Diana Moran 'There is no way I’d go under the knife now - unless I had to'

Diana Moran says she would never have cosmetic surgery and botox

SHE will always be known as The Green Goddess but with her classic beauty and effortless charm, Diana Moran is just as much an English rose – and there is undoubtedly something quintessentially British about her approach to health and fitness.

 

While Jane Fonda, her contemporary across the pond, was demanding fans “go for the burn”, Diana was the jolly gym mistress of the workout world who got BBC breakfast television viewers in the 80s moving with a more gentle mix of stretches, enthusiasm and encouragement.

And while she is far too polite for smug comparisons, Diana, 76, makes no secret of the fact that unlike Fonda, 77, she has shunned cosmetic surgery in favour of a basic moisturiser and exercises to keep her face firm and flexible. “I have not had anything done whatsoever,” she says.

“Would I go under the knife to have cosmetic surgery and Botox? No, never. I have had to have so much surgery in other respects there is no way I would have anything that wasn’t necessary.”

Four years ago, Diana underwent her third breast reconstruction operation but the surgeries were to save her life, not her looks.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988 and had a double mastectomy. Only her immediate family and agent knew about the cancer, so she had her first breast reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy.

The second came when her body began rejecting the implants and the third because one was beginning to rupture.

“I realised there was something wrong with the right-hand implant but left it until it was unbearable.”

 

This was around the time of the PIP implants scandal but Diana had no idea what kind of implants had been used until after the third reconstruction.

She recalls: “My surgeon came in to see me as soon as I was waking up from the anaesthetic and said, ‘Diana, have a look at this.’ He had taken a photograph and on one of the sides it said PIP. This time they have given me a certificate showing all the details of what they have put in.”

Unlike Jane Fonda, Diana has also never struggled with an eating disorder or had the need for hip replacement surgery.

She says: “Now I can look back and think, ‘Yes, it’s a mistake to do all that high-impact stuff.’ I have now got to the age where I am seeing girlfriends needing hip or knee replacements caused by over-use.

“But you still see people out on roads, running on that hard surface and looking like death. It makes me think, ‘Don’t do that, it’s not really going to pay off’.”

Common sense is the cornerstone of Diana’s approach to health and fitness and apart from a passion for prolonged sunbathing when she was younger, it always has been.

“I am not someone who does diets,” she insists. “I can’t bear all that business with weighing and counting calories, it bores me to tears. Eating well is common sense. You want less of the three Ss: sugar, saturated fats and salt and more of the three Fs: fish, fresh fruit (and vegetables) and fibre.

 



Moran did go under the knife to help treat breast cancer



Would I go under the knife to have cosmetic surgery and Botox? No, never

Diana Moran

 

“I eat masses of fruit and vegetables, I love to see a plate full of colourful foods and if you eat a lot of different colours you get a good mix of nutrients. Variety is important.”

However, there is one crucial nutrient that diet alone cannot provide. “I was told that I had osteopenia which many women of my age will have, it is almost part of the ageing process.”

Osteopenia is characterised by lower than normal bone density but is not as severe as full-blown osteoporosis which affects around three million people in the UK.

Diana says: “You can’t stop osteopenia but you can certainly slow it down.”

She has also seen how insidiously it can develop because she had found out the hard way that her bones were in good shape when she was 51.

She explains: “I went ice-skating and had a very heavy fall. Because I have had breast reconstruction I instinctively put my arm out to protect my chest and ended up fracturing my wrist.

“It’s a typical osteoporotic fracture so they gave me a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan which showed I had perfectly strong bones.”

 



Jane Fonda struggled with an eating disorder and had hip replacement surgery



A year or two later Diana was invited to become president of the newly formed charity Osteoporosis Dorset and the more she learned about the condition, the more she realised she could still be at risk.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and for most of her life Diana enjoyed sunbathing.

“In those days people didn’t worry about sunscreens. Let’s be absolutely truthful, I used to have olive oil and vinegar mixed up in a bottle. I had the most mahogany tan.”

When Diana was in her early 60s, the beautician who waxed her legs pointed out a couple of spots which were not healing and further investigation confirmed they were basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer – easy to treat as long as it is caught early.

Her days as a sun-worshipper came to an abrupt halt but what Diana did not realise was that this also put her at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency which is now a common problem in the UK.

We make most of our vitamin D from sunshine but during winter we have to rely on any stores built up over summer. Fortunately because of her involvement with the charity, Diana had regular bone density checks and was able to tackle osteopenia as soon as it was picked up.

 

Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988



“I realised what was different was that I wasn’t getting my vitamin D and that’s when I started taking Seven Seas cod liver oil,” she says.

“It’s funny how habits like that come around again. I remember my mum giving me orange juice and cod liver oil.”

However, a survey for Seven Seas cod liver oil reveals that many older Britons are not taking good care of their health and almost half of those questioned admitted their diet is not very healthy.

Half confirmed they regularly skip meals and almost a third said they cared less about their diet than they did when they were younger.

Diana also has her own added ingredient for good health. “I know it’s a glib thing to say but I think a positive outlook makes such a difference.”

? For more information about Seven Seas cod liver oil, visit seven-seas.co.uk