A man aged 111, says eating chicken brains, living a simple lifestyle, and eating naturally grown foods are secrets to his longevity.

Dexter Kruger, who was a cattle rancher from the outback Queensland town of Roma has become Australia’s oldest man on record, taking over from World War I veteran Jack Lockett, who died in 2002 aged 111 years and 123 days abc NEWS reports.

“It’s because I do things differently,” Mr Kruger said from an armchair at his aged care home.

“I lived very close to nature and I ate mostly what I grew in the garden or the orchard or the farm.”

“I don’t think [today’s world] is a nicer place, I do not”

“People are not happy. They have too much debt … We have far too much money to spend on rubbish.

“Until we got all this computerized technology, life was much more relaxed.

“There are marvelous things you can do with a little chip, but we were once very much more relaxed”  Kruger said.

Kruger while crediting his longevity also  to a weekly delicacy of chicken brains said;

“Chicken brains.

“You know, chickens have a head and in that is some brains, and they are delicious little things. There’s only one bite.”

His 74-year-old son, Greg Kruger said, his father’s simple lifestyle and balanced diet, complete with “plenty of salt, sugar and fat”, had a lot to do with his age.

“He lived through a period that was a lot less stressful than what society is faced with today,” Greg Kruger said.

“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.”

Manager at Pinaroo Roma aged care facility Melanie Calvert said, Kruger was in better health than many residents in their 80s and 90s.

“He’s probably one of the sharpest residents here.

“His memory is amazing and his cognitive functioning is unbelievable.”

“He’s strong in the face of adversity – he has that positive mental attitude that keeps him going,” she said.

“He sets goals to write books, to achieve milestones, and I think that keeps him going.

“To be able to have that personality — that doesn’t get down on things, that picks themselves up and gets on with it — I think that’s a big part of living longer” she said.