Martina Navratilova - cancer free and inspiring to AARP Life@50+ conference attendees

Martina Navratilova, AARP's Fitness Ambassador, spoke candidly at the AARP life@50+ conference held in Ontario, California.  Named as one of the Top 40 Athletes of All Time by Sports Illustrated and title holder for 59 grand slams (the last one six weeks shy of her 50th birthday), her greatest win as of today is her cancer-free diagnosis.

What did you change in your diet that helps prevent cancer?

I juice more, watch my alkaline and I’m cautious of foods with acid.  Food needs to be acid free. Pay attention to your fruit intake. That was the biggest adjustment. People don’t realize how much acid fruit has and, like in my case, the acid intake was causing inflammation and should have been avoided.  I have a gluten-free diet as well, which is too bad because I love bread, but it inflamed my body.

What would you recommend for women for prevention besides diet, health and exercise to keep yourself healthy?

Get rid of the negative energy and negative people surrounding you. Pick the best fruit, pick the best friends.  Don’t choose friends that suck energy, are non-productive, and do not contribute in any way. It’s a good method of self-care.

What’s your goal for being here today?

I’m here today to inspire people to do more in their lives and want to encourage women to have that yearly check-up.

Going back to health and nutrition, besides the AARP website, are there any apps or other websites that you use on a regular basis to help guide your food choices, your dieting choices and, if so, can you name a few?

A: Yes, I use opentable.com for dining tips and I use iFitness on the iPad and the iPhone app.  iFitness is very helpful on the road. It’s got 20 different exercises for your triceps so you can mix it up. Not that I go to the gym that much.  I actually do more sports than actual exercises. For the most part, I do push ups and sit ups and then I have a pulley system that I travel with. You can do so much with so little equipment or just a big blow up ball. You can get a whole workout out of that.

Martina was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 during a routine mammogram, after not having one for four years. Her prognosis is excellent and she hopes that by speaking out she will inspire other women to get mammograms.   

For more information about AARP Life@50+, please visit:  www.aarp.org