She then pretty much became a household name after the hugely successful urban love classic, “Love Jones”.
The now 51-year-old actress graced our screens once again in her new Netflix film “Fatal Affair” alongside Omar Epps, reminding us all that she hasn’t aged a day. “Nia Long hasn’t aged since Love Jones,” one fan wrote on Twitter fan. “What’s the secret sis?”
RELATED: Nia Long: “You Have To Be In The Moment”
Long responded the secret is “water, sex and vitamins.”
Well, alright now. She’s not lying, especially about the ‘sex’ part.
Recent studies by sexual health centers suggest that sex can be good cardiovascular exercise in both men and women.
Though sex isn’t enough exercise on its own, it can be considered light exercise.
Some of the benefits you can get from sex include:
- lowering blood pressure
- burning calories
- increasing heart health
- strengthening muscles
- reducing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and hypertension
- increasing libido
People with active sex lives tend to exercise more frequently and have better dietary habits than those who are less sexually active.
Physical fitness may also improve sexual performance overall.
Her Secret was Passed Down
There’s another secret to Nia’s age-defying beauty: her genes.
Long is the definition of the phrase “she gets it from her mama.”
“[My mom] blessed me with good skin,” the actress told NewBeauty. “She’s in her late 60s and looks amazing—I hope to look as good as her.”
Another factor that could be contributing to her glowing skin is her healthy lifestyle.
“I eat healthy, organic foods and keep the weight off with a lot of yoga, Pilates, and jump rope, which I try and do every day for the length of at least one song,” she told NewBeauty.
And no, she’s never had Botox.
While she says she’s not against “anything that makes you feel and look good,” she says she believes you should only do what’s needed and for her, the time hasn’t come yet.
“What happens is when you’re under the lights all day, whether you have oily or dry skin, you start to feel dry,” Nia explained in an interview with Glamour. “And what I’ve learned over the years is—Chantecaille has this amazing rosewater—and I spray the rosewater on my face, and then I dab a little bit of moisturizer in the areas where I see the foundation or powder is cakey. It just instantly brightens your skin.
But the key is you can’t wipe, you have to dab.”
How She Uses the Power of Meditation
“When I don’t do it I can feel the difference.
Meditation is really just time for you to quiet your mind.
I think we all live chaotic and hectic lives to a certain extent. You need to take a few moments to be quiet and not worry about what needs to be done or what you did or didn’t accomplish or did I do everything right, just take that moment to be quiet and settle into what’s going on right now,” she adds. “When I don’t practice, I feel stressed.
So, balance and meditation go hand in hand.”
The Brooklyn-born actress tells me her grandmother introduced her to meditation when she was a little girl.
Nia was raised by a busy single mom and her grandma would often take care of her.
“Every day around 2 o’clock, my grandmother would say ‘Come on, let’s relax.’
She would lie on her back and her arms would be folded and she would meditate.
I thought she was crazy. We would listen to this tape of this man telling us to take deep breaths.
I thought it was the weirdest thing as a child, but by the time I was 13, I just embraced it and it was our daily ritual together,” Nia reveals.
Why Food is Important for her look
“I was raised as a vegetarian,” she explains. “My mom is a vegan.
I’m not either today, but what I am thankful for is I know better.
A lot of people don’t have the education on what a healthy diet is and how important it is.
I was the kid who had the chunky peanut butter made from real peanuts with no sugar or additives.
I had the peanut butter and jelly almost every day on that hard whole wheat bread – which is honestly my favorite treat today.”
