Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Food Advice from the Stars

Gwyneth Paltrow, to be exact.

I actually like Gwyneth Paltrow for some reason.  I can't quite put my finger on it, and no, it's not because people tell me I look and sound like her.  (I still don't fully buy such a compliment, but I'll take it.)  It's probably because I think she cares about personal improvement.  She seems to have a "good head on her shoulders," anyway, and I appreciate that quality in a celebrity.

I don't, however, think she's super-accessible.  I mean, she doesn't have a girl-next-door quality the way Emily Blunt does, for example, and I'm not into her clothing style lately . . .  But I like her, just the same.  And so.  It pains me a bit to say that I didn't like what she said in the April issue of Self Magazine:
A couple of years ago, I got really run-down. I had to sing at awards shows, which was fun but stressful. I'd have a Guinness and a beta-blocker every time. I also was constantly getting on airplanes, trying to knock myself out with sleeping pills and wine, waking up, trying to sweat it out with exercise and a steam, and then working really hard all day. Eventually, I had a panic attack. My body was like, "What is happening?"

My doctor, Alejandro Junger, recommended that I cut out basically everything: dairy, sugar, gluten, anything processed. I was like, "What the f--- am I going to eat now?" That's why I made the book: to stop eating brown rice out of the fridge because I didn't know what else to eat and it was demoralizing.

So let's pretend she didn't use an expletive and just look at the content.  Seriously???  She was running on sleeping pills and alcohol, but she put all the blame on dairy, sugar, gluten, and processed foods?  I mean, I know eating tons of sugar is not healthy and depending on your tolerance for particular foods, eating dairy and gluten can be unhealthy as well.*  But to just go straight to blaming food -- and not addressing the alcohol consumption -- is a disservice to humans everywhere.  Granted, this quote is taken out of context.  I have no idea what she said just before or just after or whether Self omitted something important, but it seems to reflect a general trend in pop-health discussions.  "No sugar!" they say.  "No gluten!"  "No processed foods!"  I, for one, would like to see celebrities say, "Cool it on the alcohol.  Try to get enough sleep.  Follow the CDC's dietary guidelines.  Eat a little less.  Cut back on the soda."

Oy.


*I left processed foods off of this list on purpose, and here's why:  I really have no idea what people mean when they recommend eating unprocessed foods.  Do they mean "organic" foods?  (As though there is such a thing as non-organic.  Ha.)  Do they mean, you-grew-it-yourself foods?  Do they mean unpasteurized foods?  Foods without preservatives?  Water without flouride?  Milk not fortified with vitamin D?  Foods that aren't canned?  "Processed foods" can refer to a lot of things, and I for one, really enjoy some processes.



Thing I'm thankful for: my momma.

4 Comments:

Blogger cardlady said...

hahahah I think processed foods are the ones like sandwich meats which start out as meat, then get processed over and over into deli sandwich stuff. I always learned though that the Boars Head brand of Deli meat is less processed. We should in fact, cook chicken or turkey make it into sandwich slices and not have the processed thin kind, with salt etc.
Love YOU young one. Momma
Thing I'm thankful for. YOU! Chickadee!

1:30 AM  
Blogger Carrie said...

i especially enjoyed this post although i'm not quite sure why. we both know that health and nutrition is not my thing. although, i really do like gwyneth paltrow... especially since i saw halloween pictures of you dressed like her. i'm with you on being confused about processed foods. i know when something is processed and when something is not but i can't really tell when one becomes the other. a tomato isn't. a totino's pizza is. but all that stuff in middle? just confuses me.

anyways, i'm probably not making any sense and my sleep deprived self should just go to sleep. sara snow, i love you!

11:46 PM  
Blogger Cherie (and sometimes Senor) said...

seriously that was her excuse for feeling rotten? Wow. I'm kind of surprised, but for some reason I still like her. Blah. What does say about me?! Anyways. I categorize processed foods as anything that comes prepackaged or is not in its natural state? Anything that has been altered from the way it came out of the ground...? hum, you bring up a very good point about the term "processed"

7:04 PM  
Blogger Cherie (and sometimes Senor) said...

AAAAnd you're momma's right. Boar's Head is the only deli meat I will buy because it is minimally processed and healthier (in terms of additives and such) than other deli meats.

7:05 PM  

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