“Chicken brains,” Kruger said. “You know, chickens have a head. And in there, there’s a brain. And they are delicious little things. There’s only one little bite.” The unusual snack isn’t the only thing Dexter Kruger credits for his longevity though. He told ABC he was never much of a drinker or smoker, and he stayed active on his cattle ranch into the 1990s. He said, “I lived very close to nature and I ate mostly what I grew in the garden or the orchard or the farm.”

Kruger’s 74-year-old son, Greg Kruger, told ABC his dad always ate plenty of salt, sugar, and fat, but didn’t consume much in the way of processed foods. He also lived a quiet life. “He didn’t go around chasing the bright lights, he was happy being around horses and cattle,” Greg said. 

But the secrets of longevity for supercentenarians vary greatly. Insider asked five of the oldest living people in 2016 what they think contributed to their long lives. The answers included oatmeal, being single, “eating delicious things,” a positive attitude and compassion, learning to relax, following the Ten Commandments, and one 117-year-old woman said she has eaten two eggs a day since she was in her 20s — but does not eat meat. 

Yet according to Kruger, there is no singular, true secret to enjoying a long life. When ABC interviewed him on his 111th birthday he said, “There’s no secret. Keep breathing, have three meals a day, and the time goes on.”