You may be familiar with her on-screen work (and her impeccable skin) but Angela Bassett’s latest acting gig was inspired by something a little closer to home. As an ambassador for the American Diabetes Association, Angela performed a monologue which was influenced by the loss of her mum from complications closely linked to her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
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This life-changing turn inspired Angela to educate and advocate for the Black community, who face disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
From sharing the small dietary tweaks she has adopted for herself and her family (some of which she attributes to her age-defying beauty) to her tips for keeping her mental health in check, Angela is spreading the message on how we can all live a life free from preventable chronic disease.
Image credit: @im.angelabassett
Speaking to Refinery29 Angela (at 62-years-old) shared the different ways she is starting to notice her age. “I can’t eat the way I used to eat. And I love sweets and that sort of thing.”
“I just have to be mindful of little areas that you take for granted when you’re young, and you just bounce back like that,” she said.
“Take care of yourself mentally, physically, spiritually, of course. Because that’s who we are, we’re not just a physical being” she added, reminding us that this concept of ‘bouncing back’ isn’t strictly exclusive to weight fluctuations or a changing body shape.
Image credit: @im.angelabassett
And how exactly is she maintaining her enviable level of health? Angela credits daily practices like breathing deeply, going to bed at a decent hour and “being grateful for everything that I have, and for others around me and knowing that we all have something to add to this thing called life,” as major contributors to keeping her self-care journey on track.
Plus, when it comes to utilising her diet to improve her overall health, Angela reminds us to keep it simple. “There are so many options out there, but food can be good. As they say, let it be your medicine,” she told Essence. “Educate yourself about what works: good fats, leafy greens, clean protein sources and on and on and on. There’s so much information out there if you want to eat right.”
What practices do you follow to maintain your desired level of health?
Main image credit: @angla_bassett_fp
I do it as well but I normally only manage about 14 hours fasting but I figure it all helps!
Angela looks fabulous!!
I do intermittent fasting. I fast 16-18 hours and eat in a 6-8 window. Apparently this helps balance blood sugar levels.
Woooow! She is stunning! And that purple dress….omg! Want! Sooo beautiful on her
What I do? Eat whole food plant based diet, fruit based mostly (heaps of raw stuff daily). This keeps my skin bouncy and glowing and at my age where people have wrinkles, I have zero. And zero cellulite. Health optimal. Also completely worry free lifestyle helps. Doing yoga like meditation too, some practices. Relaxed all the time. And sleeping 9ish hours daily.
Wow she’s gorgeous
I do try to eat a healthy diet, and I know I will have to lose my sweet tooth as I get older, type 1 diabetes killed my Mum.
Wow Angela looks incredible she is just glowing !
She looks amazing and she has a really good, realistic attitude to wards life and health
She looks great!
Food is such an amazing thing – real food that is – not the man-made processed stuff. I learnt to change my dietary habits and foods via a health scare in my forties. Since then I’ve changed so much of what I used to think was a healthy diet for me. Trick is, we are all different and knowing what foods are best for us as an individual can make us or break us. I’m also glad my daughter did her Bachelor of Food Science and Human nutrition because it also helps me a lot having her around! She knows so much of the technical stuff and facts.
I find with work that im more active now then I was so thats a good thing.
She is absolutely stunning and her skin looks like a 20 year old’s.
Her skin looks so firm! Wonderful skin!
She looks amazing.
Yes RINNY according to recent studies anything over 12 hours is good so we are crushing it!
She looks amazing! She hasn’t aged at all
That purple dress – YES!
It’s got a lot of health benefits apart from blood sugar regulation. It’s also linked to increased longevity.
Angela Bassett is amazing! Diabetes runs in my family, so I try to be mindful of what I eat. I’ve recently upped my intake of chia seeds & eat very little meat.
omg what!!!!
She is definitely doing it right! She’s always stunning.
Fantastic lady – I hink you have to keep exercise up as you get older and your mind positive.
Wow! She looks amazing. I’m always falling into bad eating habits and it definitely is when I’m feeling my worst. Sometimes it hard to keep motivated but I try.
Still looks as good as she did 30 years ago .Good advice Angela thanks.
What a stunning woman!
She looks amazing! I struggle with getting to bed at a reasonable hour. It’s the only “ME TIME” I get.
She doesn’t look her age at all!
I believe in everything in moderation. Mind you I’d be happy looking that good now. Wow.
The dress is so cool (and hot!) but I’m sure I’d be sneezing every time I looked to one side! Yoh – you do everything that is on my “I must….” list – good on ya (and it shows in how great you look).
Angela Bassett looks Fabulous and she has some good advice about looking after your body, mind and your inner Spirit.
Wow she looks amazing for her age!
Same here, anytime after 10pm is ‘ME TIME’!
She looks fantastic
Oh my goodness, I had no idea of her age!
Hooray!! Go us!!
She is beautiful i can’t believe her she absolutely stunning!!
This lady does not age!!!
I’ve marked zoey below as spam.
She looks young for her age, good health is so important.
ANGELA BASSETT, gorgeous woman who certainly doesn’t look her age.
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