Lifestyle Celebrity health


fancy does you good, so if I feel like a steak in the pub I’ll have it.” And while his cooking skills were previously


Darcey Bussell and Len Goodman at Strictly Come Dancing


Surgery success Years of ballroom dancing, meanwhile, took a toll on Goodman’s joints, and he says he was in pain for years with arthritis. He ended up having a partial knee replacement operation in 2015. He also had decompression surgery on his shoulder a few years ago after developing shoulder impingement, a common type of shoulder pain that causes discomfort when you raise your arm. The operation – called subacromial decompression – is a keyhole procedure, where some bone and tissue is removed from the shoulder blade. According to Goodman, 40 years of dancing


and teaching, giving classes to beginners where you take their weight on your arms and shoulder, probably contributed to his shoulder condition. The operation, however, was successful, and he says he never looked back. “I’m doing alright, all things considered,” he told


the Daily Mail. “I’ve had the all-clear from prostate cancer, I’ve had my knee done, I’ve had a hernia and I’ve had the bone shaved on my shoulder.”


Healthy lifestyle Goodman attributes his trim physique not just to having been a dancer most of his life, but also to watching what he eats – though he freely admits he loves a bacon sandwich. “I like to stay as healthy as I can,” he said in the


Daily Telegraph. “I don’t believe in diets, though, and I’m a great believer in a little of what you


confined to putting a ready meal in the microwave, Goodman has more recently turned his hand to baking cakes, following his partnership with celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot on the TV series Len and Ainsley’s Big Food Adventure. These days he also says he loves trying new food, which is quite something for someone who once famously said they never eat any foreign food (“I won’t eat anything I can’t spell,” he told The Guardian). Goodman also has no plans to retire and keeps


himself active. Last year, he became involved with Age UK to support its work in helping people get the most out of later life. “I think it is essential to have an active and


healthy lifestyle in later life,” he says, in his capacity as one of the charity’s celebrity ambassadors. “I have never been busier and never more active than I am now. “Exercising regularly and eating healthily are


linked to a healthier brain and sharper thinking skills and I think it is so vital to keep your mind active and alert; it builds confidence. But exercise is so good for you, no matter what your age. It is too easy to shut yourself away in later life and become sedentary.” Dancing, says Goodman, is a wonderful way to


stay healthy. Indeed, any amount of physical activity can make a big difference. “It gets the heart pumping and the old muscles


working,” he says. “It could be a brisk walk in the countryside, even doing housework – hoovering, polishing and cleaning are great forms of physical activity. “If you have one, get on your bike. Cycling is a


great way to keep fit. Everyone knows how good gardening is for you – and I recommend it thoroughly. Swimming, too, if you can get to your local baths. They do say that swimming exercises every muscle in your body – that can’t be a bad thing.”


Living with osteoarthritis


Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis in the UK, causing symptoms such as joint pain and stiffness. There’s no cure, but if – like Len Goodman – you’re living with osteoarthritis, there are some lifestyle measures that can help relieve the symptoms:


• Exercise regularly to help strengthen the muscles around the affected joints.


• Try to lose some weight if you need to, as the extra burden on your joints can make symptoms worse.


• Use devices to ease the symptoms such as knee braces and shock- absorbing shoe insoles – ask your local Careway pharmacist about these products and how to use them.


Craig Revel Horwood with Len Goodman


• As well as taking any pain relieving medicines your doctor prescribes, you may also get some pain relief by using hot or cold packs or topical treatments on the affected joints (these are also available from pharmacies – ask your pharmacist for details).


All About health 7


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