A 101-year-old woman names the type of alcohol that helped her live a long life

Doctors are still arguing about how much alcohol is a safe dose and what kind of drinks are best to drink. Some say that ideally, you should give it up, while others praise dry red wine. An American woman who celebrated her 101st birthday has her own version.

Mary Flip from Chandler, Arizona, survived the Great Depression, two world wars and gave birth to six children, all with a shot of tequila in hand, NBC 15 reports. The woman's family and friends say she also retained a great sense of humor and a thirst for life.

Mary tasted tequila for the first time after moving to Mexico from her home state of Illinois when she was 18 years old. By the time she was 15, she had lost her mother and all of her sisters, so she moved to live on a ranch. Soon Mary met her husband, and when she got pregnant with her first child, she returned to Chicago and began a successful career as an artist. She successfully combined her passion for painting with raising her children. She still considers tequila to be the secret to a happy life.

When the journalists came to congratulate Mary on her 101st birthday, she met them with a glass of her favorite Guinness beer. And when dancing at the party started, she joked that she planned to dance on the table.