Inside Joan Collins' diet as she turns 93 including one thing she 'never' eats
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images
Dame Joan Collins, iconic author and actress, may have just turned the stellar age of 93, but she insists there is no real ‘secret’ to her longevity.
The Golden Globe winner, who was allegedly ‘turfed’ out of one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants recently for the company she was keeping, celebrated her birthday on Saturday (23 May).
Ahead of the milestone moment, the Land of the Pharaohs actress spoke to The Telegraph about how she stays fit and healthy in her 90s.
Unlike Sir David Attenborough, who just turned 100, she didn’t admit to following a semi-strict plant-based diet.
Advert
However, like the national treasure, she does try to eat smaller portions, admitting she often eats ‘half’ of what is put on her plate.
Despite this, she is unlikely to deprive herself of anything; dessert is always included in her diet, and if she is partial to a spoon of sugar in her coffee.
Instead of focusing on tricks or following diet plans, such as the one that people who live in Blue Zones keep to, Collins claimed she has hit her 90s because she has ‘very good genes’.
“I’m very lucky. My father lived to be 87, and for somebody born in 1903, that’s pretty amazing,” she informed the publication.
Experts suggest waiting at least two to three hours before lying down after a meal to allow your body to digest it properly.
Eating too close to sleeping can also elevate your heart rate, temperature, and disrupt your sleep.
Collins is someone who tries to ‘never’ eat anything before hitting the hay, claiming in an interview: “'I believe our body is a factory, it needs to be fed the right things.
“If you have a great car, you don’t put inferior petrol into it. I’m very fussy about what I eat.”
The mother-of-three said that taking care of yourself is really ‘one of the most important things’ that you can do.
For Collins, this includes: having at least eight hours of sleep every night, exercising (mat-based Pilates is her practice of choice), and not eating junk food.
Her reason for fast-food abstinence? “I just believe in healthy living,” she stated.
Despite ‘never’ eating ultra-processed foods, which are often rich in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium, the British star has no real regrets about her strict health choices.
“Perhaps I drank too much at a certain period of time?” she mused. “But it luckily didn’t affect me – and it was certainly fun. Oh yes, it was certainly fun!”
However, Collins was quick to claim that she ‘never got into booze’, but did enjoy a glass of wine or the occasional vodka tonic.
Fellow famous face and friend of Collins, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, recently announced plans to sell off his large wine collection following a stint in rehab for his alcoholism.
The Phantom of the Opera visionary claimed he realised his drinking had become a problem for himself and his family, including his wife Madeleine Gurdon, after he heard someone else describing the ‘ludicrous lengths’ drinkers can go to hide their addiction.
“When you’re a wine drinker, you don’t think of yourself as… well, alcoholics drink spirits,” he mused.
“That was the shocking thing for me, when I realised that I was drinking vodka to hide it.”
Previous reports have falsely claimed that Collins, like fashion designer Victoria Beckham, tries to eat avocado every single day.
Despite denying that her daily indulgence was ‘completely untrue’, she has previously stated that eating the fruit can be ‘very beneficial’, if included in a well-balanced diet.
“The quality of what you eat is as important as the quality of the products you use," she claimed.
She also said she enjoys taking vitamin supplements, including C, E and omega oils, as per Hello! Magazine.
Dietary tablets have allegedly been part of Collins’ life from a young age, with her mum, Elsa Bessant, reportedly administering them to her and her sister, legendary author Jackie Collins, at a time when ‘nobody was taking supplements’.
This reportedly included spoonfuls of Virol, a syrup the Dynasty favourite described as ‘horrible’, made from bone marrow, malt extract, beef fat and eggs and marketed for infants.
Fellow celebrity Melania Trump has previously discussed using vitamin C and E supplements, alongside vitamin A, to improve her skin, hair, and nails.
The trio of fat-soluble nutrients can brighten the skin’s complexion, strengthen the body’s natural defence against illness and infection, and improve skin texture, respectively.