Celebrities have some compelling reasons to eat right.
Their every move is captured on screens large and small. Paparazzi lurk around the corner hoping to snap a candid photo for big bucks. You can only suck in your tummy for so long.
Some celebrities watch what they eat for other reasons.
And, to paraphrase a certain gossip magazine, they’re just like us when it comes to gluten-free living.
The following seven stars live a gluten-free life. Each has his or her own story for the diet switch. And while they can afford chefs to prepare specialty dishes, their struggles will sound very familiar to those who have gone gluten-free, too.
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1. Zooey Deschanel
“I am the worst person to ever eat with because I have all these stupid food allergies,” the actress told Vulture.com. She tried going vegan for a while, mimicking her equally famous sister Emily (“Bones”) Deschanel.
It didn’t last long.
Now she makes sure her gluten-free food is sent to her trailer on the set of her Fox comedy.
2. Emmy Rossum
The “Shameless” standout adopted a gluten-free diet long before it became trendy in celebrity circles.
“I still don’t think it’s cool,” Rossum told TheWrap.com. “I’m allergic to gluten. I have a mild celiac [disease].”
When it comes for “forbidden” foods she confesses to missing traditional pizza the most, but she doesn’t mind the gluten-free variety one bit. And while she admits she isn’t a world-class chef, she still knows her way around a kitchen. Maybe that’s due to a childhood dream she had about marrying a chef one day. (Source: TMZ)
3. Ryan Phillippe
The buff actor behind “Cruel Intentions” and USA’s “Shooter” looks like he takes great pains to eat right. And he does. It’s partly due to a medical diagnosis. His body simply struggles digesting wheat.
That meant much less junk food watching the big game. Or, it meant indulge and suffer the consequences. He chose to treat his body better and be a role model to his kids. Now, he’s delighted to rustle up dinner for his brood.
“There’s something about the kids knowing the parent is making the food for them with love,” he told Men’s Health. “It’s worth it to me to do that extra work whenever possible, because I see the benefit it has.”
4. Billy Bob Thornton
Is it surprising that the eccentric star of “Bad Santa” and “Sling Blade” follows an unconventional diet? He’s partial to blueberries and Earth Balance butter substitute, partly because he has a storm of food allergies to work around.
Eggs. Dairy. Wheat. Even red meat. He can thank a rare blood type for the last item on the list. Combine that with a case of OCD and his food rituals are unique.
His go-to treats? Bobo’s Oat Bars* and fresh avocados. (Source: GQ)
5. Elisabeth Hasselbeck
The former “View” co-host’s story will sound familiar to many following a gluten-free diet. She suffered from strange abdominal symptoms for years, ranging from garden-variety pain to exhaustion. She was even incorrectly diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome at one point.
“At the age of 23, there was no way I should have been feeling the way I felt,” she told EverydayHealth.com.
It took a strange new diet, sans wheat, as a contestant on CBS’s “Survivor” circa 2001 to help highlight her dietary concerns. Her stomach problems decreased significantly while competing on the reality show.
She eventually figured out her problem on her own. She had celiac disease.
The star embraced a gluten-free lifestyle two years later. More recently, she penned “The G-Free Diet*,” a book to help others like her be healthy and happy with their diets.
6. Jennifer Esposito
The “NCIS” star rose to the top despite an array of symptoms that might have stopped other actresses cold.
On the About Us page of her website, she says she was, “Sleeping close to 13 hours a night and waking up exhausted, constant stomach problems, raging panic attacks, joint pain, knees buckling, extreme weakness, yellowing of my skin, extreme sinus headaches, numbness, tingling, and hair and nails so weak they would just break off from a simple touch.”
At her lowest point, she had a “huge lump that was now protruding from my neck, just under my ear.”
That’s when a doctor finally offered her hope. She had celiac disease, and it was time to start treating her body accordingly.
It wasn’t easy. She describes a harrowing “detox” process that added even more symptoms onto her list.
All the while, she couldn’t believe how western medicine had let her down time and again. It’s why she wrote Jennifer’s Way*, a raw look into the actress’s struggle with her health, and created LivingFreeJennifer.com. The site offers the full breadth of her struggles with tips, recipes and other resources for her fellow celiac disease sufferers.
7. Kourtney Kardashian
For this reality show superstar, going gluten-free is a family affair.
Kardashian says her three children have “sensitivities” to gluten, corn and dairy. That means she’s the one bringing gluten-free cupcakes to kiddie parties, a tiny sacrifice for their overall health.
She says the children do cheat on occasion. But Mama Kardashian says she makes sure their diets are filled with healthy meals that won’t disagree with their digestive systems.
Kardashian doesn’t have an allergy to gluten herself. So why embrace a gluten-free diet? It’s to live a healthier, happier life, she says.
Sources: Us Magazine and People
About the Author: Christian Toto is the editor of HollywoodInToto.com
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I knew about some of these celebrities, but not all of them. I hope that medicine is getting better at diagnosing celiac disease. Sounds like misdiagnoses and delays in diagnosing can cause big problems for people.