104-Year-Old Woman Says Diet Coke Is Her Fountain Of Youth

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to drink more water and less soda this year? If so, you may want to rethink that resolution. There’s a 104-year-old woman in Michigan who drinks a can of Diet Coke every day and she’s still going strong!

Theresa Rowley lives in a retirement community in Grand Rapids, Mich., and she recently celebrated her 104th birthday. You might think that she must be a health nut in order to have lived such a long life, but as Rowley told WZZM 13, she actually has a quite a unhealthy habit indeed. She drinks at least one can of Diet Coke every day, and she has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

“I drink it because I like it,” Rowley explained. “I’m going shopping Wednesday, and I need more Diet Coke. I have a bag full of empty Diet Coke cans that I need to return to buy more Diet Coke.”

Hey, at least she’s recycling!

Rowley admitted that she is shocked that she has lived this long. “It just doesn’t seem like I should be that old,” she told WZZM 13. “When I was 100, I thought I’d never be 104; I thought I’d pass away by that time but it just didn’t happen. Then I turn 101, and nothing happens. Here I am 104, and still nothing happens.”

It must be something in that Diet Coke!

In all seriousness, diet sodas are probably not going to help you live a long, healthy life — just the opposite! Numerous studies show that people who regularly drink diet soda are at increased risk of developing type II diabetes, and they are also at greater risk of strokes and heart disease.

Still, at 104 years old, Rowley has certainly earned the right to enjoy her favorite drink. So, drink up, birthday girl! Here’s wishing you many more birthdays … and many more cans of Diet Coke.

[H/t: People]