[Angela Foster]
You've managed to reverse your biological age to 21 at 59. So tell us, give us some insights. What does your, how do you, what's your morning routine like?

How do you manage stress? Tell us some, some things that you do.

[Leslie Kenny]
Well, one of the first things I do, I do drink coffee. I do like it. Add coffee is also an autophagy activator.

It's, you can get it with both decaf and regular coffee. It's the chlorogenic acid that does that. And then I will add in some, some collagen protein.

I'll add in some medium chain triglycerides from coconuts because that will cross the blood brain barrier and help fuel my brain. And I add in a little bit of raw cacao because that seems to help with release of stem cells. And because I am, I have a low blood pressure.

I added a little bit of salt as well. If you have high blood pressure, don't do that. So a lot of people say, why are you adding salt to your coffee?

That sounds disgusting. It's not good for you. And I'll say, I can do it because I have low blood pressure.

And that's how I start my day. And I then, you know, at lunch, I'll try to, I'm now really trying to make an effort to eat a bigger lunch and not eat too much at dinner. I think a lot of us for social reasons or because we're so busy during the day, we don't have the time to, you know, to eat a big lunch.

But if we eat a big dinner, you know, if we, if we just wait until we dinner at night and we're starving, that can actually interfere with sleep. So I'm trying to eat bigger lunches and I am primarily rice-based, but I love legumes. Legumes are a great source of spermidine too, food-derived spermidine.

Peas are great. Your mushy peas are great. Traditional Scottish diet of salmon, wild salmon and mushy peas, super healthy for you.

I would go for that for the omega-3s and for the, the high spermidine levels and the protein as well in the peas. And with my rice, I cook it, but I usually let it rest. And when you let it cool for 12 hours, it turns into a resistant starch.

You can also put it into the refrigerator. And then if you heat it up, you still have warm rice, but it's a resistant starch. So it's not that heavy carb that also comes in and gives a big insulin spike.

I put a little bit of coconut oil over it. Not the, it's a tasteless one. And I, I take C8 for those who know about the different types of coconut oils, but I'll put a little bit of that there because that also slows the glucose spike when I take rice.

And I do have, I do have seaweed. I do have ume plums. I do eat a lot of Japanese type foods that frankly my mother introduced to me when I was little.

And these are probably things my gut biome likes and that may be why I'm thriving and able to start a business at, what, I think I started a business at 55 and have the energy to do that, have the energy to do this nonprofit, the Oxford Longevity Project, and occasionally throw out a few videos on grey hair. I also like matcha, coconut matcha lattes and matcha has three to five times the amount of epigallocatechins that green tea has. So, you know, they say to get the minimum effective dose of polyphenols from green tea, you need to have pretty much, you need five cups of green tea a day.

Well, that might be too much, right? Nobody wants to keep running off to the ladies room. And so, if you just have one, one cup of matcha a day, that is the equivalent.

If you get a really good type of good quality matcha, that is the equivalent of five cups of green tea. So, I like that.

[Angela Foster]
I'm a big fan of matcha. I put it, I put it, I have it and I also put it in my kids' smoothies, like I said, when they come back from school, I'll mix up like some protein powder with, you know, some dates and some, a bit of milk, some ice, and then they'll have some matcha thrown in with a little bit of banana. And it's just like a real pick me up, you know, before the homework phase.

[Leslie Kenny]
Yeah, that's good. And it will help them focus without getting the jitters as well. I think that's great.

And I have my own sort of cheat sheet dessert, which is a blueberry ice cream. So, I'll take, I get my Vitamix, throw in some frozen blueberries, some frozen strawberries, almond or coconut milk, throw in some primidine powder, some creatine. I'm a big fan of creatine.

And, and then, you know, I might put in a little more inulin if I want, but I just blend that up and it becomes an ice cream. And then I'll put cacao nibs, some activated walnuts. If I really want to be, you know, if I really want to indulge, I'll have a couple of dark chocolate chips on that.

That's fantastic. It tastes like dessert, right?

[Angela Foster]
It does. I'm going to try it. It sounds yummy.

[Leslie Kenny]
Yeah, yeah.

[Angela Foster]
But either you put it in the freezer or it's frozen because of the frozen fruit.

[Leslie Kenny]
It's because of the frozen blueberries. It just, it's already, it becomes a, like a soft ice cream, basically.

[Angela Foster]
Beautiful.

At 59, Leslie Kenny says she has achieved a biological age of 21. In this episode, she takes us inside the simple daily habits she uses to support longevity, brain health, metabolic health and healthy ageing — starting with exactly what goes into her morning coffee.

Leslie shares why she adds collagen, MCTs and raw cacao to her coffee, why she’s shifting towards a bigger lunch and lighter dinner for better sleep, and some of the foods she prioritises for spermidine, protein and omega-3s. She also reveals a simple trick with rice that may increase resistant starch and change its metabolic impact.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Upgrade Your Morning Coffee — Leslie adds collagen, MCTs and raw cacao to build more into her morning routine.
Coffee & Autophagy — She explains why chlorogenic acid in both regular and decaf coffee may support autophagy.
Fuel Your Brain — Leslie uses coconut-derived MCTs as part of her morning routine.
Eat More Earlier — A bigger lunch and lighter dinner may help prevent going to bed overly full or hungry.
Add More Legumes — Peas and other legumes provide plant protein and are dietary sources of spermidine.
Pair Protein With Omega-3s — Leslie highlights wild salmon and peas as a nutrient-dense combination.
Cool Your Rice — Cooling cooked rice and reheating it can increase resistant starch.