Cameron Diaz Gives Women Advice on Fertility, Getting Older & Preparing for Menopause

Actress and author of The Longevity book opens up to Women's Health

By Rebecca Macatee Mar 10, 2016 6:30 PMTags
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Cameron Diaz is happy and health inside and out—and it shows.

"The most important things in my life are my relationships and my well-being—where I'm going as a human being in my development mentally, emotionally, and physically," the 43-year-old actress and author tells Women's Health.

In The Longevity Book, which will be available Apr. 5, Diaz joins forces again with Sandra Bark, her co-writer for 2013's The Body Book, for a science-based look at aging and how it affects the body and mind.

"Getting to know yourself on the smallest cellular level is so empowering," Diaz tells Women's Health. "I want women to understand their own journey and be prepared for it."

Women who accept and understand aging, Diaz says, do it better and live longer, healthier and stronger lives. "So do we keep punishing other women and ourselves for growing older, for doing something that's perfectly natural?" she asks. "Or do we pat each other on the back and say, 'You're doing amazing?'"

Diaz, who describes herself as "a late bloomer in marriage" (she said "I do" to Benji Madden back in May 2015) has advice for women of all ages. "Bone mass is really important in your twenties," she says, which is why physical fitness and strength training is so important. And women in their 30s, she says, need to keep fertility in mind if they want to have kids at some point.

"After 35, most women's eggs start to dwindle," she explains. "There's no way of knowing until you test yourself. That might be something you want to do in your early thirties if your fertility is important to you."

Women in their forties should "pay attention to where you're at emotionally, physically and mentally" as they prepare "to make that transition to menopause," says Diaz. "The women who stress have it longer and harder, but the ones who accept it have it shorter and less severe."

For much more from Diaz, check out the March 2016 issue of Women's Health.