(NaturalNews) At 36, Gwyneth Paltrow is in great shape and could easily pass for someone ten years younger. But unlike many of the Hollywood celebrities who go under the knife to resculpt their bodies, Paltrow's slim figure and flawless skin are not the result of plastic surgery.
In her online newsletter called GOOP (
www.goop.com), which Paltrow launched in September 2008, the Oscar-winning actress credits her great physical and mental condition to a health-conscious lifestyle, which includes natural foods and
exercise.
But Paltrow says her road to good
health had not been without bumps. "Over the years I have tried a lot of different things and made a lot of mistakes," she points out on her site. "But I have figured some things out in the process."
And it all started, she says, with a family tragedy.
A turning point
Paltrow's road to heath consciousness began a decade ago. While filming The Talented Mr. Ripley in Italy in 1998, the actress learned that her TV producer father, Bruce Paltrow, had been diagnosed with throat cancer.
"During this time I began to read about Eastern
medicine and the body's capacity to heal itself," she writes in the newsletter, noting that although she tried to encourage her dad to follow a
healthy lifestyle, the results were mixed.
"He loved acupuncture but hated macrobiotic
food, which he likened to biting into The
New York Times," Paltrow writes.
Sadly, Bruce Paltrow passed away in 2002, but the lessons the actress had learned in that four –year period are still serving her well today. "I had read that in Asia, the concept of going to the
doctor when you were already sick was akin to digging a well when you were already thirsty," she notes. "This struck a chord with me."
Prescription for a Healthier Life
Common wisdom has it that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that is the message Paltrow conveys in the newsletter.
She asked her three
doctors, whom she credits with helping her overcome pneumonia, anemia and
stress, to share their insights into creating and fostering a healthy
lifestyle.
One of the physicians, the Los Angeles-based Dr. Christian Renna D.O., an expert in the field of contemporary preventive medicine, writes about the power of good
sleep, exercise, and positive thinking.
"Do what you have to do to get to sleep; there are plenty of
natural agents that work," he urges on GOOP. "Try herbs (valerian),
tea (chamomile), amino acids (tryptophan or hydroxy-tryptophan) and vitamins (magnesium and B6). These can be powerful sedatives and work just as well as prescription agents without the risks."
Another doctor, Alejandro Junger, a cardiologist who practices integrative healing in New York City, advises detoxification cleansing from all the
waste products of normal metabolism. Cleansing, he says, is "a natural, common-sense medicine, enabling the
body to heal, regenerate and even rejuvenate itself."
The cleansed body, Junger adds, should be nourished with wholesome, toxin-free food, "the best way to avoid disease and premature
aging."
Paltrow's third doctor, London-based Neish Joshi, who practices centuries-old ayurvedic traditions and a wide variety of other healing philosophies and techniques from all over the world, sings praises to the benefits of "holistic
detox."
"The older, more natural forms of medicine work predominantly on promoting and improving the body's ability to eliminate waste and towards finding balance and well-being," he writes on GOOP. "My motivation is towards the nutritional needs of a
healthy body, on encouraging better sleep patterns, ways of coping with stress and reducing its effects on the body, and teaching individuals how to make healthy lifestyle choices: the true mind-body-spirit sense of health and well-being."
Just what the doctors ordered
Paltrow, who has two young children with musician Chris Martin, front man for the British rock group Coldplay, says the advice of each of her three doctors "has helped me out of some very sticky health problems."
The holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle is making all the difference in her physical and mental well-being. "My
life is good because I am not passive about it," she sums up.
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