It’s just a mouthful a week and it’s not on the shelves of your local supermarket yet former Queensland grazier Dexter Kruger, who has become Australia’s oldest man on record, attributes it for his longevity.
“Chicken brains,” he grinned as an official from the Guinness Book of Records at Pinaroo Roma aged care facility, 476km west of Brisbane, recorded Dexter being 111 years and 124 days old on Monday overtaking World War I veteran Jack Lockett, who died in 2002 aged 111 years and 123 days.
“You know, chickens have a head and in that is some brains, and they are delicious little things. There’s only one bite,” added Dexter, who was born in Nundah, Brisbane, on 13 January, and grew up with his siblings on Sheep Station Creek, near Kilcoy, 97km northwest of Brisbane.
Dexter has written a draft of his autobiography and Pinaroo Roma aged care facility manager Melanie Calvert told the ABC he was in better health than many residents aged in their 80s and 90s.
“He’s probably one of the sharpest residents here,” she said.
“His memory is amazing and his cognitive functioning is unbelievable
Dexter’s 74-year-old son Greg said his father had a simple lifestyle and balanced diet, with “plenty of salt, sugar and fat”.
“He lived through a period that was a lot less stressful than what society is faced with today,” Greg told the ABC.
“He didn’t go around chasing the bright lights, he was happy being around horses and cattle.”
“His system wasn’t worn out trying to process the junk food – he’s never been overweight, always active,” Dexter’s son added.
There are more than 6,000 centenarians currently living in Australia, according to the Bureau of Statistics and the Government expects that figure will more than double by 2032 due to the ageing population and a steadily increasing life expectancy.
