In October last year, Janet Street-Porter revealed her goal to live to 100. She told the Express she wanted her ‘body to be operating at peak capacity, peak efficiency’ – and yesterday, she received a promising sign that her efforts are paying off. On an episode of Loose Women, as each host’s biological age was shared by Dr Zoe Williams, it was announced that Janet’s is 56: 23 years younger than her real age.
‘Janet was the least looking forward to this, wasn’t really interested,’ said co-host Ruth Langsford. ‘But let’s see what happens.’
Dr Zoe Williams added: ‘Your glycan age, Janet, is 56. 23 years younger – which is the biggest difference [within the Loose Women hosts].’
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For context, your glycan age measures the chronic inflammation levels in your immune system to determine your biological age – the lower the inflammation, the slower your body is ageing in comparison to your actual chronological age. So, what exactly is Janet doing to reduce hers? Low-impact, sustainable exercise.
Speaking to SW Londoner, she said, ‘In terms of exercise and healthy eating, people should set themselves little realistic goals that they can achieve.’
Walking is Janet’s daily non-negotiable. ‘You don’t have to power walk,’ she told The Telegraph. ‘Just put one foot in front of the other. As a writer, I spend a lot of time on the computer, but I make sure that I do an hour and a half of walking every day.’
Granted, a 90-minute walk a day isn’t always realistic, but Janet adds even ‘half an hour is something’. ‘I also think it’s important to walk in the morning and in the afternoon,’ she says. ‘Whatever you do, do not take your phone with you!’
Heading out for a stroll has repeatedly been proven by science to lower inflammation by decreasing excess body fat, which produces inflammatory chemicals, and by forcing your muscles to contract which releases anti-inflammatory molecules.
When she’s not walking, Janet also regularly swims. ‘I swim now in rivers and lakes. It’s less stress on my muscles,’ she told Yours. ‘That’s not to say I swim like an Olympic athlete. I prefer to do a ladylike breaststroke.’ Much like walking, various studies show that swimming reduces chronic inflammation by lowering inflammatory proteins while boosting your anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways.
As for diet, Janet isn’t particularly strict, though she balances indulgence with nutrition. ‘[On the weekend], I have a full English. My partner Peter cooks it,’ she told the Manchester Evening News. ‘He’ll do bacon and eggs from the local farm shop, tomatoes or mushrooms, occasionally black pudding. I’ll precede that with dark fruit: blueberries, black grapes, pomegranate seeds. That’s my homage to the health people.’
So, if living a longer, healthier life like Janet is your aim, the key is to reduce your inflammation with simple, low-impact movement, since persistent inflammation accelerates ageing by causing ongoing damage to your cells and tissues. Janet is proof that, no, you don’t need to be smashing out intense workouts – nor do you need to cut out all the foods you enjoy.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.