You could never accuse Lonneke Botello Hernandez of sitting idle.
In her 34-year career, she has been a clinical nutritionist, personal trainer, sharemilker, resort manager and Miss Universe New Zealand contestant. She has picked organic cherries in Italy and worked as a wellness director on luxury cruise ships for seven years, travelling everywhere from the Caribbean to the Baltic states.
Born in Waiuku, Lonneke currently lives in Mexico with her husband, Jose Asgard Hernandez, a doctor specializing in aesthetic medicine. They met while both working on the same cruise ship and today run a beauty and anti-aging clinic in the coastal town of Bucerías.
“Our motto is health and beauty from the inside out,” Lonneke says. “While I look after a client’s insides, Jose looks after their outsides with things like Botox and fillers.”
The successful name recently realized another dream of his: Writing a book. Food Fountain of Youth It draws on Lonneke’s experience in the health and nutrition industry and also speaks to her passion for helping others.
“I want people to not only feel and look good, but also know how to look after their health and longevity,” she explains. “The best way to do that is through what we eat.
“As a child, I had major health issues, including allergies and food intolerances to things like dairy, eggs and wheat. But my mother was a herbalist. From an early age, I learned how different foods made me feel and how they could have an impact on my long-term health.”
After training as a clinical nutritionist in Auckland, Lonneke set up her own nutrition clinic in Northland. While training as an ambulance driver, she saw an advert for a beauty pageant.
“I was 23 and thought it would be fun and a good way to educate other women about a healthy body image, so I entered and came in second.”
This led to other competitions, but when Lonneke was told she needed to lose 10kg to qualify for overseas competitions, she took a break from competing.
“This was completely contrary to my mission to raise awareness of a healthy body image. I decided to retire the braces after that,” she says.
Three months backpacking through Europe nurtured his love of travel, so when a job opportunity arose on a cruise ship, he jumped at it.
“I spent seven seasons in total, spending my days teaching fitness classes and creating nutrition plans for passengers.”
The global pandemic put an end to that career, however, as Lonneke was stranded at sea for several weeks off the coast of the Bahamas when the ship he and Jose were on failed to dock.
“No country would let us in. I used that time at sea to get another diploma in anti-aging beauty nutrition.”
This planted the seeds for what would become his first book.
“I started researching the topic and read more than 500 scientific research articles,” he recalls. “There are a lot of books about living longer. But for me, it’s about quality of life. You can live a long time but not be healthy.”
Lonneke’s book focuses on 30 of the most important beauty nutrients, like amino acids and silicon, and offers recipes rich in these nutrients.
“It is thought that 80-90% of skin ageing is caused by diet and lifestyle, which means we have an 80-90% chance of positively influencing this process.”
Despite never having written a book before, Lonneke had received three offers from publishers in the US, UK and New Zealand.
“I’m still a Kiwi and New Zealand will always be my home, which is why I chose a NZ publisher,” she says. “And I’m excited to come home for the book launch in August.”
With her glowing skin and shiny hair, Lonneke stands by what she says when it comes to her lifestyle choices.
“I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and I eat meat in moderation. However, my diet is mainly focused on whole foods with as few additives and preservatives as possible. However, I do eat a lot of tacos because, as you can imagine, the tacos in Mexico are amazing!”
When it comes to sweating, Lonneke combines cardio and resistance, hitting the gym or going for a walk in the morning before it gets too hot.
Dynamo’s new book on nutrition is taking up most of his time right now.
“There’s so much confusion out there. One day the experts will say, ‘This food is good for you,’ but the next week it’s not. My passion is to get people excited about how food can make a difference in health, energy, beauty and mental health, with every bite.”
You can follow Lonneke’s latest works on her Instagram page.
