At 39, in the middle of her fifth round of IVF, Leslie Kenny was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and given a devastating prognosis of a life of pain and discomfort. But despite her world being upended, Kenny refused to accept that there was nothing she could do and now, at 61, she says her biological age is just 21.
The mother-of-two from Oxford says, ‘I overhauled my diet, sleep, stress levels and movement, alongside using evidence-based therapies. Within six months, my symptoms were in remission. I went on to conceive naturally at 42 and gave birth at 43.’
Now a longevity expert who works with other women to overhaul their lifestyle and health, Kenny says that according to a blood test that measures immune markers, her biological age is 21.
Leslie Kenny is a longevity expert with a biological age of 21.
She says, ‘There is no single trick responsible for that result, and certainly no morning routine that can magically turn back your biological clock. My approach to longevity has been built over decades and encompasses diet, sleep, movement, stress, and evidence-based interventions.
‘But I do believe the small things we do every morning can add up to make a meaningful difference to how well we age.’
More than 20 years after her initial diagnoses, these are the rituals Kenny does daily to maintain her youth, both inside and out.
1. Breakfast comes first
Every morning starts with overnight oats packed with chia and flax seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, blueberries and cacao nibs. She says, ‘It’s an easy way of getting an extraordinary variety of plant nutrients, fibre and healthy fats into one bowl.’
Leslie Kenny starts her day with a bowl of overnight oats with chia and flax seeds.
After breakfast, Kenny takes her prescribed thyroid hormone and HRT. ‘These are an important part of my healthcare rather than a longevity “hack”, and prescription medicines and hormones should of course, be taken according to your own doctor’s instructions,’ she adds.
2. A longevity matcha in the garden
Kenny says, ‘I like the ritual of making matcha and, when it’s hot outside, I especially like an iced matcha latte with coconut milk and added chlorella powder with spermidine.’
Matcha, like green tea, contains catechins, a type of polyphenol, which are known for their powerful antioxidant properties. They help protect cells from damage caused by oxidative stress and inflammation, and Kenny says they’re found ‘in abundance’ in matcha, while spermidine, another anti-inflammatory associated with longevity, supports the cellular renewal process known as autophagy as well as mitophagy for mitochondrial health and better energy. Plus, food-derived spermidine is helpful for hair, skin and nails.
Matcha is known for its powerful antioxidant properties and drinking it in the garden means some early morning light.
She says, ‘Then I take my matcha outside.
‘Natural morning light helps synchronise our circadian clock, so I like to get daylight on my skin. But there’s another reason I go outside. I step barefoot into the garden, look at the flowers and trees and consciously notice the morning around me. I think of three things I’m grateful for. I think we sometimes make longevity more complicated than it needs to be. Feeling a sense of gratitude for what good in your life and managing stress matter too.’
3. A cold shower
Rather than plunging into an ice bath every morning, Kenny says turning your shower to cold for the final minute can give the body a boost that lasts all day.
Cold showers are a great way to stimulate the nervous system.
‘Cold exposure is one of my favourite free rituals,’ she says. ‘Brief cold exposure stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and causes changes in circulation. One large Dutch study even found that people assigned to finish their showers with cold water reported fewer sickness absences from work.’
4. Add movement to everything
Longevity exercise doesn’t always have to mean an hour in the gym. One of Kenny’s favourite habits is simply practising getting up and down from the floor. She says, ‘The ability to do this draws on strength, mobility, coordination and balance, capacities we want to preserve as we age. Research has even linked performance on a sitting-rising test with subsequent mortality risk.’
She advises multitasking and combining chores with movement, saying, ‘While getting ready for the day, for example while I’m applying my SPF, I’ll do three to five ballet pliés, bending deeply through my knees and then rising onto my toes. They engage the quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes, large muscles that are crucial for maintaining mobility and independence as we get older.
Combine movement with chores, why not do some stretches while brushing your teeth.
‘Muscle is also an endocrine organ. When we contract it, it releases signalling molecules called myokines, some of which are involved in regulating inflammation and metabolism.’
If pliés aren’t suitable for you, Kenny suggests standing on one leg near something sturdy for support while applying face cream or brushing your teeth.
She says, ‘None of these things in isolation is going to make you biologically 21. For me, longevity is about what we do repeatedly over years. And that’s perhaps my most important morning ritual of all. Starting the day by doing a handful of small things that my future self is definitely going to thank me for!’
Leslie Kenny is the founder of Oxford Healthspan
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