Click here for article: Mesa Man turns 105 today. (August 17, 2006) excerpted from the East Valley Tribune
Bernando LaPallo has discovered the fountain of youth. He’ll tell you his secrets to his longevity, but he doubts you’ll follow it. The Mesa man is turning 105 today, but you’d never in a million years guess he’s that old. In fact, he could pass for someone half his age. “I feel great,” he said. “I’m never sick.” LaPallo credits his longevity on his diet, his faith in God and keeping active.
“If you take care of your body, it will take care of you,” he said. LaPallo eats only organic fruits and vegetables, fish and a homemade juice he makes fresh everyday for him and his wife of 47 years, Georgette.
His secret ingredient is SuperFood, a 100 percent organic and wild harvested vitamin and mineral herbal concentrate. He’s been taking it since 1979.
“It has all the nutrients the body needs,” LaPallo said. “Everything good comes from the earth.”
LaPallo’s dark face has hardly any wrinkles and his black hair has just specks of gray.
He still drives, has his original teeth and doesn’t wear a hearing aid.
LaPallo rises at 5 a.m. daily to walk several times around a nearby park, taking off his shoes to walk in the grass.
“It’s unbelievable. God gave you this wonderful body,” he said. “This is your temple.” He doesn’t drink or smoke, and doesn’t believe in luck. “I think your life is planned for you before you’re born,” said LaPallo, who has four children, six grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. “God said I’m not ready for you yet. But I told him, ‘Whenever you want me, I’m ready. I’ve lived a good life.’ “
He was born in Brazil in 1901 and moved to the United States when he was 5 years old. He lived in New York for 90 years and moved to the Valley three years ago.
He’s been a chef, a podiatrist, a licensed massage and physical therapist, and a herbalist.
LaPallo also has longevity in his genes. His mother died at 105, his father at 97 and his grandmother lived to 107. Nobody in his family died younger than 89 years old, he said.
Yvette Leslie of Mesa is LaPallo’s unofficial adopted daughter who considers LaPallo her mentor. The two met 25 years ago and learned how to do theatrical and street makeup together at the Robert Fiance Hair Design Institute in New York.
She was shocked at his age when she first met him, and she still marvels at how well he’s aged.
“His memory is amazing,” said Leslie, 52, a licensed massage therapist. “I’ve never seen him angry. His skin is so tight and in perfect condition. It just blows me away.
“He’s an amazing man. I’ve been blessed to have him in my life.”
He’s got answers
Click here for original article: August 23, 2005. "Believe him when he say he's 104." East Valley Tribune.
August 23, 2005 - 11:22AM Andy Hobbs, Tribune
"Believe him when he says he’s 104 "
Aging skipped Bernando LaPallo’s genes. He marked 104 years of life Wednesday, still defying every truth to getting old.
Barely a gray hair on his head, with saber-sharp social skills and shiny cocoa skin that shuns wrinkles.
I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes, much less my ears, at the fact he’s 104. He tires of the fuss people make over this number, but really, you can’t blame their awe — or envy.
I still looked for clues at his Mesa apartment, not so much because of doubt, but for a personal reality check. On a shelf, one trophy honored 20 years of service for his work as a chef on cruise lines. LaPallo got the trophy in 1957.
The disbelief, as hard as it is to put down, must go. LaPallo has earned every year on this planet through faith, education and taking care of his body.
He doesn’t eat meat, and for that matter, doesn’t indulge beyond satisfying hunger. Vegetables, fruit, fish and an overall organic diet do the trick.
Born Aug. 17, 1901, in Brazil, LaPallo moved to the United States with his family at age 5, where he was raised in New York and Philadelphia. Educated at a prestigious culinary arts school in Paris, his lifelong career path has included stints as a chef, podiatrist, herb specialist and massage therapist. Those topics dominate shelves filled with encyclopedias, textbooks and more.
It’s no surprise that longevity runs in the family. His father lived to be 97. His mother lived to be 105. In fact, photos of her at ages 104 and 68 just made me shake my head in amazement once again.
Georgette, his wife of 46 years, credits him for revitalizing her health. With the help of good nutrition and herbal supplements, her medication intake has been reduced from more than 20 pills to only two daily.
One would think LaPallo could make some serious money by selling his example of healthy living. I even suggested it, but he insists his philosophy would clash with the health care industry’s profit goals.
About a year ago, the couple moved from North Carolina to a modest Mesa apartment, where a good share of the residents run on the younger side.
For a guy who still hits the bowling alley — he recently bowled a 210 — LaPallo, in a way, really isn’t out of place.
"I have a friend who asks, ‘When are you going to age? When are you going to get old?’ ’’ he said.
"I ask myself the same thing.’’
