries

Maria Branyas lived through both World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Great Depression, the digital revolution, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She was born in San Francisco in 1907 before moving to Spain as a child, and her life became a living archive of the 20th and 21st centuries. But beyond her extraordinary personal history, her body carried genetic clues about why she managed to avoid many of the diseases—like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer—that claim lives much earlier.

What Her Genome Tells Us

The study of Branyas’ genome revealed protective genetic variants in pathways linked to cellular repair, inflammation, and neuroprotection. In particular, researchers identified subtle differences in how her body regulated immune responses and repaired DNA damage—two factors strongly tied to aging and disease resistance.

While no single “longevity gene” explains her remarkable lifespan, the findings suggest that supercentenarians may carry a unique combination of genetic advantages that slow down aging at the molecular level.

Can We All Benefit?

The dream, of course, is that by studying these rare individuals, we might uncover insights that could help the rest of us live longer, healthier lives. If scientists can learn how Branyas’ body naturally resisted disease and slowed cellular aging, those pathways could inspire new therapies for age-related conditions.

Already, longevity research is booming—from drugs that mimic calorie restriction, to stem cell therapies, to gene editing. Supercentenarians like Maria Branyas provide a kind of natural experiment, showing us what’s biologically possible.

The Bigger Picture

Still, genetics is only part of the story. Maria herself often credited her longevity to a calm life, strong social connections, and avoiding stress—reminders that lifestyle and mindset matter, too. The truth likely lies in the intersection of genes, environment, and personal resilience.

As scientists continue decoding the DNA of supercentenarians, we may inch closer to understanding the mysteries of human longevity. And perhaps, one day, Maria Branyas Morera’s genetic legacy will help us all add not just years to life, but life to years. 

For More Details on her life read: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Branyas

Meanwhile, here some of the art work of my youngest daughter Ditas

https://delrayartisans.org/organizer/ditas-katague/

http://www.grievingthruglee.com/

Finally, Happy 100th Birthday to the Legendary Paul Newman

A century of greatness — actor, director, philanthropist, and racing champion — your legacy shines brighter than ever.

From unforgettable classics like Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Sting, to your Oscar-winning performance in The Color of Money, you brought depth, charm, and authenticity to every role.

Beyond the screen, your kindness and generosity — through Newman’s Own and your countless charitable contributions — changed lives and continue to make the world a better place.

At 100 years, we honor not only your extraordinary career but the man of integrity and compassion you were. Your name stands for excellence, empathy, and everlasting inspiration.

 

Living with Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease

I am dedicating this posting to all CKD Sufferers specifically those on Stages 3 and 4.  

Living with Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease: My Journey with Food and Hope

When I first heard the words Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease, my mind raced. The doctors explained my kidneys were working at less than 30% of normal capacity. Dialysis was on the horizon, but I made the personal decision not to pursue it. Instead, I’ve chosen to live as fully as I can, with dignity, gratitude, and self-care at the center of my days.

One of the biggest tools I’ve found in this journey is diet. What we eat truly matters. For those of us living with advanced kidney disease, the right food choices can ease symptoms, slow further damage, and improve daily life. I’ve experienced this firsthand.

Why Food Matters

Our kidneys act like filters—removing waste and balancing minerals. When they weaken, the “filter” slows down, and things like sodium, potassium, and phosphorus build up in the body. By adjusting what I eat, I’m essentially lightening the load on my kidneys, helping them do the best job they still can.

What I’ve Learned About Eating with CKD

1. Protein in Moderation

Early on, I loved big portions of meat. But with CKD, I’ve learned that less is more. Smaller servings of chicken or fish work better, and I’ve been experimenting with plant-based proteins like tofu. Too much protein makes the kidneys work harder—something I want to avoid.

2. Saying Goodbye to the Salt Shaker

I used to be heavy-handed with salt, especially on comfort foods. Now, I lean on herbs, lemon, and spices. Cutting back on sodium helps keep my blood pressure in check and reduces swelling in my legs and ankles.

3. Potassium Watch

I never thought twice about eating bananas or tomatoes—until my lab results showed high potassium. Now, apples, grapes, and berries are my go-to fruits. Little swaps like these make a big difference.

4. Phosphorus and Bones

I didn’t realize how much phosphorus was hidden in processed foods until my dietitian explained it. Too much can weaken bones and cause itching. So, I’ve cut back on dairy, nuts, and dark colas. Even cream cheese in small amounts feels like a treat.

5. Fluids in Check

Thirst is tricky with CKD. On hot days, I want to gulp water, but I’ve learned the importance of pacing myself. Extra fluid can lead to swelling and shortness of breath. I measure my liquids carefully—even soups and ice cubes count.

6. Protecting My Heart

CKD doesn’t just affect the kidneys—it raises the risk for heart disease. That’s why I use olive oil instead of butter, eat more vegetables (the low-potassium ones), and stay mindful about cholesterol.

Gratitude for the Experts

One thing I’ll emphasize: don’t do this alone. My renal dietitian has been a guide and teacher, adjusting my food plan based on my bloodwork. CKD isn’t one-size-fits-all—what works for me may not work for someone else.

Living with Intention

Stage 4 CKD is a reality I live with every day. I know my future holds challenges, but choosing not to go on dialysis has made me more determined to focus on the present. Each meal I prepare is both nourishment and a small act of self-care.

Food won’t cure kidney disease, but it does give me strength, comfort, and a measure of control. And in this season of life, that feels like a gift worth holding onto.

A Note of Gratitude from My Hospital Stay

Recently, I spent three days at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, and I came away deeply touched by the care I received. The staff—especially the Filipino-American nurses—showed me not only skill but true compassion. Their kindness, gentle humor, and attentiveness reminded me that while CKD can feel like a heavy burden, I’m not carrying it alone. Sometimes healing comes not just from medicine or diet, but from the human connection we find in unexpected places.

As I continue living with Stage 4 CKD, I carry their example with me. Their bedside manner inspired me to keep choosing gratitude, to see each meal as an opportunity for healing, and to face the future with courage.

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A Practical Checklist: Kidney-Friendly Diet for Stage 4 CKD

Here’s a quick guide for anyone navigating food choices with advanced kidney disease:

✅ Control protein: Choose smaller portions; lean meats or plant-based proteins.
✅ Limit sodium: Skip the salt shaker, avoid processed foods.
✅ Watch potassium: Choose apples, grapes, and berries instead of bananas, oranges, or tomatoes.
✅ Manage phosphorus: Cut back on dairy, nuts, and colas; check labels for phosphate additives.
✅ Balance fluids: Count everything that melts or pours—water, soups, ice, even juicy fruits.
✅ Protect your heart: Use healthy fats, eat heart-smart grains and veggies (within limits).
✅ Work with a renal dietitian: Your plan should be tailored to your labs and health goals.

Meanwhile, 3 WINS FOR THE PHILIPPINES!

Jessica Sanchez- America’s Got Talent Season 20

Veejay Floresca- Project Runway Season 21

Kirk Bondad- Mister International 2025

Congratulations!! Truly, Filipino excellence knows no bounds.

Finally, I heard from the Rumors that Jennifer ( our Concierge Guru) has resigned. Her last day was yesterday. As of today, I have not seen any announcement. I know she has been with THD for 8 years. I also heard she resigned for a better position at Hyatts ( salary and benefits). Jennifer has always been very  professional, helpful and excellent in her job, She is well-liked by all of Us. Good Luck in your new Position and God Bless You! We love you, Jennifer.  

Trump. Nihilism and His UN Speech

Here's a Reflection on Trumps UN Speech by Will Gottsegen of the Atlantic Daily, that I can completely identify and agree with. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do. This speech confirms Trump diagnosis of narcism syndrome.       

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Trump, Nihilism, and the UN Stage: A Confession of Powerlessness?

When Donald Trump took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly, he delivered more than bluster — he offered a kind of nihilistic spectacle. That’s the verdict of Will Gottsegen, who in The Atlantic Daily describes a speech that “oscillated between bombast and blithe nihilism.” The Atlantic In a moment when the world is braced by crises of climate, war, inflation, and systemic instability, Trump’s address abandoned the usual modes of diplomatic appeals, norms of multilateralism, and the basic assumption that collective action still matters.

What does it mean to speak publicly “beyond hope,” as a world burns? Let’s pick through the rhetorical anatomy of that message, the dangers it poses, and what it might signal about how we govern—or fail to govern—at the brink.

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1. The Rhetoric of Abandonment

Gottsegen highlights several features of Trump’s address that betray its deeper posture:

• Catastrophe everywhere, America alone. Trump painted a world “going to hell” because of “the failed experiment of open borders,” juxtaposed against an America in its “golden age.” The Atlantic That contrast is not just boastful — it is a rhetorical repudiation of shared fate. If everything else is doomed, the only recourse is isolation or self-salvation.

• Disconnection from fact, retreat from coherence. The speech was riddled with asides (teleprompter failures, escalator jokes), false claims (credit for ending wars), and conspiratorial asides (climate change as a “con job,” fears of Sharia in London). The Atlantic These elements weaken the speech’s claim to seriousness, but also serve a tactic: to shrink the space of serious pushback, to drown in noise.

• Delegitimizing institutions. He asked, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” not in a spirit of reform, but as a swipe at the institution itself. The Atlantic The gesture: global institutions are hollow, broken, worth little attention. Don’t rely on them; rely on us (or don’t rely at all).

• Emotional resignation. Gottsegen’s phrasing — that Trump “throws up his hands” — captures the emotional core: a president signaling that the world is beyond repair and that most of it must fend for itself. The Atlantic

In short, it is not a speech of hope, not even a speech of fear, but a speech of giving up.

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2. The Dangers of Political Nihilism

Why should we care when a major world leader adopts a posture of nihilism?

(a) Self-fulfilling despair

When a leader publicly withdraws into a posture of “it’s all falling apart anyway,” it normalizes passivity. If the rhetoric is that the system is irredeemably broken, then every failure simply confirms the narrative. Ambitious reforms, collective action, or international problem-solving become not worthy, but quixotic.

(b) Undermining multilateralism

The United Nations is, admittedly, a flawed institution. But its value lies in providing forums and norms for cooperation. When a global power treats it as an irrelevancy, or worse, an adversary, it further corrodes the willingness of states to engage. Over time, the very scaffolding of global governance erodes — climate treaties, sanctions regimes, aid programs, peacekeeping efforts.

(c) Legitimacy gap and domestic impact

A leader who revels in nihilism invites domestic cynicism. If the highest office expresses no shared purpose, why should citizens believe in collective institutions — from public health to environmental policy to infrastructure — or support government action? In that void, authoritarianism or demagogic shortcuts find fertile ground.

(d) Misread threats

Nihilism often treats all threats as equivalent — “everything is chaos.” That flattens distinctions: is Russia more dangerous than transnational climate risk? Is famine worse than pandemics? The urgency of targeted responses is lost if all we see is unending doom. Worse, threats that demand coordinated responses fall by the wayside.

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3. Reading the UN Address as a Signal

Gottsegen suggests that this address is not just theater — it is emblematic of Trump’s foreign policy posture. The Atlantic A few implications:

• America First turned America Alone. The logic of “America First” is often framed in terms of prioritizing domestic interest. But when that mode slides into rejection of global responsibility, the consequence is abandonment. The UN address shows a willingness to disclaim global leadership, even coordination.

• Volatile swings as abdication. To justify the incoherence — he first chastises Ukraine’s Zelensky, then later blames Russia; he proclaims ending wars, then claims to fight new ones — is less inconsistency than retreat from standards. When there is no coherent foreign policy, reversal becomes the default. The Atlantic

• Delegation to chaos. When the message is “you’re on your own,” conflicts, disasters, and upheavals become externalities to be endured, not shaped. Trump’s speech invites the world to scramble as best it can — America may intervene, but on its own terms.

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4. What’s Missing—and What Redress Might Look Like

To counter nihilism, something more is required than reproach.

(i) Narrative of agency

When leaders speak, they offer possibility, not just diagnosis. The argument for cooperation, for rebuilding institutions, for activism, must reassert itself. The idea that a better future — or at least a tolerable one — is possible, is a political foundation.

(ii) Institutional re-investments

If the UN and multilateral bodies are imperfect, that is reason to repair, not abandon. Repair, reform, reinvest. Revise decision rules, increase accountability, enhance enforcement. A world of real commitments — not symbolic ones — can resist the drift toward “nothing matters.”

(iii) Local to global bridges

Global crises (climate, pandemics, migration) play out locally. Empowering subnational, civil society, and transnational networks gives resilience even when national postures are brittle. If national governments withdraw, other layers must hold.

(iv) Guardrails on nihilism

In democratic order, political discourse cannot collapse entirely. Norms of truth, accountability, institutional continuity must resist despair. Courts, legislatures, civil society — these are counterweights to the pull of “nothing matters.”

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5. Conclusion: The Stakes of Disbelief

Gottsegen’s framing is apt: this was not a mere rhetorical slip, but a confession of political despair. The Atlantic In a moment when the world demands urgency, a speech that signals resignation is worse than helplessness — it is a mandate to retreat.

We must take seriously what it means when a global leader abandons not only solutions, but the very idea of shared agency. The question now is: who will speak differently in that hall, and across the world, so that despair does not become default?

Meanwhile, 

My CONGRATULATIONS, KIRK!

Philippines’ bet Kirk Bondad is Mister International 2025!

I am super proud of your accomplishments as a Filipino- American

Finally, THE POWER OF PINOY'S!

A double victory for the Philippines, Congratulations!!

 

• JESSICA SANCHEZ- America's Got Talent Season 20 Grand Winner

• KIRK BONDAD- Mister International 2025 Winner

Personal Correction: The White Orchid that I posted recently in my blogs that greeted me after my 3 -day hospital stay is not from THD via Jenny, but from Pam Atkinson. However attached is what Jenny gave me yesterday.

It is an excellent addition to my cacti collection. Thank You, Jenny.

Healing and Care at John Muir Hospital

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Healing at John Muir: Reflections on Care, Culture, and Compassion

I just returned home after a three-day hospitalization at John Muir Health in Walnut Creek, California, and I feel compelled to share something that struck me deeply during my stay—not only the quality of the care, but the humanity behind it.

John Muir Health has long had a reputation as one of the premier community hospitals in the Bay Area. Founded in 1997 through the merger of two medical centers, it now serves as a regional hub for trauma care, cardiology, oncology, and a host of specialties. But beyond the impressive technology and world-class medical facilities, what stays with me most is the way the staff carried themselves at the bedside.

In particular, I was moved by the grace, professionalism, and compassion of the Filipino-American nurses and Staff who made up a large portion of the team that cared for me. I later learned that Filipino nurses are not just a presence at John Muir, but a backbone of the workforce. While I don’t know the exact percentage—some say it’s as high as 70%—what I do know is that their contribution is unmistakable.

This is part of a broader history. Since the 1960s, waves of Filipino nurses have come to the United States, many recruited during times of staffing shortages. Today, they make up nearly one-third of the entire U.S. nursing workforce, with California as one of the largest hubs. In the Bay Area—especially at hospitals like John Muir—their presence is not only statistical but cultural. They bring with them a tradition of care rooted in respect for patients, empathy for families, and a deep sense of duty.

During my stay, I witnessed this in countless small ways. A nurse who paused to explain each procedure with patience. Another who offered not just medication, but a reassuring word in the middle of the night. The kind of bedside manner that cannot be taught in a textbook—it is lived, inherited, and practiced with humility.

Lying in a hospital bed, vulnerable, one begins to notice what truly matters. The machines and monitors keep track of vitals, but it is the people—the nurses especially—who carry you through the ordeal. And for me, those people happened to be predominantly Filipino-Americans, a community whose quiet strength has become the heartbeat of American healthcare.

As I continue to recover, I carry not only gratitude for the healing I received at John Muir, but also admiration for the nurses who embody the very best of the profession. In an era when healthcare often feels impersonal, their warmth reminded me that compassion is still at the core of medicine. The nurses and assistants with Filipino ancestry, lovingly call me Tatay, during my whole 3-day stay showing respect for  the elderly.

To the staff at John Muir, and especially the Filipino-American nurses who cared for me: Maraming salamat. Thank you for your skill, your kindness, and your humanity.

Meanwhile, here's detailed information on John Muir Health Medical Center from the Internet:

John Muir Health's medical centers in Concord and Walnut Creek have earned recognition as two of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S. for 2025–26 by U.S. News & World Report, a distinction awarded to only 11% of hospitals nationwide.Aug 13, 2025

John Muir Health, with medical centers in Concord and Walnut Creek, is known for its centers of excellence in neurosciences, orthopedics, cancer care, cardiovascular care, trauma, and high-risk obstetrics. The system provides a wide range of medical services, including Contra Costa County's only trauma center, and has partnerships with UCSF Health and Stanford Children's Health.The centers are recognized for advanced medical technology, compassionate teams, and high-quality nursing care, holding Magnet recognition and being listed among the region's best hospitals by organizations like Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. 

Specialized Centers of Excellence

John Muir Health is recognized for providing advanced care in key medical fields: 

• Neurosciences: Specialized care for brain and nervous system conditions. 
• Orthopedics: Expertise in orthopedic surgery and treatment. 
• Cancer Care: Advanced cancer treatment services, with a joint cancer center with UCSF Health. 
• Cardiovascular Care: Comprehensive services, including open-heart surgery and interventional cardiology. 
• Trauma and Emergency: Features Contra Costa County's only trauma center. 
• High-Risk Obstetrics: Specialized care for complex pregnancy and childbirth situations. 

High-Quality Care and Recognition 

• Awards and Recognition: 

  The system holds the prestigious Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence at its Concord and Walnut Creek campuses. 
• Top Rankings: 

  Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report have consistently ranked John Muir Health among the best regional and Bay Area hospitals. 
• Community-Focused: 

  The health system is committed to providing world-class care close to home and serves as a major provider of uncompensated care to Medicare and Medi-Cal patients. 

Advanced Services and Partnerships

• State-of-the-Art Technology: 

  John Muir Health is known for delivering tertiary services and using advanced medical technology. 
• Strategic Partnerships: 

  The system has affiliations and partnerships with prominent institutions, including UCSF Health and Stanford Children's Health, to enhance patient care and share knowledge. 

  
  

  Finally, A Personal Thanks to my THD Friends and Co-Residents for their calls

  e-mails and cards during my 3-stay at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.