Fruit, veg keeps Limpopo elder fit

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Petrus Ravhuhali, 96, says he’s reaping the rewards of smart choices made in his youth as he approaches his 100th birthday. (File photo)

“I am still a healthy man at the age of 96 because of the healthy lifestyle I chose to live when I was still a young boy,” said Ravhuhali, while eating mangoes near his home in Mphego, outside of Thohoyandou in Limpopo. “I never drank alcohol and I never smoked any form of tobacco, hence you can see that I am still as healthy as a horse.”

A father of three and granddad to 15 children, Ravhuhali also credits a long history of eating right for his current health.

“I have never been admitted to a hospital,” he told OurHealth. “I have never fallen sick ever since I was born because of the food I used to eat while I was growing up – African fruits and vegetables.”

His good health baffles even his granddaughter nurse Irene Sithole, especially because Ravhuhali worked on the mines in Gauteng prior to retiring almost 30 years ago. Miners can be at an increased risk for various occupational diseases, including silicosis.

“As a professional nurse I find it very strange that a man at the age of 96 does not have any of the diseases that are killing most of the youth in our country,” Sithole said. “I’ve tested him a couple of times, to check if it’s really true and indeed he does not have any of these diseases”.

Ruvhali’s also has some words of wisdom for today’s youth.

“I always tell the youth of today that if they want to survive and reach my age that they must stay away from unprotected sex, dating many people at the same time as well as alcohol,” he said. “These things are the ones that are killing our younger generations.”