'The Body'...At 50
Elle Macpherson was born in 1964 and I was born in 1962 so we’re kind of the same age. But that’s where the similarity ends. For the past 30 years, she has been known by her nickname, The Body, whereas I am more likely to be called The Blobby. Pictures of her strolling along the beach in a bikini (who wears a bikini at 50?) are a marvel. They almost defy nature. They certainly defy any chance that she’s been putting her feet up with a large slice of Victoria sponge and a Miss Marple repeat.
To be fair, her body is her business, a brand in fact. The main reason her eponymous lingerie range has been such a huge hit since she launched it in 1990. She is now worth around £40m and counts being in the top 100 wealthiest women on The Sunday Times Rich List as one of her many achievements. She has also appeared five times on the cover of American magazine Sports Illustrated and got to kiss Hugh Grant in the 1994 film Sirens. Or maybe he kissed her – and why wouldn’t he?
Recently, Elle has turned her attention to health issues and the ways that our bodies work. Many of us, it seems, have acid bodies, or to be specific, acidic digestive systems. Crucially, the alkaline body and PH-neutral body is a healthier body. As far as the new health orthodoxy goes, the experts believe that getting our chemistry properly aligned helps combat disease, encourage cellular renewal and slow down ageing.
Elle first discovered that she was suffering from over-acidity when she consulted Dr Simone Laubscher, a leading nutritional expert, who suggested she up her intake of super greens. But Elle, being Elle, went one step further and has now developed a Super Elixir, a potent mix of dried grasses, Chinese herbs, enzymes and maitake mushrooms. I can’t say it sounds as tasty as a cheese-and-pickle sandwich on crusty white bread with a packet of sal-tand-vinegar crisps on the side, but it does appear to work for her. As she said recently, ‘I feel that my body hums now that I am taking the Super Elixir every day; my workouts are strong, I’ve lost weight around my middle, my moods are balanced, I don’t have sugar cravings and I feel on top of my game.’
However, the daily doses of Super Elixir are a small part of a much larger routine of basic maintenance. She always drinks three litres of water a day, for instance. As far as Elle is concerned, water cures everything, but only if it’s filtered and from a glass bottle. She does eat (she isn’t a stick-thin waif), with three meals and two snacks a day an essential part of her health routine – but for snacks, think radishes, not Rolos. Red meat is out, as is chicken, but fish is fine along with her favourite foods, such as spinach, beetroot, goat’s cheese, pearl barley, kale, quinoa, pine nuts and halloumi cheese.
Every morning (up at 6.15am to take the children to school) she does at least 45 minutes exercise, which she advises all women to prioritise – put it in the diary and try and combine it with other things. For instance, Elle will take a power walk, or even a light run while also taking a ‘business’ call on her phone. Hands-free, obviously. As far as she is concerned, this is ‘me time’. Facials, manicures, hair colouring, which costs £850 – that doesn’t include the cut – hers is a high-maintenance regime, but then, as I have already mentioned, she is no normal woman – she is The Body. It’s all slog. There are treats: she likes to keep Mint Slice biscuits in the freezer and eat them frozen. They sound tasty, but perhaps not as tasty as the minty choc ices I keep in mine.
To be fair, her body is her business, a brand in fact. The main reason her eponymous lingerie range has been such a huge hit since she launched it in 1990. She is now worth around £40m and counts being in the top 100 wealthiest women on The Sunday Times Rich List as one of her many achievements. She has also appeared five times on the cover of American magazine Sports Illustrated and got to kiss Hugh Grant in the 1994 film Sirens. Or maybe he kissed her – and why wouldn’t he?
Recently, Elle has turned her attention to health issues and the ways that our bodies work. Many of us, it seems, have acid bodies, or to be specific, acidic digestive systems. Crucially, the alkaline body and PH-neutral body is a healthier body. As far as the new health orthodoxy goes, the experts believe that getting our chemistry properly aligned helps combat disease, encourage cellular renewal and slow down ageing.
Elle first discovered that she was suffering from over-acidity when she consulted Dr Simone Laubscher, a leading nutritional expert, who suggested she up her intake of super greens. But Elle, being Elle, went one step further and has now developed a Super Elixir, a potent mix of dried grasses, Chinese herbs, enzymes and maitake mushrooms. I can’t say it sounds as tasty as a cheese-and-pickle sandwich on crusty white bread with a packet of sal-tand-vinegar crisps on the side, but it does appear to work for her. As she said recently, ‘I feel that my body hums now that I am taking the Super Elixir every day; my workouts are strong, I’ve lost weight around my middle, my moods are balanced, I don’t have sugar cravings and I feel on top of my game.’
However, the daily doses of Super Elixir are a small part of a much larger routine of basic maintenance. She always drinks three litres of water a day, for instance. As far as Elle is concerned, water cures everything, but only if it’s filtered and from a glass bottle. She does eat (she isn’t a stick-thin waif), with three meals and two snacks a day an essential part of her health routine – but for snacks, think radishes, not Rolos. Red meat is out, as is chicken, but fish is fine along with her favourite foods, such as spinach, beetroot, goat’s cheese, pearl barley, kale, quinoa, pine nuts and halloumi cheese.
Every morning (up at 6.15am to take the children to school) she does at least 45 minutes exercise, which she advises all women to prioritise – put it in the diary and try and combine it with other things. For instance, Elle will take a power walk, or even a light run while also taking a ‘business’ call on her phone. Hands-free, obviously. As far as she is concerned, this is ‘me time’. Facials, manicures, hair colouring, which costs £850 – that doesn’t include the cut – hers is a high-maintenance regime, but then, as I have already mentioned, she is no normal woman – she is The Body. It’s all slog. There are treats: she likes to keep Mint Slice biscuits in the freezer and eat them frozen. They sound tasty, but perhaps not as tasty as the minty choc ices I keep in mine.