100-year-old woman reveals secret to long life is daily pint of Guinness

Can a daily dose of stout really be the key to a century-long life?

Plymouth Herald (SWNS.com)

What’s the secret to eternal life? A calm and complacent demeanour? A glittering sense of humour? A lifelong yoga habit? Or could it be something much simpler… like a penchant for Irish stout?

A centenarian has claimed that the secret to her long life is a daily glass of Guinness.

Doris Olive Netting has been a regular consumer of the iconic black beverage since her early 30s.

Netting celebrated turning 100 with a party in homage of the drink (Plymouth Herald / SWNS.com)

She began drinking it after seeing a campaign was launched that hailed the beer for its rich iron content.

Her passion for the drink is such that on Friday she marked her landmark 100th birthday by having a Guinness-themed birthday party at her care home in Plymouth.

The party came complete with branded balloons, a real-life model of the Guinness toucan logo and a telegram from The Queen.

“She refuses to go a day without drinking it,” said Netting’s 37-year-old granddaughter, Tammy.

"She reckons that's why she's lived for as long as she has, because of the iron intake through Guinness.

"She's doing really well. She's remarkable."

Guinness was thrilled to learn of Netting’s long-lasting enjoyment of the drink and even sent her a personalised hamper to mark her birthday.

Prior to moving into Parkwood House care home, Netting had lived alone in her home in Plymouth. Her husband, Percy Netting, passed away in the 1970s.

Her family home was destroyed during the war, when she was evacuated to Modbury in south Devon.

(Plymouth Herald / SWNS.com (Plymouth Herald / SWNS.com)

It was after the war that she fell in love with Guinness, her granddaughter explained.

"After the war there was a big marketing campaign to buy Guinness – drink Guinness to get your iron – following on from the ration years.

"So Olive did just that: a glass [mini bottle] of Guinness a day for the rest of her life.

That is what she puts her good health and age down to."

Maybe it's about time we revolutionised the "apple a day" myth with something a little more unconventional... like Irish stout beer.