Actress Gwen Paltrow admits that she goes on extreme diets, including the "Master Cleanse." This regime involves drinking maple syrup, lemon juice, water, and red pepper in order to lose 20 or more pounds very quickly.
"It's not what you'd characterize as pretty," she said. "Or easy. But it did work."
Paltrow began a macrobiotic diet in 1999, which consists of vegetables, grains, soup, and fish. Her six-day-a-week exercise routine involves 40 minutes of cardio-dancing followed by leg crunches and arm exercises.
The intensity of her meat-free, dairy-free diet and other routines may be taking its toll on the 37-year-old's health.
- After breaking her leg last year, Paltrow underwent a bone density scan and found out she had osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis.
- Usually only elderly women develop these conditions after menopause.
- Paltrow's doctors told her she had the lowest levels of Vitamin D they had ever seen, and advised her to spend more time in the sun.
- She also has to take prescription strength Vitamin D. This vitamin is found in sunlight and necessary for bone health.
ABC news medical consultant Dr. Stephen Honig said Paltrow's condition is a warning to young women at risk for eating disorders.
Dr. Honig, director of the Osteoporosis Center at New York University Hospital, said teenagers should consume milk and other dairy products, exercise moderately, and maintain a healthy body weight.
"Don't get too crazy," he advised.
Labels: extreme diets, osteoporosis, diet
Posted By: Eating Disorders Blog