Is Bernie Sanders drinking from the fountain of youth? If his medical records, released to the public Dec. 30, are any indication, he has a secret or two. At age 78 and on the home stretch of his second presidential primary campaign, the Vermont senator shows no signs of slowing down.

His wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, says it all boils down to prioritizing healthy habits, both on the road and at home. For the presidential hopeful, that means baseball — and lots of fruit.

“He’s always been an athlete and an outdoors person,” O’Meara Sanders said. Senator Sanders spends his time on and off the campaign trail playing baseball, basketball when he can find a hoop, and football when the weather allows it.

Joining family time and exercise helps too, she said. Sanders has always enjoyed having a catch with his grandkids. On Christmas Eve, the Sanders’ went bowling at the alleys in the unique venue in the base of Burlington's St. Marks Church, where they also shot pool and played ping-pong.

“That’s just who he is,” O’Meara Sanders said. “He’s very active.”

And he has the medical records to back it up. Letters from three different doctors that detail the results of laboratory and exercise testing show Sanders is in optimal health. The director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont wrote that Sanders was able to exercise at "a level that is 50% higher than other men his age with a similar diagnosis."

How Sanders got his groove back

On Oct. 1, Sen. Sanders suffered a heart attack. It was unexpected, O'Meara Sanders said, because her husband didn't exhibit any symptoms that would’ve tipped them off to an underlying problem.

“What we didn’t realize was he was tired,” she said. “He wasn’t in pain or anything, but he was more tired than normal.” It was a symptom that was hard to recognize as such because campaigning can be grueling, and feeling tired was par for the course.

Bernie Sanders health:Candidate makes good on campaign promise, health records say he's good to go

“I just kept on saying, ‘Can we slow the schedule down a little bit?’” she said. At the time, Sanders was attending three to four events each day for up to nine days in a row, with one day off in between.

Looking back, his wife said, there were some things that were regular practices for Sanders during the 2016 campaign that had fallen out of his daily routine. Now, they're priorities again.

During his last presidential run, Sanders took hour-long walks with his wife or with friends—not just for exercise, but to talk and think things through. In the winter, his wife remembers, the Secret Service learned the hard way that cold weather wouldn't shorten the senator's routine.

“They realized by the time we hit Chicago, and we were going out in the windy city,” she remembered, “that they all needed gloves and scarves and warm coats.”

This time around, things were so busy that the time to process and to exercise became less of a priority. “That’s one thing that we have definitely gotten back to that we had lost for a while,” O'Meara Sanders said.

Maintaining a healthy diet routine on the campaign trail can be difficult, Sanders said, but after her husband’s heart trouble in October, it’s non-negotiable.

“It's different at home than it is on the campaign trail,” O'Meara Sanders said, where it can be hard to find healthy options on a tight schedule. For breakfast at home, Sanders will have the staples: English muffins, cereal, cherry juice, and coffee. “Coffee, always, and water. Lots of water,” she added. On the road, Sanders opts for an omelet and, occasionally, blueberry pancakes—but, in true Vermont fashion, only if there’s real maple syrup around.

“He used to have a lot of fried eggs and bacon and all that stuff,” she said, “so—less of that.”

During the 2016 campaign, there were always healthy snacks around — mainly because the Sanders’ children insisted upon it. At their urging, the campaign “started to put fruit smoothies and fruit and nuts in the hotel rooms, in the cars,” she said, a practice that fell by the wayside this cycle, but now is back. There are always almonds, tangerines and apples around to snack on during the day.

For dinner, Sanders will have fish, particularly salmon, and swap out sweet potato fries for French fries.

The campaign staff, too, has a hand in keeping health a priority for the couple. Every morning on a campaign stop, they give the Sanders’ three breakfast menus and three dinner menus to choose from. If they can’t find a healthy option, they’ll skip take out and eat sandwiches.

Sanders avoids fast food and chain restaurants, his wife suspects, much more than he did before, particularly when she wasn’t around. Still, Sanders enjoys the occasional trip to Denny’s when he’s home, and while it’s important to stay diligent about diet, it’s also important to be realistic.

“He’s disciplined, but not fanatic about eating well all the time,” she said. As to whether Sanders would ever consider a buzzy health trend like the ketogenic diet, the answer was a resounding no.

"Can you imagine Bernie doing that, really?" O'Meara Sanders laughed. "He’d say, 'Just give me my cereal.’”

Advice on how to stay healthy

Sanders said her husband’s quick recovery is attributable to his consistently healthy lifestyle over the years.

“The important thing we’ve learned is that cardiovascular health, by being fit all your life and being active all your life, is the way to go,” O'Meara Sanders said. “Because even if somebody is hit with an illness of any sort, it really helps.”

A lifetime of healthy activity and consistent dietary habits are crucial, as is America’s favorite pastime. As for other forms of exercise, though, Sanders tends to stick to the basics.

“The concept of yoga interests him,” O’Meara Sanders said, though he’s not fully on board yet. “He does simple things like the mountain pose — without knowing it’s the mountain pose.”

O'Meara Sanders urged those who may suspect cardiovascular illness to pay attention to the signs and symptoms, even if they could seem attributable to something else.

For those dealing with heart complications, she also touted the benefits of a good cookbook. One that’s been particularly helpful is “Eating Well For A Healthy Heart,” written by Sanders’ cardiologist and UVM professor Dr. Philip Ades. “It’s a really good cook book, and it’s not just healthy, it’s delicious, which is excellent,” she said.

With the first primary contest in Iowa on February 3rd approaching, Sanders is heading into the New Year back to his usual habits and with a clean bill of health. As to whether the Sanders' have a New Year's resolution, O'Meara Sanders answered simply: "To win the Democratic nomination, and then the presidency."

Email Isaac Fornarola at ifornarola@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @isaacforn