Dr. Leila Denmark: Turning 112

in Inspiration by PYNTK — February 2, 2010 at 12:37 pm | 1 comment

I posted this when Dr. Leila Denmark turned 110. I was excited when I spoke to her daughter on yesterday because Dr. Denmark turned 112. They celebrated the historical event at Red Lobster.  She is now the 24th oldest person in the world and the 10th oldest American. The following is a re-post.

Dr. Leila Denmark was born on February 1, 1898 in Bulloch County, Georgia. The year she was born, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 49 years. Currently, she is the 67th oldest person in the world, according to the short list of super-centenarians (people at least 110 years old or older.)

Dr. Denmark was the 3rd female graduate of the Medical College of Georgia in 1928. She was one of the first female pediatricians in Atlanta and practiced medicine for more than 70 years. It has been estimated that Dr. Denmark treated more than 250,000 patients during her distinguished career. She is credited with being the co-developer of the Whooping Cough vaccine, which saved countless lives of children in the early part of the 20th Century.

When I first met Dr. Denmark in 2002, she was 104 years old, and had just closed her medical practice the previous year, at 103. At that time, she was the oldest practicing physician in America.

Over the years, I’ve learned many valuable life lessons by staying in contact with this legendary Atlanta doctor. Some of the lessons prompted me to do further investigation, and I have incorporated many of them into my daily life. Coming from Dr. Denmark, they were even more powerful because she has seen many years come and go. Here are a few tips she shared with me…

• Don’t abuse your body with junk food
• Love what you do
• Drinking cow’s milk is dangerous
• Do your best to help others
• Too much sugar is not a good thing
• A sense of humor is very important for longevity
• As a doctor, it’s important to find the root cause of a problem
• Never bring a child into the world unless you’re willing to take care of them
• Children are not getting parental guidance and it’s wrecking this nation
• Kids in daycare are deprived of attention and catch too many illnesses
• We need to think about everything we eat and drink
• “Let’s do” is easier than do
• Anything you have to do is work and anything you love to do is play
• During the Great Depression, 11,000 of America’s 25,000 banks closed (Save what you can, appreciate what you have.)
• Never raise your hand or your voice to a child
• Parenting has gone out of style
• Children and adults should eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juices
• Drink only water
• The greatest change she’s seen in her lifetime has been the neglect of little children

This is what works for me: My wife and I no longer buy milk. She makes it from scratch using dates and almonds. I don’t buy fruit juices because once the juice has been pasteurized, the vitamin and mineral content have both been greatly reduced. I’ve cut back on my junk food consumption tremendously, and I no longer look at day care facilities the same. – Spark Plug

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Tags: Atlanta Bulloch County Dr. Leila Denmark Georgia Pediatrician