'I don't take medicine': Martha Stewart shares how she's maintained perfect health at 83
Does everything she does have to be so perfect?

Martha Stewart speaking with attendees at the 2019 Maricopa Home and Garden Show at WestWorld of Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Martha Stewart is in incredible health for an 83-year-old, and her secret isn’t living a life of leisure. Stewart became the first female self-made billionaire in American history by forever altering how the average American approaches cooking, entertaining, home décor, and crafts through her various TV and magazine properties and retail brand.
Her excellent health is evidenced by the fact that that she has no interest in slowing down. In April, she’ll cohost “Yes, Chef!” along with José André, a cooking competition for NBC, and in 2023, she showed off her body as one of Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit legends. "A legend, to me, means something that's happened before and has gained an importance and lives on," Martha said in a clip from the special 60th-anniversary Legends photoshoot.
The same year, she told AARP that she does it all naturally. "I haven't had health problems. I don't take any medicine. I have very good blood pressure,” she said. Stewart’s admission that she is healthy enough in her 80s without having to take any medication is a rarity in America. According to Merck, 90% of older adults regularly take at least one prescription, nearly 80% regularly take at least two, and 36% regularly take at least five.
The Original Influencer’s incredible health may be attributed to her schedule. “I wake up early, early, early — often at 4 a.m. — and read the newspaper to make sure nothing bad has happened overnight," Stewart revealed. "I do Pilates at 6:15 a.m. three times a week," she said, adding that she remains active by enjoying horseback riding and hiking. Studies show that early risers like Stewart tend to live longer than night owls because they have healthier lifestyles.
Stewart also keeps herself mentally active. “I’m about trying new things and learning new things every single day, staying fresh, being interesting and interested, staying curious, staying busy, developing new friendships,” she said. She is on to something when it comes to keeping up with friends. A recent study of over 13,000 people over 50 found that those with high-quality friendships were 24% less likely to die over an eight-year period. They were also more likely to exercise and had lower risks of stroke and depression.
Stewart told Today.com that when it comes to her diet, she drinks a lot of green juice. “Green juice drenches your body in a variety of plant nutrients,” she said. Her favorite juice is made from apples or pears combined with celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger, and lemon.
Ultimately, for Stewart, age is a consideration dwarfed by her enthusiasm for living the good life, doing things right, and having great taste. This ethos made her one of America's most famous and influential women. "Aging is not about dying; it's about living well," Stewart said. "Because people are aging so differently now... In this life, you just have to work at staying better. That's really all you can do. You work at it. Try to keep up with friendships, projects, relationships with educating yourself—stay on top of it. Because once you're gone, what can you do? You hope you've done enough."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.