Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis has an interview with The Cut in which she describes her daily routine and work schedule. She does yoga, stretching and meditation and has previously said that she enjoys boxing and works in small amounts of exercise throughout her day. Giada, 47, reminded me a little of Kourtney Kardashian in that she goes to an acupuncturist who does “muscle testing” to determine which supplements she should take. (Muscle testing is generally considered quackery, but instead of covering all that here I’ll just point you to the Kourtney K story I covered, in which I linked studies on it. Giada isn’t eliminating food groups or making decisions for her child based on muscle testing, so it’s likely harmless in this case.) She said she takes 20 pills a day, although she doesn’t specify what they are, and claims they prevent sinus infections.
On taking 20 vitamins a day:
My acupuncturist makes my little supplement bags for me. I try to go once a week. She muscle-tests me for what she thinks I need. The only regular things that I take are vitamin D, a probiotic, a prebiotic, and biotin. Everything else will sort of switch out. It’s like a baggie of — I hate to say this — 20 pills a day. Which is a lot. I have to tell her, “You can’t give me more than 20 pills a day. I cannot take them.” I take ten in the morning and ten in the evening.On scheduling appointments:
If I’m not shooting or I don’t have to be anywhere, I start my day with all of my appointments. Acupuncture, I try to do once a week. Yoga, I try to do five days a week. And then any doctors appointments. Because I travel so much and I’ve had a history of really bad sinus infections, I tend to get vitamin pushes from my doctor once a week when I get busy to try to get my immune system going and so that I don’t get sick. If I think about it, my free time is all taken up by maintenance for myself. I think people forget how much women, as we get older, have to keep up.On assistants:
I only have one. She’s young and eager. I like to keep a very, very close knit group. I have a culinary director who helps me with all things food, and I have a social-media person who runs all my social along with me. I’m very type A in that way. I like to be on top of what I’m doing and I like to be in the middle. If I feel like I have too many people running too many things, then I lose track of what’s happening and who to ask.On finding time to write:
The cookbooks get done every 18 months. It’s the cycle that I’ve been on for ten years. I will do some of it when I’m on vacation. For some reason, being at my house, I can’t relax. There’s too many distractions, so I’ll rent a house somewhere. I like to go to the mountains or Palm Springs. For my recent one, my daughter and I went to Rome, where my mother lives.
I take some pills daily but just a multivitamin, a probiotic and d-mannose to prevent UTIs. (I learned about that from some of your comments on a story I covered about Amy Schumer’s kidney infection!) I don’t see the benefit in taking 20 pills but maybe I’m missing out on something. Her supplements sound sensible though.
At 45 I also do a lot of “self maintenance,” but I don’t think of it as maintenance or as “keeping up” as an older woman. I just really like fitness, meditation, painting my toenails, getting my hair done, etc. It’s not a chore to take care of myself and is a nice way to spend time.
It sounds amazing to be able to rent a house or go on vacation to get a specific task done, like writing a book. Her answer about having a “very close knit group” of help and “only” having one assistant, a social media person and a culinary director sounds out of touch. It’s probably rare among her circle of famous people to keep staff limited. I only have family members and friends who sometimes pick up things for me from the store when I’m busy. My kid takes out the trash and helps with the laundry and cleaning. Such a close knit group.
photos credit: WENN, Instagram and Getty
Sounds like a very boring, shallow life. But then so does she.
If she takes 20 pills a day AND they help reduce sinus infections she might have histamine intolerance or MCAD. Which are also helped by yoga, meditation, and rebound-centric exercise (boxing would fit). It’s super difficult to manage and takes up almost all of your spare time.
Of course, she could just be a self-absorbed, narcissistic, tv star/average upper class 2018 american.
Just saying there are multiple possibilities and it seems weird to trash someone for self-care and health maintenance/”that’s a boring life”.
What an empty, shallow person she must be. Somebody tell the poor vapid woman there’s a whole world out there beyond herself. Yeah, a lot of it is awful, but ffs, so much of it is fascinating and enlightening, too.
I would hate to be seated next to this bore at dinner.
Did you even read the full interview?
I’ve read a few things about vitamins that suggest they just make for expensive urine. I may not refill my multivitamin. I do take vitamin d on my Dr’s advice and calcium.
If you want to know what your body actually NEEDS, go to your doctor, get your blood tested, and it will tell you what you are lacking. I found, after sharing symptoms with my dr., that I was low on B12, D, calcium, and magnesium. So, he told me what to take (as well as a better absorbable multi), retested in a month, readjusted my amounts, and voila! All my levels are now in “normal” range for me. I wouldn’t trust an accupuncturist to tell me what my blood levels are lacking. Sheesh…
ITA, I have been low on vit D and iron all my live and I do annual blood tests to check on my levels.
The acupuncturist’s method DOES sound like quackery to me, just NO. And 20 pills is a lot.
My free time is also all taken up by maintenance for myself, so I’m going to sit with her. 😛
Danielle, it depends on the person’s biochemistry. Vitamins have always worked for me and I notice when I’m not taking them.
Not a fan of GDL at all, but I understand the statement about having to take more care of yourself in later life and how all consuming and time consuming it actually is. Never had so many aches, pains, dr visits, tests, pills etc than I have in the past 7 years. Almost everyone older tells me it’s normal.
@Danielle: I had to laugh at your comment as I was taking a multi yesterday at the office (Supradyn, no clue wether it exists in the States) and a colleague of mine (he studied medicine but didn’t finish) told me: …ah, expensive urine. 🙂
Doesn’t she have a kid?
She discusses her daughter in the full interview, those parts just weren’t excerpted here.
One of my coworkers is like this. Somehow her whole weekend, every weekend, is “busy” with shopping, going to the gym, and stopping at the dry cleaner.
I’m not going to shade her on what are essentially her employees who help her run her business? She IS her brand and her business at the same time so having an assistant, a social media person and someone for food actually sounds very little to me?
I mean an actress would have an agent, a manager, a publicist, an assistant and a stylist and who knows what else and nobody thinks that’s weird or over the top.
in order to take vitamins that actually make a difference in your life, try doing the boston heart blood test and getting recommendations based on that. usually a multi isn’t needed. but certain b vitamins and d as well as coq10, are needed. high quality fish oil is also beneficial.
Guess you have room in your stomach for 20 pills when you don’t eat. Too busy over pronouncing Italian food I guess.
She sounds self absorbed and vapid. Pretty much confirms what I already thought of her.
This is a woman who bragged that she works with a spit bucket nearby. She isn’t “eating” her food. Not too much of a wonder if she’s lacking nutrients.
Most filming that involves eating involves a spit bucket (commericals, tv, film, etc.). If you have to do 20 takes it is inhumane to make someone eat 20 times.
Sounds like she is talking about getting colds rather than real sinus infections. I survived the flu season in a tiny room with one flu victim after another. Things that work a mask, hand washing, elderberry and zinc.
You know what. I’m fine with it. It’s her life and her time and she’s choosing to use it how she wants and she isn’t hurting anyone. No one is being impressed with her taking care of herself. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I only wish more women were able to take care of themselves in the most basic ways without being told by society and the world at large that taking time off to go to the dr or the gym to keep your heart and bones healthy is somehow being a shitty mother / human.
Agreed. Props to her for knowing what she needs and prioritizing it. I’m actually quite shocked at the number of commenters writing about how “vapid” or, horror of horrors for women, “self-absorbed” she supposedly is. Yeah, if what you call “self-absorption” helps her stay alive and thriving enough to maintain her career and schedule and family, then kudos to her. I’m sick of the shaming of women who opt to take care of themselves. It’s part jealousy and part Puritanical colonization. Her care for herself doesn’t harm you one bit and in fact her speaking out about it could be of support, but no, some of you all just want to hate. And yes, that kind of care *can* take a lot of time to manage. Health is important and maybe if more women honored that instead of allowing themselves to continue being brainwashed into hating on other women who prioritize this, we’d be a lot healthier of a society. Sure, not everyone has the time, money or resources to have a group of health care professionals or even to afford vitamins but for goodness sake, do we have to characterize someone who cares for herself as “selfish” or “vapid”? Those are some Handmaid’s Tale/Gilead-type accusations, and it’s no wonder that the evil in that storyline is first introduced by the commander’s wife. #TakeNote
I came here to say Bravo for her prioritizing her health and well being and taking time to do self care! I read the headline and thought “Nice! I wish I had spare time to take care of myself.” No sarcasm! I really aspire to that, and I think it’s smart.
She’s also a celebrity and part of her brand is her appearance. Of course she wants to look good.
She must spend most of her downtime brushing her hundreds of teeth. There is a twitter account just for her teeth. It’s hilarious.
OMG! I’m tempted to get a twitter account just to read about the teeth
I just turned 43 and have so far never considered myself an “older woman”. At what point exactly does that start?
Trillian, that’s because you’re not. 43 is Young.
This sounds like pleasure to me. Add in a twice weekly massage and sign me up!
And LOL at women talking sh*t about another woman being unappologetic about her self care. She didn’t say that’s all she does, just that she starts her work day with the work of keeping her mind and body maintained.
My mother had cancer several times so because of a compromised immune system she takes a boatload of pills and vitamins. It works for her. But Giada sounds like she does this for purely superficial reasons. It’s funny she didn’t get into a discussion about Botox and plastic surgery because I’m sure that’s just as important to her maintainence as yoga and vitamins.
I too had cancer (breast) and take a number of supplements – probably 12 or 13 – that boost my immune system and act as natural versions of aromatase inhibitors. No shade on her from me, she’s just taking care of herself. She’s in a high-stress business and stress is a killer.
She specifically says that a lot of her supplements are to help her fight an immune deficiency. Not superficial reasons at all.
I am jealous of the yoga five times a week. I assume they’re private lessons, which where I live would be about $100 a pop.
In my prior town we lived a few blocks away from each other (she lived in a vastly nicer house than our rental) and one of my kids went to the same school as her daughter. Her daughter is a couple of years than mine and we didn’t interact but, according mutual aquaintence, she is fun, nice and a good mom. So there you go, something positive about her as I think she gets beat up a lot on the internet .
The Cut’s “How I Get It Done” series is questions about successful women’s daily routines. Folks complaining about the content – it’s not an in depth interview.
As someone with a lot of health issues, I spend a lot of my free time on maintenance too. I have to work harder and spend more money than most people to be at an average level of well being. Maybe Giada does as well?
Vitamin D is a good one as you get older, yuck I know. Our bodies don’t absorb it the way they should, and it impacts how you absorb other vitamins. I hit early menopause, hypothyroid and low D at the same time. Yippee. However, taking the Vitamin D helped my joints.
Geez, where is my cane?
She’s always struck me as kinda high maintenance and this confirms it. I understand everything she’s doing — I take supplements daily and need to fit in exercise regularly to reduce my stress levels — but she seems like maybe she’s a little rigid about everything. I get the feeling that she never allows herself a day off, which is the problem I have with my son, who is fanatical about exercising and eating healthy. Moderation is good and knowing when to indulge a little or give your body a break is okay, too.
She’s a tiny woman by nature, it seems. Still, when your head is bigger than your waist, it’s getting into the scary territory for me. That many pills every day must be incredibly hard for her kidneys; i see no sense in taking that many supplements, unless your digestive system can’t get them on its own from normal food.
As an RN fighting cancer, there is no way there’s a need to be taking 20 vitamins/supplements. The only reason is because your acupuncturist has convinced you you need them and they need your money.
I wish I had a dollar for every person who’s given me “advice” for my advanced cancer…. Then I’d actually be able to afford my premiums!
There is no magic out there. Take what your body really needs, eat a reasonable diet and enjoy your life while you can ~
Wishing you well JennyJenny – fight the good fight.
Thank you Jaded ~ I’m a scrappy one!
I’m an RN fighting cancer also so best of luck to you,dear! I’ll never forget I had a patient with tick borne illness that turned into sepsis and the family brought in a bag full of vitamins and supplements from Whole Foods and I couldn’t let them give them to her as it was a violation of my facility’s policy not to allow patient to take any vitamin or supplement without physician approval-I was not very popular with them but my patient was so ill I genuinely feared risking her taking anything else
Great job EILEEN!
Sending you big, gentle hugs ~
Let’s keep fighting!
JennyJenny, I am sending you good energy and hugs.
Thank you so much jferber ~
No comments on her body or regimen, but I have to say, this woman is still annoying af. She is pure LA, not this authentic little Italian goddess that she’s marketed as. She over-pronounces words – When she speaks a full sentence in Italian, her accent is barely noticeable. As soon as she has to throw a “limoncello” or “crostata” into an English sentence (more than once, just in case we didn’t hear her the first six times), she sounds like someone trying to make their way through Italy after a few Duolingo lessons. It’s not a matter of dialect or the word standing out more because it’s surrounded by another language. It’s an affectation.
Also… She hardly ever goes back to Rome, where she was born, even though she claims to be all about family. She goes to the trendy tourist faves, like Florence and Milan. Va fa Napoli, Giada. 😉
I am so, so jealous of someone who can get acupuncture once a week. It’s so expensive and not fully covered by my insurance so I can only go a couple times a year.
Well, in fairness she saves a lot of time by not eating.
I understand certian things that our bodies might need (vitamin D or B or some iron) bit aren’t we suppose to take all the rest by eating good food.? The one she cooks??? I have been a small child and my parents worried (concerne trolls didn’t help) but even at my smallest I wasn’t missing a single thing in my body. The doctor said it was because I was eating everything in sight apparently ( I hated vegetables and had to be bribed to eat them). So why does a grown ass woman to take so many things? It’s not like those a medicines. Anyway to each their own I guess. i have some multi that I take once in while. I might just take one tomorrow morning
20 supplements a day (or even, say 10, if dosage is two pills per) is overkill and possibly dangerous. I used to work for a leading supplement company and had a great discount to buy a large array of products, but I could only try out 1-3 products at a time to identify whether any of them were positively affecting my body. A few worked very well, but most of them weren’t for me. Some people gorge on beauty products and supplements, just buying heaps of things and trying them all at once, not knowing or caring about drug-nutrient interactions. A lot of it is a waste of money, especially with taking too many supplements, which the body has difficulty absorbing. Here’s a hint, Giada: if your pee is crazy colorful, those exce$$ nutrient$ are going straight through you, down the toilet. She’s exhausting.
Yes doctors are helpful but I find that they do not have a hollistic approach or in some case know anything besides western medicine. I know that my own experience has been that non traditonal medical practices saved my life by identifying a huge medical issue that 4 doctors (two that were specialist) missed for over a year. I lost alot of faith with doctors because of it. Mainly the issue of them seeing me for an hour or two and talking about how I feel
/symptoms/possible causes with something I lived with for over 6 months. I often felt like they werent listening or willing to really find out the cause, rather just try this see if it works mentality. But I try not to judge others for how the deal with their health. I take a huge amount of medication, mostly herbal, to help care for my health along with yoga/specific workout plans.
At the risk of sounding vapid and self obsessed, I understand what she is saying. Also never been a fan. But I’ve found as 40 has come and gone, much of my free time is spent on self care too: I teach exercise so that kills 2 birds, but checkups, dentists, hair appointments, Botox, brows, all of it takes time. I’m also a working model over 40 and must maintain a certain appearance, as she must as well. It’s the business she chooses to be in. Unfortunately much of it is outward appearance focused, and there’s simply more maintenance when you’re over 40. It’s just a fact. I don’t make it a big deal or announce it, but I’m not famous either!😂 I do understand it for her, but like I said, I’m not a fan and the way she says things just makes her sound so completely self absorbed, even though it’s part of her job?