Gwyneth Paltrow credits a radical diet change with saving her sanity — and her marriage.
She has a body to die for thanks to diet and exercise, but for Gwyneth Paltrow nutrition isn’t just about how she looks — it’s about her mental health, too.
The actress, who is currently pushing her new cookbook It’s All Good, told Self magazine that neglecting her nutritional needs left her on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“A couple of years ago, I got really run-down,” Paltrow explained. “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?'”
On the advice of her medical team she “cut out basically everything: dairy, sugar, gluten, anything processed,” and helped her kids do the same.
However, despite the Spartan sound of her diet, Paltrow, who recently revealed she suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage, doesn’t deprive herself of all the good stuff.
“Life is about balance,” she said. “It’s good to work in healthy food, whether it’s five days a week or five meals a week… But never cut out the brownies or the wine.”
Being mindful of her diet has affected her relationships too, she said.
“You feel lighter and your emotions get smoother… I also was run-down because I had a lot of unexpressed anger. I made everyone else’s feelings more important than my own.”
“You’re not learning anything unless you’re having the difficult conversations,” Paltrow explained. “Dealing with things directly changed my relationships. Sometimes when you get clear about who you are, others get less comfortable because they liked who you were. It’s changed my marriage, too, but he’s up for the challenge.”
Read the complete interview with Gwyneth Paltrow in the April issue of Self.
Leave a Comment