Author, model, dietician, and nutrition science expert Maye Musk is definitely an expert when it comes to healthy aging. While some people may associate her with her famous son, Maye Musk is an icon all on her own.
In fact, she recently became the oldest swimsuit cover model as she graced the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2022 cover. At 74, Maye has been on more runways and magazine spreads in her later than she did in her teens and 20s.
So, how does the Canadian-South African continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle that has her gracing magazine covers at 74?
Maya Musk’s Guide To Healthy Aging
“My three cardinal rules for living life to the fullest is to stay in good health through eating well, keep educating yourself, and stay positive.”
She follows a healthy diet
“As a nutritionist, I always advocate that diet is the most powerful tool for good health and longevity.”
Maye Musk was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize For Sports Illustrated. Swimsuit by Cali Dreaming. Coverup by PatBo.
While Musk previously admitted that she’s quite flexible when it comes to her diet, she maintains that she tries to stick to a healthy diet.
The author of A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success follows a flexitarian diet, which places an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, as well as a focus on plant protein as opposed to animal protein.
Musk shares that she prioritizes vegetables, and this is likely why she continues to defy aging. In fact, a study published in PLOS Medicine found that consuming a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and legumes could add up to 13 years to your life.
She snacks on fresh fruit
When it comes to her snacking habits, Musk is all about fruits, sharing that for her, they’re like candy.
As opposed to snacking on sugary and processed treats, eating more fruit can have incredible benefits for your health, as they’re rich in a variety of longevity-boosting nutrients.
She prefers solids to liquids
While she’s a huge fan of fruits, she’s no fan of fruit juices because they don’t provide the same nutrients that real, solid fruits would,
Maye Musk was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize for Sport’s Illustrated. Swimsuit by Maygel Coronel. Pants by Caroline Constas. Earrings by Cleopatra’s Bling.
“Say you drink a glass of orange juice. That’s three oranges. If I told you to eat three oranges you’d be very full, but if you drink a cup of orange juice you don’t even consider it calories, or a food.”
She’s a walker and a biker
For Musk, walking is one of the easiest ways she stays active, especially because she takes her dog out for four 15-minute strolls every day. According to a recent study published in Communications Biology, brisk walking was associated with reduced markers of aging. In fact, the study suggested that regularly walking at a brisk pace could shave 16 years off your biological age by midlife.
Additionally, Musk also bikes for 30 minutes and does resistance exercises with light weights. If you need more incentive to get on the bike, a review published in Sports Medicine found that regular cyclists have a 23% reduced risk of premature death, as well as a reduced risk of cardiovascular illness.
With all of that said, Musk shares that she makes sure not to push herself when it comes to her fitness habits, “If it hurts, I stop,” she says.
Love the (aged) skin you’re in
Now, while Musk looks incredible on the cover of Sports Illustrated, that doesn’t mean that she wasn’t initially intimidated when she found out that she would be on the cover alongside Kim Kardashian and Ciara. However, she now hopes that more and more women will adopt a carefree attitude about their bodies once they see her on the cover,
“I do think it’s going to make women feel more comfortable in their seventies when they swim, as well as women in their twenties and thirties.”
Maye Musk was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize for Sport’s Illustrated. Swimsuit by Zimmermann. Earrings by Ottoman Hands.
Maye Musk’s philosophy on aging
Musk’s philosophy on aging can be traced to how her mother embraced getting older,
“Well, my mother never had a problem with age, nobody could tell her she was getting old. She did retire at 96, but before that, she never spoke about wrinkles or getting old or anything — she was just always positive and learning, educating herself.”
“As I got into my 60s, people were talking about aging and being scared of aging, and I’m saying, ‘Why are you scared of aging?'”
“We need to change that around. And if somebody’s making you feel bad about your age, just say goodbye. You don’t need that person in your life.”
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: Maye Musk was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize for Sport’s Illustrated. Swimsuit by OYE. Earrings by Cleopatra’s Bling. Ring by VIDEMUS OMNIA.
References
Dempsey, P.C., Musicha, C., Rowlands, A.V. et al. (2022). Investigation of a UK biobank cohort reveals causal associations of self-reported walking pace with telomere length. Commun Biol 5, 381. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03323-x
Fadnes, L. T., Økland, J. M., Haaland, Ø. A., & Johansson, K. A. (2022). Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. PLoS medicine, 19(2), e1003889. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889
I’m here for all of this! I appreciate how honest she is about having a flexible diet. It’s refreshing