Today I'm sharing an article that has some good tips from some of our favorite celebs. This is an article from an online site that used to be part of the Washington Post called Sprig.com. It's an interesting article that has some great organic diet tips for us all.
10 Organic Diet Secrets of the Stars
From Angelina’s fish-heavy regimen to Madonna’s macrobiotics, celebrities are going clean and green with their diets.
How Angie Said Bye-Bye, Baby Weight
Judging from her eyes, lips, cheekbones and profession, a lot of
Angelina Jolie’s magic has its origin in her genes, but it also could be
her post-twins organic diet that snapped her into Hollywood-worthy
shape so quickly. She strove for an eating plan that was heavy on the
veggies and Omega-3s. According to a source, Angelina’s post-baby menu
included organic salmon with tomatoes, brown bread and herbs for
breakfast, and mackerel or grilled fresh tuna with watercress, spinach
and tomatoes for lunch or dinner. Not only is Angie’s diet good for her
figure, eating organically is, as Tim LaSalle, CEO of The
Rodale Institute,
tells Sprig, “the biggest weapon against climate change.” The biggest.
“If we were to convert all of the U.S. farm acres to organic, we’d
sequester 25 percent of all of our emissions. That’s the equivalent of
taking most of the cars off the highway,” says LaSalle.
Grade A+: Angelina’s menu is about as perfectly
assembled as she is: healthy proteins, “good” fats and fresh fruit and
vegetables are the most winning combination without a pesticide or
hormone in sight.
Kate’s Dos & Don’ts
Kate Bosworth does organic probably like a lot of us do organic: eating
organically as much as we can when we can. The diminutive Ms. Bosworth,
whose glowing skin makes a good case for keeping a clean diet (something
she and ex Orlando Bloom had in common), spoke about her organic
aspirations when she hosted Global Green’s
Gorgeous and Green benefit:
“Do what you can. Clearly you can’t eat all organic all the time, but
you just have to do as much as you can.” Kate’s on the right track
because even a little organic is better than none at all, for both you
and the earth.
The Organic Center,
a non-profit organization which collects scientific research on the
health and environmental benefits of organics, reports that
conventionally produced foods (those using antiobiotics, pesticides, and
genetic-engineering, to name a few) show that the human health
implications include a reduction of nutrients as well as insulin
resistance and increased risk of diabetes. If Kate can’t always eat
organic, she might want to stay away from what The Organic Center has
listed as the top five fruit and vegetables that pose the highest risk
for pesticides:
Grade B+: Kate’s effort to go organic is both realistic and relatable.
Marc Says No to Sugar
Buff-bodied Marc Jacobs can credit his organically-geared ways (and gym
membership) for getting him ready for his nearly nudie pictorial in the
December issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The Louis Vuitton designer told Out
magazine about making the switch to organics last year: “You’re going to
get a bunch of blogs saying ‘He must be on meth in order to be that
skinny compared to 10 months ago,’ but in fact I’m eating a totally
organic diet, which has no flour, no sugar, no dairy, and no caffeine,
and I lost weight because of that diet and because of a two-hour
exercise regime seven days a week.” The former self-described “pudgy”
Jacobs dropped 20 pounds on his regimen.
Grade A: Marc’s hard-core approach is still healthy and opting for foods with minimal processing is the way to go.
Madonna Gets Militant
And Marc’s friend, Madonna, is maybe the most famously strict
organic-lover around. Her disciplined regimen made headlines a few
months ago when she laid down the edict to her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie,
that when their children were with him, they had to adhere to a
macrobiotic and organic diet. “We know that when kids go on organic
foods, they’re organophosphate levels drop eight times,” says LaSalle.
“So their urine starts to clear up and they’re no longer carrying these
toxins that damage the biological function of the body.” See? Madonna’s
not just some megalomaniacal mommie dearest; she’s actually just looking
out for her kids’ health, maybe more rigidly than most, but c’mon she’s
Madonna, the woman uses whips as props.
Grade: A+++: Just look at this pic of Madonna at 50.
Sure, Kabbalah and all that yoga helped, but her organic diet is just
as integral. And she probably doesn’t slip from it. Ever.
No Meat for Stella
The daughter of Paul McCartney is a lifelong vegetarian who grew up on
an organic farm, so it would only make sense that the fashion designer
would parlay her eco-attitudes about organics when she launched Care,
the first 100 percent organic luxury skincare line, last year.
According to the Care website, when compared to conventional skincare
products, organic skincare products are richer in essential nutrients
such as vitamin C, antioxidants, trace-elements and mineral salts,
essential amino acids and essential fatty acids. And unlike conventional
skincare products that use non-organic ingredients, studies show that
with organic skincare products there is an absence of traces of
fertilizers and pesticides that can be absorbed into the skin.
“Sometimes it’s just not practical, but I do what I can. I shop at Whole
Foods in the U.K., “she says.
Grade A+: Being a vegetarian is already helpful in
reducing carbon emissions because animal production accounts for so much
of them, but the best thing you can do hands down to help the climate
crisis, is to eat organically, like Stella has done for a long time.
A Model Example
Josie Maran, the model and entrepreneur (she launched her eponymous
eco-friendly line
of cosmetics last year), grew up in a bohemian household in Northern
California, leading her to choose a healthy diet full of fresh food,
free of chemicals and genetically-modified organisms as an adult,
especially after she knew she was expecting her first child in 2006.
Never-say-”diet” Josie instead practices portion control to keep
swimsuit-ready and does Kundalini yoga and eats organically–something
that Rodale’s Tim LaSalle says is clearly the better choice when it
comes to choosing between local or organic food:
“Supporting your local farmer and the community is important, but if
that farmer isn’t growing organically, he’s polluting your water systems
with toxic chemicals and giving you food with chemicals,” says LaSalle.
Grade: A+ Josie really is a model of an
organically-geared life. Her diet isn’t short on needed nutrients and
she’s parlayed this longtime attitude into her cosmetics as well. How we
treat the earth is how the earth treats us.
Like a Rolling Stone
The Stones seem to go by the motto, “If ain’t broke, don’t worry about
it love, and give us another pint/kiss,” which has served them well for
the past four decades. Bass player, Ronnie Wood’s wife, Jo Wood, who has
her own organic beauty line, got the rockers better acquainted with
organic diets when she went on one after dealing with a perforated
appendix. She told Britain’s Hello! magazine, “An herbalist called
Gerald Green explained how the chemicals in our food destroy our immune
systems. I was determined to eat only organic food if it was the last
thing I did.” And while the boys have toned the partying down to a dull
roar now, the excess is still found, but as explained, “at least the
vodka and wine are organic.” (A few organic vodkas to try: VeeV, Square
One, and Prairie.)
Grade A: Mick might be as fit as a fiddle, and Keith
is coasting on fumes at this point, but the band gets high marks for
turning a corner with cleaner foods.
The Incredible Hulk’s Incredible Diet
Ed Norton bulked up for the Hulk and an organic diet was a big part of that process for the 39-year-old actor. According to
Ecorazzi,
during filming last year, Ed would go to Toronto’s “raw food Shangri
La” called the Organic Bar. Norton grew up with environmentalist
parents, so the idea of knowing where your food comes from (i.e. not a
box, not the store) is probably one he knows well. As a matter of fact,
food that’s certified organic is clearly leaps and bounds ahead when it
comes to packing a nutrient-rich punch. Chief scientist at the Organic
Center, Charles Benbrook, reported research that organic production
increases average antioxidant levels by 25 percent, with benefits
reaching to mineral and vitamin levels, as well as crop yields. And,
organic samples contained higher concentrates of good things like
polyphenols and antioxidants.
Grade A: Ed has given a good face (and body,
apparently his co-star Liv Tyler was even a bit flustered at his
physique) to environmental concerns, and going organic couldn’t be
better for the planet.
A Fashionably Green Regime
Donna Karan isn’t messing around. The lady who revolutionized women’s
clothing and gave working girls everywhere a sexy silhouette for the
office, is a devotee of yoga and a raw food fiend. The designer dropped
20 pounds going on a raw organic food diet and shared her recipe for
this energizing, green juice when
she appeared on The Martha Stewart Show. If this doesn’t give a radiant
glow to your skin, then nothing will. A team of experts at
UCLA/Louisiana State University published their findings on nutrient
value and absorption of raw vegetables in the Journal of the American
Diabetic Association. The gist: Greens are on top. They found that raw
vegetables are overloaded with the antioxidant vitamins C and E, folic
acid, lycopene and alpha and betacarotene. Vitamin C and E are powerful
antioxidants needed to maintain healthy cells; they prevent molecular
DNA getting damaged by free radicals.
Grade A: Diet and exercise are always the way to go.
Jake Gyllenhaal Goes All-Natural
Speaking of things that are good for you, Jake Gyllenhaal (a.k.a. Reese
Witherspoon’s main squeeze), revealed his plans earlier this year to
open an organic restaurant. He and his childhood friend, chef Chris
Fischer, have apparently been scouting locations in Los Angeles ever
since. (Jake’s passion for cooking has been, well, cooking for awhile;
he’s even appeared twice on Mario Batali’s cooking show, Molto Mario.)
While specifics of the menu aren’t yet known, if Jake and Chris decide
to put meat on the menu, it will probably be grass-fed and hormone-free.
Studies from The Organic Center show that almost 18 percent of sons
born to mothers who eat beef containing hormones, had lower sperm
counts, and that grass-fed beef has more CLA (conjugated linolic acids)
than grain-fed cows. CLAs help in reducing cholesterol and have
anti-cancer benefits.
Grade B: Until Jake’s dream becomes a reality, we’ll keep our fingers crossed and applaud his organically-minded foodie tendencies.
This article was originally shared by Care2.com in 2009. You can see that site for some more great eco, green, organic articles.
Pictures courtesy of Pinterest.
