I’m 54 but can you guess my biological age? This is how you...

WITH her glossy hair, youthful figure and vibrant skin, you’d be forgiven for thinking Roberta Baldo is younger than she actually is.

At 54, the Italian appears to have unlocked the secret to staying younger and healthier, for longer.

Woman in pink dress holding a glass of wine. — She also enjoys a glass of wine

Woman in orange workout clothes carrying yoga mat and dumbbells. — Roberta puts her results down to diet, exercise and sleep

Woman in pink dress sitting on a couch. — She claims her longevity diet has cured her health problems and made her ‘younger’

The mum-of-one took a finger-prick test which put her biological age at just 37 last year – an impressive 16 years younger than she was at the time.

The test, measured by a company called GlycanAge, assesses the status of the immune system.

The more inflammation that’s present in the body, the greater likelihood the body will age quickly, and vice versa.

Aside from the help of a few good genes – “I have naturally plump lips which I think help me look younger”; – Roberta puts her results down to diet, exercise and sleep.

She has overhauled her diet, swapping out starchy carbs and processed foods for ones that remain as close to their natural form as possible.

She compliments it with supplements including collagen for skin elasticity, electrolytes for hydration and ashwagandha – a plant known for its stress-reducing properties.

Following her body’s natural circadian rhythms has also been key.

“Eight hours is my magic number for sleep,”; she adds.

She also works out four times a week and lifts weights.

Her “life-changing”; approach to nutrition and exercise came eight years ago, after decades of gut issues.

Age-defying nutrionist shares perfect recipe to get fit and improve gut health

They were even the catalyst for her quitting a senior job in the food industry.

Her gut problems started in childhood.

As a teenager growing up near Venice, Italy, Roberta would often indulge in pizza and ice-cream with pals – then feel lousy afterwards with stomach cramps.

In 2000, aged 30, she moved to England with her boyfriend, after he was relocated from Milan for work.

It was then that her stomach issues worsened.

She explains: “I was a food scientist for a major producer of Italian sauces and as part of my job I was tasting a lot of pasta. I was also eating lots of sugary fruit and beans.

“London generally felt like a more stressful pace of life.

“Sometimes the pain and cramping in my stomach was so bad I needed to lie down and just drop everything.

“It was like my brain couldn’t function. In the evenings I stopped going out. I’d just have to lie in bed, I felt so awful.”;

Plagued by gut issues

In 2002, she and her boyfriend Paolo got married in Italy, in a town near Venice.

Roberta, who now lives in South Kensington, London, recalls: “On my wedding day, my biggest fear was that people thought I was pregnant because I was so bloated.

“I was always conscious of ‘what am I wearing today? How much does my belly show?’ because I had so many gut issues.”;

In 2010, her GP diagnosed her with irritable bowel syndrome – a common long-term, digestive condition – and suggested peppermint oil capsules.

While it took the edge off some of her cramps, it didn’t help with her bloating.

Portrait of a smiling woman. — Roberta Baldo is 54 but has a biological age of 37

Wedding photo of a bride and groom. — Roberta on her wedding day aged 32

Woman slicing avocado on a wooden board. — She overhauled her diet, swapping out processed goods for whole foods

Woman in pink dress holding a mug. — She takes supplements, including collagen, electrolytes and ashwagandha

“I was even buying super loose dresses for work so people couldn’t see my stomach,”; she says.

By 2014 she made a life-altering decision – to quit her job to prioritise her health.

She says: “It was a huge decision but when you don’t have good health it becomes the most important goal in your life, and it basically was for me.

“I could see peppermint capsules weren’t the answer to my problem and that it was something deeper.

“I decided to focus and learn about what I could do to make myself well. By then I went to see a nutritionist.”;

I tested my biological age and I was 37, so the things I'm doing must be having a positive impact on my body
Roberta Baldo

The nutritionist prescribed a stool test. Roberta was also told she had several gut viruses that had probably been with her for decades.

She says: “I basically had to completely reset my gut.

“To kill the unwanted bacteria and viruses I took natural herbal supplements like oregano oil and garlic extract for eight weeks.

“During that time I also followed a special diet that excluded foods difficult for my gut to digest, such as gluten, dairy and alcohol.

“Another fantastic supplement is called berberine – a lovely gut antimicrobial that supports gut microbiome balance.”;

Nutritionist goals

That alone wasn’t enough to sort out decades of ill-health though. Roberta needed to reassess her entire diet.

She says: “I decided then and there that I wanted to train as a nutritionist in my own right so I signed up for a three-year course in London.

“I was 45 when I started studying nutritional therapy.”;

“My training made me realise that it was more complex than I thought to fix my gut.

“It helped me understand that I needed to eat more anti-inflammatory foods, to cut sugar – which triggers insulin and can drive inflammation – and avoid anything ultra-processed (rather than microprocessed),”; she adds.

“I didn’t have any obvious food intolerances but my GP had put me on a low FODMAP diet which excludes a lot of different foods likely to cause bloating, but it wasn’t sustainable. I felt I needed to learn my own way.

Woman in orange athletic wear doing a plank exercise outdoors. — Roberta does Pilates, sees a personal trainer and lifts light weights

Woman preparing a healthy meal in her kitchen. — She never skips a meal and eats carbs and chocolate

Woman in orange jacket holding a rolled-up yoga mat. — Roberta likes to exercise in the morning, usually between 7.45am and 8.45am

“In my previous job for the food company my main focus was making sure food was safe to eat, but I never thought about what happens when people eat all the preservatives.

“I shifted my focus to: ‘What food is best for my body?'”;

One of her mantras is to eat ‘clean' foods – those that are as close to their natural state as possible.

Lunches and dinners typically consist of organic grass-fed meat, or organic wild fish with cooked vegetables.

Ultra-processed foods – ones packed with additives – are an absolute no-no.

A typical day in the life of Roberta

WAKE: 6.45am

I have to get my son up and out of the door by 7.15am for school so I save breakfast for later.

MORNING RITUAL: 7.15am

I take 15 minutes for myself. I have my lovely glass of hot water with the juice of half a lime to rehydrate my body and bring my stress level down as I sit at our kitchen table and look outside at the garden.

EXERCISE: 7.45am to 8.45am

I do a reformer Pilates class – a type of resistance exercise – twice a week. I also do weight lifting with a friend who is a personal trainer twice a week. I don’t go crazy with weights. They’re typically between 5kg and 10kg.

BREAKFAST: 9.30am

I’ll always try to have breakfast within 45 minutes of exercising because I am, again, religious about my muscle mass.

I aim to eat 30g of protein in my breakfast – something like two poached eggs and 50g ham.

I aim for about 20g of carbohydrate and 10g of fibre.

Typically, I’ll have a slice of keto-style bread made with seeds. I’ll add half an avocado to that for some more good fat, often with a nice bowl of rocket salad.

LUNCH: 1pm

I never skip lunch. I’d typically have grass-fed, organic chicken or fish like wild salmon. Cooked vegetables like spinach or courgette and green beans are better for IBS but I can have salads too.

I often make my own dressing by mixing some tahini with water, lemon juice and oil.

You can sprinkle some sesame seeds on top to get a bit of crunch.

If I’m really low on time my go-to choice is a super-balanced smoothie. I make it up with whey protein powder.

My favourite is from The Organic Protein Co. It is really natural whereas others may contain emulsifiers and additives.

I’ll mix it with two tablespoons of chia seeds, two tablespoons of organic oats and then I'll add a handful of berries, so it tastes nice but again I’m having all my macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate, good fat and fibre.

I use unsweetened almond milk. My favourite is one by Rude Health with zero sugar.

WALK: 5.30pm

I don’t snack. I try to get a walk in to de-stress from work afterwards.

I try to walk for about 45 minutes and I often go with a friend.

Walking and chatting is fantastic and the connection with like-minded people is so important for longevity.

I also listen to podcasts on these walks – often about health, longevity.

I learn and I feel like I’m growing. You need to bring joy to your life.

DINNER: 7.30pm

This is with the family and mine love carbs! We’d have protein – eggs, fish and meat and vegetables but I might add carbs.

I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. We also eat a lot of wild rice. It’s wholegrain.

As an Italian I’m meant to eat pasta but it’s too carby for me, especially in the evening.

I wouldn’t say I eat a lot of sweet potatoes and wild rice as I eat small portions of carbs, especially in the evenings.

I never have puddings. But if I want something sweet I’ll finish my dinner with two squares of dark chocolate.

It’s a guilty pleasure I can’t live without. I always opt for at least 75 percent cocoa.

My mantra is, never eat sweets in isolation – only after a meal.

In the summertime I eat strawberries with cream. It’s a fantastic sweet treat or snack that keeps your blood sugar balance in check because cream is pure fat and strawberries are low in sugar.

SLEEP: 10pm

My magic number is eight hours sleep! I actually set an alarm to tell me to go to bed by 10pm and I aim to be in bed by 9.30pm.

I try to avoid working in the evening to calm my nervous system down.

Bread is bakery-bought and label-checked.

“You’re looking for as few ingredients as possible, so compare the labels on your current bread to the labels of others, and go with the ones with an ingredient list that’s instantly recognisable and not with E-numbers,”; she adds.

Caffeine is out for Roberta – but she does enjoy wine in moderation.

She says: “I do not drink coffee but only because I’ve discovered I don’t metabolise it very quickly.

“Instead, I opt to drink herbal teas like lemongrass and ginger.

“I drink two to four glasses of wine a week but they are always good quality ones.

“My husband Paolo works in banking but is also a sommelier.

“We always go for wines low in sulphites because that’s what can lead to headaches and inflammation. We often use a Ullo Wine Purifier to filter our drinks.”;

Her eight hours of sleep a night is critical.

She says: “I even set an alarm clock for 10pm. So I’ll aim to be in bed by 9.30pm, watch a little TV, and then switch off.

“Sleep deprivation causes chronic inflammation because it alters your circadian rhythm,”; she explains.

“It will make you produce lots of cortisol (the stress hormone) and excess cortisol in the long run is an inflammatory hormone.”;

Woman at table with two bowls of salad. — Ultra-processed foods – ones packed with additives – are an absolute no-no

Woman in orange workout clothes squatting while lifting weights outdoors. — She changed her approach to life after experiencing gut issues

Woman preparing food in a modern kitchen. — Roberta says the tweaks she has made have been ‘life-changing'

Workouts are also an integral part of Roberta’s week. She has four work out days – alternating reformer Pilates with weightlifting she does with a personal trainer.

“From our 30s, we have a declining muscle mass of approximately three to eight per cent per decade,”; she explains.

“Muscle mass is a metabolically active organ and tissue that produces hormones and also produces anti-inflammatory messengers.

“Because it declines with age, you really need to work on it – it has to be a priority.”;

What is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

IRRITABLE bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common condition that affects the digestive system.

It causes symptoms like:

Stomach cramps
Bloating
Diarrhoea
Constipation
Farting
Passing mucus from your bottom
Tiredness and a lack of energy
Feeling sick
Backache
Problems peeing (needing to go more often, sudden urges, feeling like you cannot fully empty your bladder)
Bowel incontinence

These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time.

There is no official test, so a doctor will ask you about your symptoms and may also feel your tummy to check for lumps or swelling.

IBS is usually a lifelong problem. It can be very frustrating to live with and can have a big impact on your everyday life.

While there is no cure, diet and lifestyle changes, as well as medicines, can often help control the symptoms.

This might involve cooking homemade meals with fresh ingredients, keeping a food diary, avoiding alcohol and fizzy drinks, getting plenty of exercise, and trying probiotics.

Source: NHS

The results aren’t just noticeable to friends – they also seem to be having a positive impact on her biological age.

“Last June I tested my biological age and I was 37, so it must be having a positive impact on my body,”; she says.

She explains that our biological age is affected by chronic inflammation in the body, which drives ageing.

Unlike acute inflammation – like a cut, when your immune system recruits all the repairing cells and then goes back to normal afterwards – chronic inflammation is a low-grade immune response which lasts for years and years but can cause chronic disease if left unchecked.

“Poor gut health can absolutely lead to chronic inflammation,”; says Roberta, who founded Baldo&Mason – a team of registered nutritional therapists in 2020 with colleague Caroline Mason.

“That’s why the tweaks I’ve made have been completely life-changing for me and why I now help others as a full-time nutritional therapist.”;

She adds: “I can wear tight dresses now.

“The beauty of longevity and also keeping in shape is you don't have to starve yourself. You just need to eat the right type of food for you.

“I know my routine is quite structured but I feel liberated, free and more energetic. It has made a world of difference.”;

For more information on how to reverse your biological age and the role of nutrition in longevity go to www.baldoandmason.com or follow @baldoandmason on Instagram.