Dr. John Scharffenberg, a lively 101-year-old, is traveling the globe sharing his tips for a long, healthy life. Born in December 1923, he still drives, stays active, and runs a YouTube channel called Viva Longevity!, which has 135,000 subscribers.
Despite his remarkable age, Dr. Scharffenberg doesn't credit his longevity to genetics—his mother passed away from Alzheimer’s in her 60s, his father died of a heart attack at 76, and he has outlived both of his brothers. Now living with his son in North Fork, in California's Sierra Nevada foothills, the Loma Linda University adjunct professor of public health has spent the past year speaking in places like Madagascar and Europe, and he’s scheduled to appear in Las Vegas later this year.
According to Dr. Scharffenberg, staying active—especially between ages 40 and 70—is essential. That’s the time when people tend to settle down, eat more, and move less, which he says leads to many health problems. During his middle age, he stayed physically active by developing a property in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where he built roads, cleared land, and maintained a two-acre garden with 3,000 strawberry plants, 80 fruit trees, and grapevines.
Even as a nutritionist, he believes exercise outweighs diet in importance. He recommends activities like gardening and walking, citing studies that show walking more than two miles a day significantly reduces mortality risk.
He has never smoked, and notes that smoking is known to damage nearly every organ and increases the risk of cancer and diseases like dementia.
Dr. Scharffenberg has never consumed alcohol and challenges the idea that moderate drinking can be beneficial. He refers to research suggesting that even small amounts of alcohol raise the risk of cancer.
He practices intermittent fasting by eating only breakfast and lunch, with his first meal at 6:30 AM the next day. Avoiding dinner helps him manage his weight, which he says is critical to preventing health issues like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
As a Seventh-Day Adventist, he’s followed a vegetarian diet since age 20, though he still consumes milk and eggs. His favorite foods include mangos, persimmons, macadamia nuts, seeds, and potatoes.
He suggests cutting added sugars from recipes, favoring naturally sweet foods like fruits. One of his preferred meals is oat-based waffles topped with berries, bananas, or cashew cream—rather than syrup.
In his lectures, Dr. Scharffenberg promotes vegetarianism as the best diet for longevity and health. He concludes his talks by encouraging people to adopt healthy habits so they, too, can enjoy a long and fulfilling life.
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