On Wednesday Kaiser covered the story that Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t letting her kids eat carbohydrates like bread, pasta or rice. It wasn’t just an issue of putting her kids on a gluten free diet, Goop doesn’t give them gluten-free alternatives like other flour-based products. Gwyneth writes in her upcoming cookbook that “Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we’re left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs.” It’s possible Gwyneth lets her family eat things like brown rice, but the way she phrases it suggests an avoidance of all carbs other than fruit possibly, although I would bet she limits that too. She also writes about that they’re all sensitive to gluten, dairy and eggs so that rules out whole wheat and a couple of other food groups. It doesn’t sound like some kind of elimination diet, it sounds like she’s forcing her food issues on them, it’s making them hungry, she knows about it and considers it a character-building experience.
Well Elisabeth Hasselbeck had some words of support for Goop – sort of. Hasselbeck has celiac disease, she’s written a book on it, and she said that many people are sensitive to gluten. Then she explains that there are plenty of gluten-free alternatives like rice, quinoa and barley that people can try. In that respect she’s much more practical than Goop and she’s not deliberately depriving her kids:
Gwyneth Paltrow’s low-carb, gluten-free family diet made headlines on March 13, making it perfect fodder for the women of The View. As co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd weighed in that same day, the recently ousted Elisabeth Hasselbeck came out in defense of the 40-year-old Oscar winner.
“I do believe that there is a growing number of people with gluten intolerance, not just celiac disease, like myself,” said Hasslebeck, who’s authored two bestselling gluten-free cookbooks. “I do think it causes inflammation in the body, whether you are celiac or gluten intolerant or not.” (People with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found most often in wheat, rye and barley.)
The mother of three, 35, didn’t want to debate Paltrow’s dietary decisions, as she wanted to focus on the real issue at hand. “She could do whatever the heck she wants,” Hasselbeck said of Apple and Moses’ mom, who is married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. “She’s a mom, those are her kids, do what you want.” (In Paltrow’s new cookbook, It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great, the star writes, “Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we’re left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs.”)
Hasselbeck continued, “I do believe that there are quality carbs that can replace gluten, like a quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, rice, corn, all those things . . . They’re alternative grains that provide a great amount of nutrition. You need quality carbs. Kids need quality carbohydrates to run.”
Since being forced to modify her diet, Hasselbeck said she’s noticed a significant improvement in her overall health. “I’ve been on the diet for 10 years,” she explained. “I’ve never felt better.”
My son is very sensitive to what he eats, and we put him on an elimination diet a while ago. It was temporary and in no way did I not let him eat carbs. I try to feed him healthy, whole foods overall, and he ate carbs like rice and oatmeal until we figured out that high fructose corn syrup and corn products did not sit right with him. Now he eats gluten again. I also understand going gluten free when you’re just sensitive to it or suspect you are. My mom went gluten free and she ended up losing weight without even trying. Her doctor suggested it, she did it and feels great now.
All of that, and what Elisabeth suggests – using gluten-free substitutes, is much different than what Goop is doing to her kids. She eliminated entire food groups, not just gluten. I mean they can’t go out for an occasional ice cream treat, (just give them Lactaid if you’re worried about it for God’s sake) and they can’t eat the cake at a friend’s birthday party. This goes beyond feeding your children in a healthy balanced way and trying to help them avoid junk, which is perfectly understandable. This is a woman who values thinness above all else pushing her extreme issues around food and eating onto her children. As Kaiser wrote, it’s not fair. It’s one thing for Paltrow to try and market her restrictive diet to grown adults with free will, it’s another for her to make her growing kids eat like that until they’re “left with that specific hunger.” She doesn’t care if they’re hungry, you know? I couldn’t do that to my kid. Then again this woman named her kid “Apple.”
Gwyneth and her kids, Apple and Moses, are shown out in 2011 (sundress) and in October 2012 (white shirts). Elisabeth Hasselbeck is shown on 4-14-13. Credit: Fame, WENN and PacificCoastNews
Apple has a sour apple expression on her face. She wants a donut.
Also didn`t Gwennie have pasta recipes in her last cookbook?
A very recent Goop newsletter was all recipes, most of which had bread, pasta, or rice in them.
I got this one a few days ago – the recipes are made with brown or red rice. They actually look really good so I can’t hate on her. Brown rice is a healthier option than white. I haven’t been following this story – could she just be avoiding white flour? And I tried farro for the first time a few months ago which is like barley but better – it’s really good especially in the casserole-type dishes she showed. If her kids have celiac and must avoid wheat that’s one thing but if she is withholding nutritional types of bread and pasta for the sake of withholding, that’s too bad. I used to love cream cheese and grape jelly on white bread when I was little – my mother used to pack it in my lunch box (and still do… <>)…
http://www.goop.com/journal/make/215/one-pan-meals
This country has gone crazy with diets and food fads but meanwhile the amount of cheap processed food available is scary. I was just wondering what the celiac rate is in Italy. I have cousins there and I know pasta and risotto is a frequent part of their diet (in much smaller portions). I have a friend with celiac here in NY who was so ill at one point he was hospitalized for days so I know it’s real. But I don’t remember food allergies and obesity being such a problem when I was younger, even as a teen.
At a certain point (not sure exactly when, I think before I was born, 1985) it became popular science to avoid all or most fat in your diet. To make food that still tasted decent food companies have added sugar, HFCS, fake sugar to many expected and unexpected foods. Many sources seem to say that this has had a large effect on the obesity and diabetes epidemic in the US.
Both of her kids are wall-eyed. For some reason, she doesn’t get them fixed.
Apple has that sour expression on her face because she’s been “left with that specific hunger.”
What???
The way Paltrow fetishizes food deprivation is kind of disgusting re: her children. Those are naturally thin kids who don’t most likely don’t need any foods eliminated from their diet for health reasons.
Much as I dislike her, team Hasselbeck. She’s totally right, kids need carbs and there are plenty of them that gluten sensitive or intolerant people can eat.
+1. I dislike her very strongly but I think she’s right-it’s Paltrow’s choice what she feeds her children. As long as she is careful to give them adequate and balanced nutrition, I can’t hate on her for wanting her kids to have a healthy diet. Seems like it works better if you introduce them to a healthy diet at a young age.
I am team stay out of it. Both of these women are so preachy about food and consider themselves real experts. I don’t care what they feed their kids, but stop advertising it for the attention it brings you.
You know you have hit bottom when the only think you can talk about is flippin food! Their obsession with food is warped.
I totally agree.
I don’t know about GP, but I think Elisabeth went through a rough time trying to figure out what her health problem was… and then an even more difficult time trying to completely change her diet to one that was appropriate for her. Is it possible that she isn’t trying to preach, but genuinely believes she might help other people going through the same issues?
I agree Belle. I’m not a fan of either woman but there is greater sincerity to Hasselbeck’s story.
I guarantee when her kids are old enough Goops are going to go on a carb binge probably even sneak it at friends places. What do they eat? Her parents didn’t do it to her she should let them be kids. Elisabeth has a far healthier approach to food and kids names.
Yup, reminds me of this New Yorker cartoon.
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2013/03/18/cartoons_20130311?slide=2
Yep! I saw this happen. A friend of mine, her sister did this to her children. And when they were school-age, every time they were out of sight of their mother, they went nuts with candy and sodas. And now that they’ve become adults, they are still going nuts with pizza, McDonalds, etc. Ugh.
Who can blame them – I say they should be able to go to McDonalds or In’n’Out whenever they can sneak over there.
Carpe Diem with the the donuts too.
If you forbid kids things like cake at a birthday party – of course they’re going to rebel when they’re older – everything should be in moderation.
My mother spent all of my childhood on various diets. When I was 9, she went on Atkins. No carbs. Lots of fat and protein. The worst thing she could have done to a child. We then progressed from Atkins to various other diets, all which included banning various foods.
I ended up with an eating disorder and I would binge on all the things she labeled “bad.” Most of my life has been affected in some way by my childhood. I’ve had an ongoing fight against obesity and disordered eating. It will backfire on Goop. It makes me sad for her kids.
I really feel like too much is being read into this, on the negative side. We don’t eat a lot of carbs in this house, and I cook healthy, well balanced meals every day to which my kid turns up her nose and asks for whatever her friends had the other day from ‘the box’. She goes to bed hungry on those nights, because I think it’s ridiculous how kids aren’t taught the value of food and where their energy comes from. Gwyneth is out of touch, but she’s there for her kids at least. They’re not modeling or being sold out. Her true crime is trying to write like she’s good at it.
Not eating a lot of carbs and making real food for your kids is healthy. Not eating any kind of carbs is ridiculous and is NOT healthy, especially for children.
My view is everything in moderation. I make healthy home cooked food most of the time, but once in a while, when my little one wants Mac and cheese or pizza, I will oblige. I think being super strict and structured about food can create more issues for kids in the long run. I hope to model that eating healthy is important, but that it never killed anybody to indulge in a guilty pleasure every now and then.
I guess I need to look at what GP is saying because I agree that people are over-reacting to this. I don’t eat grains, eggs, or dairy because they make me sick. People might assume I don’t eat carbs but that’s not true. I could put my kids on the same diet as me and they would probably be healthier than most of their peers. They would also get plenty of carbs. Potatoes, fruit, vegetables are all carbs. Since I don’t know what GP is really feeding her kids, I can’t judge her choice. I think she’s wack-a-doodle when it comes to foods but simply saying no carbs, no dairy, no egg does not equal unhealthy diet.
Thank you!
I can’t believe everyone is going so crazy over this. There are plenty of carbs you can have without touching grains, and there are no nutrients in grains that you can’t get in fruit, vegetables, and meat.
Thank you,Lucinda. I was just about to point this out.
The best diet is a diverse one not one that bans specific food groups. I can understand making food choices for better health but a diet should always be as diverse as possible especially for children.
People need to stop except if you are allergic or ill, you have to eat of everything, it’s stupid to do otherwise if you’re not. I have friends and members of my family who have very big problems with food but they all think that if you’re fine eat of everything, privation is hard
No cake at parties? How sad. That’s a simple pleasure of life that no child should be deprived of.
I dunno. I could make a great grain free, dairy free cake that would taste great. I made my mom a gluten-free, dairy free, egg free brownie last night she loved. It’s all perspective I think.
Lucinda,
From what site or cookbook do you get your recipes? Elena’s Pantry is great, but I’m interested in your tried and true sources. 🙂 Thanks!
Dinah, http://www.sarahbakesgfree.com/
is great. Her gf flour mix changed my baking.
But what about when your kids’ friends have a birthday? Will your child be the only one that’s not allowed to participate and have the cake, ice cream, etc? I’ve had students that can’t. It’s hard enough for them when it’s because of an allergy. When it’s for no reason other than because mommy thinks having cake a couple times a year is bad, the kid is left feeling like an outcast. Making something taboo is just going to make it more appealing.
@itsa really me
i agree. my mom used to really make us watch what we ate, didn’t have soda, etc. so whenever i got older, i ate anything and everything. i went overboard. finally, at 33, i wanted to be in shape by 35. kids should be able to be kids and do some of the stuff other kids do. a piece of REGULAR cake every once and awhile never hurt anyone. it’s when you make it “bad” and offlimits that people go crazy over it.
so many women have guilt complexes over what they eat. oh, no! i had a brownie, i might as well give up my diet. if i eat bad, oh well, i’ll eat better the next couple days. and that’s it. i don’t feel deprived b/c i’m on a diet and people always comment on how toned I am. it’s the attitude that you have to totally cut something out that makes you crave it. if you let yourself have it in moderation and don’t beat yourself up over it, it’s easier to maintain a lifestyle, instead of always being on and off a diet like so many women I know.
@Dinah, I like Elana’s pantry. Spunky Coconut is good too. I also like Gluten-free Fix. Those sites are all primarily grain free. For just gluten-free, I do use mixes like Pamela’s or Bob’s Red Mill. I also like gluten-free goddess. I also just do random searches too. Oh, and I recently bought Paleo Indulgences from Healthy GF Life. She has some yummy stuff but they really are indulgences. I cook differently for my kids than myself because they are gf but not grain, dairy, or egg free.
Wow, Apple really looks like Chris Martin!
This is not to be rude at all, but in the first pic she looks like she has a bit of a divergent gaze. Wonder if a pediatric ophthalmologist has evaluated her? Or am I seeing things?
Agreed. She appears wall eyed in many photos.
Only Goop could make me agree with Hasselbeck.
+1
Lol +1
I agree with what Hasselbeck is saying but I think there is a difference between
1) being intolerant of certain food groups but still finding alternatives, and;
2) what Goop seems to be doing (and hey, I could be wrong here), avoiding food groups all together and projecting bad habits disguised as good ones
I haven’t been following this story too closely but what is she saying is “off-limits”?
I think making refined carbs off-limits is fine (I wouldn’t do that but it’s her choice) as long as she supplements with healthy grains. As far as no carbs, I think people might be confused: vegetables and fruit have PLENTY of carbs, they are just fiber-rich, unrefined carbs. Fruit also has a ton of unrefined sugar.
I would let my kids have treats like cake and cookies (not all the time though) but I would also want to introduce them to the delicious natural sweetness that can be found in fruit…
I don’t know. I guess I think it’s more cruel to raise your kids on packaged, high-fructose corn syrup-laden food, packed with chemical preservatives and Red Dye #40.
In the end, it’s all about balance.
Yes, yes, yes. Last thread people got off on how chemicals are more dangerous and you can eat great and still get cancer and how food isn’t the problem. However, at the end of the day, what we put in our body fuels us and if we put in crap, we feel icky even without cancer or other disease. I think quality food is essential.
Nutrition is the most important thing. I think it’s okay to have a little junk food but not all the time, not every meal. Too many people who don’t have any idea about nutrition screw around with their diets. Going gluten free is silly unless you have celiac, just eat a healthy diet.
Looking at the side by side, I’d rather look like Hasselbeck than GOOP.
I cut all grains out of my diet two years ago and have never felt better (a host of health issues I’d struggled with for ages just went away), but I can’t imagine trying to force kids to eat that way, especially since so many kids are such picky eaters. Avoiding wheat is one thing, but yeah.
Also, she says “sometimes” her family avoids carbs–it makes it sound like she decides to go on crazy fasts every once in awhile and makes everyone do it with her. My dad is like that–he tries out every new diet fad, but he doesn’t try to make everyone else eat that way with him. Yeah, that’s totally healthy, Goop.
First of all, Goop is not “health-obsessed,” she is SKINNY OBSESSED. Two different things.
If you are eating vegetables and fruits, you are eating carbs. Period. You are getting them from a different place than when you eat wheats, grains, etc. I didn’t get the feeling Goop is eliminating fruits and veggies from her kids diet, just refined/processed carbs from wheats and grains.
Yes, I do think she has an eating disorder (obsessive about her food.) But honestly, she will most likely pass that off to her children no matter what. I know this. I have food issues now and, as much as I hate to say this, I blame my mother. And it wasn’t even THAT restrictive.
When you have a parent with food issues, you pick up on it as a kid regardless. It doesn’t necessarily take THIS drastic of a measure to do it.
I feel bad for her children, but can we at least admit that if they are eating fruits and veggies, she is NOT “depriving” them of CARBS? She is depriving them of wheats and grains and gluten. Two totally different things.
I wholeheartedly agree! We eliminated grains two years ago and never looked back (and our kids eat this way too for the most part). People seem to confuse carbs with grains, but like Brown says above, fruits and veggies are all carbs! If the kids are eating those and I assume they are then they are in no danger of being on a low carb diet.
You may blame your mother but plenty of people come up with their food issues all on their own.
I don’t find her too thin nor does she look emaciated. I think she looks pretty normal for her age. So I guess whatever she is doing eating and cookingwise seems to work. I don’t eat certain carbs like white bread but high in fibre musli or grainy bread from the organic store I like a lot.
But whatever, I am neither one of those people who loves to Poop on Goop nor do I follow everything she is saying. She looks good to me, I like her and if she gives a good performance as Pepper in Iron Man 3 and does not become one of those annoying celbs who are constantly being papped I may even have a look at her cookbook the next time I am browsing the library.
Sorry, this one made me laugh. GOOP is “pretty normal” looking????!!! Definitely not. Her kids actually do look pretty normal – on the thin side, but I think they come by that honestly. but Gwyneth does not have a ‘normal’ body by any stretch of the imagination.
As far as the food….without knowing exactly what she feeds her kids it is hard to judge. I will say, I would rather take advice from someone who looks like they do eat a balanced diet than someone who does not. And perhaps someone in better health (no anemia, vitaimin D deficiencies, etc). Suggesting that they might actually know what they are doing with their diet…. And who doesn’t swap out sugar for agave syrup or Stevia or some other sugar substitute because it is “organic”? But that is just me.
I am certain her BMI is in a perfectly normal healthy range. Most Asian or Italian people look like her, but of course if you compare her to the average Greek or American person she looks anorexic.
I think she looks like she’s at a healthy weight too, Ranunculus.
Sure, she’s thin but she has muscle tone. I think she looks fit.
Ranunculus when did Greek became synonymous to fat? Have you ever been to Greece? Italians and Greeks have the same med type of body so your comment is totally out of context.
Yes I have been to Greece, people are a bit on the heavy side. According to heath studies they are among the top 5 countries along with the US and Australia when it comes to obesity. Italy and Japan are in the 5 lowest. Been to those countries as well, you hardly see an obese person except for those sumo wrestlers in Japan, but they do it for sports.
(ignoring the Elisabeth Hasselbeck portion of this)
It’s a great diet for GP. Honestly, at her age, it’s a great way to keep healthy and thin. But I think children need tons of nourishment while they’re growing and I don’t think eating high quality carbs is a bad thing.
Heck, Goop herself no doubt ate all types of carbs as a kid and look how perfect she turned out, right?
too bad hassleblech didn’t add “goop’s just too stupid to say or write anything clearly or make much sense, common in folks that barely pass high school”.
i bet chris martin lords the fact he went to college over her.
positive note, looks like apple’s eye surgeries are helping.
You don’t have to go to college to be well-written or spoken. Goop’s intelligence (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with a degree. I’ve met college graduates with advanced degrees who were complete idiots.
i agree with you.
I too have changed my health from by grains all of which are genetically modified these days and the gluten are particularly problematic.
A lot of gluten free product are filled with a lot of other crap. No kid is going to suffer from eating fresh whole unprocessed foods.
BTW, more than half the world has relatively little wheat, pasta etc in their diet and their kids are doing fine. In fact, they’re doing better that the US in particular. There are tons of other carbs besides Kraft dinner and texas toast.
I don’t care for GOOP and her statement that her kids were hungry concerns me. That’ not necessary.
I’m with you regarding her statements about that hunger. But, I really think she’s referring to the cravings you get when you eliminate processed carbohydrates and sugar. Sugar is more addictive than cocaine, fact.
Eating a whole foods diet has made such a difference in my life, I hate to see the idea dismissed simply because of Goop.
Getting off processed starches is very difficult. Most of the folks I know, including me who have gotten off crap note reduced hunger, however.
But I agree. Goop’s issues should not get in the way of anyone embracing a whole food diet.
Not being snarky, but as far as I know most cultures in the world have a substantial portion of their diet made up from white or processed starches, whether that is white rice or pasta. Except maybe for diets that are more potato based??
Gwyneth seems like one of those moms that would freak out if her daughter wasn’t skinny and try to put her on a diet and make side comments anytime sg e eats or isn’t being active.
Look, I find Goop insufferable. But, me and my family eat pretty much the way she describes about 90% of the time. My toddler eats full-fat, pastured dairy, but my husband and I do not (give me awful IBS and acne).
We also eat zero grain products (including gluten free grains like rice), and no refined sugar (sometimes, we’ll have a treat sweetened with honey or maple syrup).
We do eat plenty of carbs in the form of fruit and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and other root veggies. And dark chocolate 😉 Add lots of healthy fat from olives, coconut, and grassfed clarified butter, fish and grass fed meat–it’s a very healthy way to eat, we’re all better off for it.
Do we eat cake at birthday parties? Yes. And we eat pizza and pasta out occassionally too. Just, not in the house and not on a regular basis. And when we do, we know we’re paying a price. Sometimes it’s worth it.
Anyway, do a little research, you’ll see it’s not what you think it is.
Finally. Logic, knowledge, and reasoning. Your diet sounds wonderful!! Moderation moderation moderation~have you found the Gluten Free Society & Dr. Peter Osborne yet?
This is how I eat too. I don’t have grains or dairy unless it’s a little butter in cooking, but that’s rare.
The difference between you and I, and Goopy, is health. I take issue with someone who is in poor health at such a young age preaching to the masses about her great diet. If it’s so great, how come she’s constantly doing cleanses and dealing with things like osteoporosis? It’s not hard to reverse that, or anemia or a Vitamin D deficiency. It can’t be done overnight, and I realize health is a journey, but it makes me wonder about her.
Goop is NOT depriving her children, people! Limiting carbs is by no means starving your children~when she says “hungry” they are literally hungry for SUGAR. Because carbs become sugar~ ALL carbs, no matter how the food industry tries to disguise them (“net” carbs, “complex” carbs). The end result~period~is sugar in your bloodstream, and the human body is equipped to deal with AT MOST 90 grams of carbs/day. Thats the top end of carbs, you SHOULD be shooting for no more than 60. If sugar had to pass though the FDA evaluation process like drugs do, it would be a scheduled 1 substance for its addiction potential and lack of ANY nutritional/medical value whatsoever. Seriously, the amount of ignorance about this entire subject is apalling~LEARN about this stuff, before you open your pieholes.
Don’t think so – if she has been limiting their sugar, they are not hungry for sugar. The body knows what it needs if you have a proper relationship with food – I suspect that they just don’t get enough calories, hence the hunger. Healthy eating does not leave one hungry. She needs to stop fearing food or glorifying food. She also just needs to stop talking about it.
Marlene merritt, DOM in Austin TX. You can check out her youtube video titled “Blood Sugar: Stop Fatigue, battle insomnia, lose weight”; Gluten Free Society at their .org website; Dr Joan Ifland who is a nutrition addiction PhD, and her book “Sugars and Flours: How They Make Us Crazy, Sick and Fat” Maybe this one will post; I tried to post direct links earlier but you actually have to type the words in yourself ;). These 3 people are true EXPERTS in this matter, with extensive education and research about and into nutrition.LEARN SOMETHING~than talk about it.
Where did you get those numbers from? I eat carbs in the form of fruits and veg, but I’m sure I go past 100g on most days. I’m pretty lean. I think everyone’s body handles carbs differently and it’s something you have to fiddle with to see what suits you.
I’m sorry but a woman with no medical background who has put herself in the hospital with severe anemia and vitamin D deprivation by her restrictive diets and cleanses is not an authority on how to eat. PERIOD.
I didn’t see your comment, but I’ve written nearly the same thing. Goop looks good, but she is NOT healthy at all.
Agreed. She does look good because she seems to have gotten more fit (more muscle tone over the last few years) but before she looked unhealthy and weak. She has an unhealthy relationship with food. She talks about it so much, it’s just not right.
It is a parent’s responsibility to train their children to eat healthy. I totally agree children should be denied junk food.
Ok, the whole grains are bad for you thing is a first world problem. Humans have been growing and eating grains for millennia now. It’s in the archaeological record going back at least 6000 to 8000 years ago. We were probably eating wild grains before that if we were inspired to start farming them. (read about ancient Mesopotamia) Growing grain crops is what allowed human population to take off. We did adapt to it! If we didn’t, there wouldn’t be 6 billion people right now. The only reason we have so many gluten intolerant people now is that we have many other foods to eat all year round. All different types of people are able to stay alive longer because you will not die if the only available to eat is porridge for 5 months…which did and does happen! In the middle ages in Europe the main diet was porridge. The couldn’t live off fruit/veg and eggs. So this whole not eating carbs thing is a load of baloney manufactured by people who don’t have to worry about starving to death when the crops don’t grow or getting killed in a conflict between warlords. It is a completely modern, first world, concept. I doubt starving people in Africa are very worried about eating too many carbs. End of rant.
Martha, the grains that are being grown these days have been substantially genetically modified from ancient grains.
The glutens are very problematic. I addition, our ancestors always at grains that had been either sprouted or fermented (sour dough).
The Gluten free diet is another American fad diet. There is a lot of misinformation out there about them and people are educating themselves about it through Google.
you’re right. grains have allowed the population to expand, but it’s wrong to say we’ve adapted. we haven’t. diabetes and heart disease are modern diseases–and there’s a very strong possibility that the consumption of refined grains is the culprit. all hail the yam people. way more sustainable than grain and better for people to eat. PS: “africans” don’t eat a whole lot of grain to keep from starving. Depending on the region, they eat cassava or manioc, and yams. Also, teff is a gluten-free grain that is the primary starch in an ethiopian diet (injerra is spongy bread made from fermented teff dough used to scoop vegetable and meat stews).
People in many parts of Africa also eat A LOT of white rice.
Seems kind of doubtful that processed grains are our main health problem since we have been eating that since at least the 50’s in the US. Maybe the fact that now most grains are GMO?
Sorry, but, well, of course it’s a first world problem, because it’s the ‘first world’ that started genetically altering, processing, refining, and enriching its grains beyond belief. What we evolved with is faaar from what we’re getting, so harking back to what ~the ancestors~ ate has no bearing. They likely evolved on spelt, buckwheat, barley, or rye before switching over to wheat and corn; they also transformed their grain into foodstuffs by hand, and natural breakdown processes like sprouting played a solid role.
Meanwhile, the aim of most food being sold today isn’t to provide you with healthy, evolution-relevant nutrients, so much as it is to have a maximised shelf life and to overwhelm your taste buds with sensation (and thus make you a returning customer). In essence, the problem IS in fact that you’re not eating what you evolved eating, because this stuff is so modified, flavour- and preservative-enriched that the body might not recognise it as food — hence the ‘attack foreign invader’ mode known as allergies cropping up… and doing so exponentially.
We eat home-made food, made from scratch. We shop at farmer’s markets. That doesn’t mean we ban grains, dairy or eggs.
Eating more sanely is a great thing. What Goop is recommending is one extreme to the other.
Well, my ancestors managed to survive on several pounds of potatoes per day supplemented with whatever dead animals or animal products or greens they could scrounge and keep away from the English, until the potato crop failed. (Hence I’m here in the USA rather than running through the fields in Ireland.) So humans are adaptable, although that doesn’t mean their diets are optimal. My ancestors were lucky that potatoes have enough Vitamin C that a few pounds per day would be enough to fend off scurvy, or else I might not be here to tell the tale. But there is no minimum daily requirement for potatoes, or for wheat, or for rice, or for dairy or eggs. I’m even allergic to the latter two…
Anyway, since several people have recoiled in horror at the idea of life without ice cream – if you can tolerate any kind of sweetener, you can stuff yourself with it all day long without any hint of egg or dairy. You can make it yourself – almond milk or especially coconut milk are especially tasty. But today there are kazillions of commercial choices beyond the original soy based Tofutti (meh) and Rice Dream (gag). SoDelicious has an aptly named Purely Decadent line based on coconut or soy. There are many others that I just haven’t had a chance to try, but Purely Decadent is wonderfully junky tasting. I also routinely freeze my own concoctions in small individual containers, even just mixing up some protein powder in non-dairy milk or juice. One mistake people make in newly vegan diets is going too low fat long-term, so add some nut or seed or peanut butter to those non-dairy ice creams… The words “low-fat” and “ice cream” don’t really belong together anyway, dairy or non-dairy. Oh, and try mixing ground nuts with nutritional yeast for a Parmesan cheese type topping. I splurged and stocked up on Parma! which is made from ground walnuts, red star nutritional yeast, salt, and love (yes, that’s on the label). Doesn’t try to imitate dairy but has the same uses added to just about anything. There are plenty of frozen meals and add-water-to-a-cup things now if you don’t like to cook. Many are gluten-free although often rice-based. I add a 15oz can of beans to the cups/bowls before microwaving and get three tasty meals out of one package, so they’re not even all that expensive. Just so you know that you don’t have to starve or eat cardboard when eating gluten free and vegan…
There are even really good junky vegan candy bars and caramels and cookies today. Check out a good selection at VeganEssentials online to get an idea. Not cheap but a little goes a long way. It’s easy to make non-wheat, non-dairy cookies, no-egg cookies, by the way. In my more organized days, I just substituted flours and sweeteners and left out eggs and used water instead of milk. Brownies and cakes are easy also if you’re more adventurous.
I’m not vegan or a vegetarian, but I found some vegan caramels on Etsy that sound incredibly delicious. I plan to purchase them at some point to try them out (after my wedding, that is lol).
@ little star: When I lived in Boston years ago I remember an awesome vegetarian restaurant that I used to go to. They made tofu look like spareribs! it was so delicious.
@elceibeno – it seems like vegan and vegetarian food has come a long way since the days of tasteless tofu! 😀
When people talk about genetically modified food, I’m not really sure what they mean by this, or if they even know what they are talking about. Do you mean genetically modified at a DNA level (sorry for my ignorance, but I am not a scientist). Because people have been “genetically modifying” the food we eat for thousands of years. This is done through things like breeding – you can choose the best animals with the best traits and breed them together to create an even better animal – say a cow with more muscle tone etc (I will say I do know about this as I grew up on a cattle/grain farm). People have been creating hybrids of plants for a very long time. None of these things are done in a laboratory or by scientists (sure, nowadays it is getting more “scientific”). Is this genetically modifying food? Because if so, it doesn’t really sound that harmful to me. Completely changing the DNA/cells of something in a laboratory, now that does sound like genetically modified food to me and could have potentially very scary outcomes.
Lol, I know what you mean and I am not a scientist either 😉 so I can only relay what I have read in articles, but yes, nowadays food is often modified (not through selection or hybridization) at a genetic or DNA level to introduce resistance to give immunity to certain pathogens, increase shelf life before spoiling, repel insects, etc.
@Jenny – I know my dad plants a strain of canola that is resistant to herbicide. However, this was going on 15+ years ago, so I’m not really sure if genetically modified food was really around at that time and readily available to plant for crops. It is possible to have crops resistant to herbicide because the herbicide has been formulated to kill all weeds and everything else EXCEPT for the canola. Sometimes I think people scream “genetically modified” way too quickly lol.
Side note, my dad and I have talked about him going into organic farming, and he said that basically it’s even harder to make a living as an organic farmer than it is as a “regular” farmer – he would need 4 times the amount of land that he has now to produce the same amount of crop (land where my parents live in central Alberta, Canada is EXPENSIVE!!!).
Good statement. Unless you grow your own food, most food is genetically modified find it funny when people talk about genetically modified food, they limit it to grains. Even animal products, those animals are probably feed genetically modified food. Still say Gluten free/grain free is another fad people have latched onto because Google says its bad for you.
I think there is a lot of fear out there regarding genetics but not a lot of reason for it. All the foods we eat have been genetically modified by us over time.
Goop is not healthy: she has a vitamin D deficiency,she is anemic, and when she will get older she will have tons of problem because of her food deprivation. The best thing we can say is that she doesn’t pass her food issues to her kids, who looks good btw.
No, is not because we are parents that we can do whatever we want with our children. Educating them, okay your call on how to do it, now nourishment I am sorry,there is something called common sense. This girl looks miserably nourished, carbs and sugar help tp regulate our moods/energy levels. We have been ingesting them for a reason. It’ s not like all carbs and come from highly processed food.
As long as her kids are being fed and taken care of. It’s her choice now does it mean everyone will agree but as long as the kids are healthy..
Oh gosh Did I just defend this chic
I doubt this has as much to do with food as it does with control. Her father died (relatively) young from cancer and the macrobiotic stuff seemed to start after that. I don’t judge that, I’ve been there. She’s also got a husband of highly questionable faithfulness and a career that chews you up and spits you out without remorse. She’s looking for something she can control.
Healthy eating is great, depravation is not. I’d be side eyeing this less if I knew her kids were allowed to join other children in an occasional treat or slice of cake at a party. When other children see that kids aren’t doing this what do they assume? Something is wrong. What’s wrong with you? Now if its diabetes or celiac or allergies that’s a teachable moment. But still the social narrative is “what is wrong with you?”. There is nothing wrong with them but they are being set up to feel like there is.
+ 1
I’m not saying she has an eating disorder, but that’s exactly what drives them. Not the food, the fear of losing control.
Do what you want – fine. But when Goop chooses to put the info out there public and uses it to sell her books or whatever, then people are going to comment.
On the off-chance Goopster has deigned herself to read a gossip magazine article, her royal crustiness is probably wondering, “Who?”
I still love how two years ago all she talked about was her two woodburning pizza ovens, one in her garden, and how she loved to make pizzas for her children and even mentioned once taking her kids for ice-cream. She was still all about health and her cookbook was good, the one regarding her father.
I don’t care either what she does. It’s just that everything seems to be her new fad and she’s the expert (that’s the annoying part really), until she moves on to the next thing or relaxes her views again like after the macrobiotic diet. But I don’t see a reason to push it so strongly on your kids as far as making them feel deprived of something they enjoy once in a while, while still eating the majority of the time her way.
A big part of getting your kids o eat healthily is passing on a healthy attitude to food. Faddy, obsessive eating is as bad as junk fixation in terms of producing a healthy adult diet. Paltrow has said she was told her previous food fads wrecked her health… so why pass on new ones?
My kid gets eczema if he eats citrus. He loves citrus, so we put some in his stocking every year as a treat (“Santa doesn’t know…”), educate him on the issue, and now and then test to see if he’s outgrown it, as he may do given how young he is. We also restrict foods that are bad for him and try to keep it as unprocessed and natural as possible. Even his cakes are made at home. But he eats whatever he likes from that framework, and at parties he eats literally what the hell he wants, though he’s still small enough that we take him and stay. But honestly, the odd junk food taster at a party is IMO less damaging than making a big deal, and turning it into longed-for forbidden fruit.
Nutrition for kids is about attitude, too. Making food into the enemy is a horrible pattern to set them.
My mother never had junk food in the house and was big on healthy food and nutrition. She also insisted that we try everything. We didn’t have to eat it but we had to at least taste it. I’m in my 40’s and I love healthy food and have never had a weight problem. I eat a little cake now and again too.
are they homeschooled?? cause they could be trading their lunches, LOL
She’s stupid. I bet she’s low fat AND low carb, which makes you feel like a pile of logs in a lumber yard.
I don’t think she or kids are unhealthy weights, but let’s remember she has osteoporosis. You are more susceptible to it if you have a thin build or family history, but my mom has always been thin, and even she didn’t get osteopenia (the precursor) until she was in her late 50s. If you’ve got full blown osteoporosis at her age, and you’re working out, it’s probably your diet.
I’m naturally slim and have much denser than average bones for my age, so much so that I always weigh a lot more than doctors peg me as. It’s a myth that slim always = poor bones. However, nobody in my immediate family have osteopenia, so maybe it’s inherited high bone density.
It’s not a myth that a slim build is more susceptible to osteoporosis. Women need to be conscious of their bone health regardless of their build and genetics play a role but many women who control their diet to control their weight are not getting enough calcium. Paltrow is a prime example of someone who does not understand nutrition and her dietary advice is suspect because of it.
They. both.
BUUUGGGGGGGGGG
For everyone saying Goop is unhealthy: no, she isn’t. She WAS until she changed her lifestyle and started learning how to eat healthier. There are no “issues” here other than looking for better health~and as insufferable and smug as she might come across as, SHE IS ON THE RIGHT PATH. This is how we should ALL be eating, this is what genetically and evolutionary our human bodies are designed for.
I have a confession to make.
I LOVE the name “Apple Martin”.
Absolutely LOVE it.
I’m so ashamed.
Maybe Goop named her daughter Apple because she was just really hungry.
It seems like she latches onto the latest food craze or health/diet/exercise fad and feels like she has to educate everyone about it because only she and a select few know anything about it. Also, she constantly contradicts herself. She seems all over the place and she picks up on fads to see if she can make a buck out of it.
People need to calm down about this because there are carbs in foods that she didn’t list. aka fruit… lot of carbs. veggies have carbs too. She’s refering to starchy carbs, and you won’t without die or be underdeveloped without a starchy carb.
AND YES people can have multiple allergies/intolerances. I have celiacs diease, and casein (milk protein) intolerant, and have food allergies to soy, coconut and buckwheast for which I carry an epi pen.
FYI there are things called almond milk and non dairy cheese subs, and plenty of gluten free alternatives that Im sure they have.
Im pretty sure that gwen’s kids and probably better fed that most, who feed there kids ready made fast food without thought. Be more worried for them!
Also “just take a lactaid” wont work for people intolerant to the **protein ** – casein in milk. Lactaid is for people with lactose “milk sugar” intolerance.
Normally I don’t listen to anything Elizabeth Hasselbeck says but I will grudgingly admit that she is right on with this topic.
Let’s ask the woman who wrote Hasselbeck’s book what she thinks.
The problem I have with Gwyneth Paltrow is that she is not obsessed with being healthy she is obsessed with being THIN.And just because she is only 92 pounds doesn’t mean she is a health guru who knows what she’s talking about and should start giving out advice.There is nothing wrong with enjoying the occasional ice cream cone and spaghetti dinner.Enjoying good food is a part of a good life.
I respectfully actually disagree. GP has talked very openly how she started going on extreme “health” diets after her father was striken with cancer. She watched him subcomb to the disease, and since she is the text book “Daddy’s girl” and only daughter, that was likely very rough. She has even talked about that part of her healing/dealing with his slow death was to focus on what she could do to eat more healthily. Thus the strange eating habits such as going macrobiotic, etc.
When I was growing up, I baby-sat a family of 3 kids, and basically raised them until I left for college (this was over 8 years). Their Mother, who I am still close with, used to only keep healthy food in the house. Only brown rice, nothing processed or canned and everything was fresh. I used to HATE having to be there on a Saturday night because I knew I would starve to death unless I brought junk food to eat after putting them to bed. The type of pizza they would eat was on wheat dough, with pesto and veggies topped. This was 20 years ago, in Ohio, and I thought she was crazy for depriving her kids.
Guess what? Those kids have all graduated from college, are super tall and slender, and they have great eating habits. Just looking at their Christmas card every year shows me how beautiful they have grown up to be.
What the hell are you talking about?What does a family you baby sat have to do with Gwyneth Paltrow.She is obsessed with her weight in an unhealthy way and I am sure she is anorexic.What does that family you babysat going to college have to do with her starving herself and hiding it as a lifestyle? And really what is your point,that giving those kids ice cream meant they couldn’t have gone to college??Every part of your post is idiotic.
One of the few times I’ve agreed with Hasselbeotch. You can eat sweet potatoes, bananas, oatmeal, squash, etc, to really ease those carb cravings.
My sister in laws mom use to control and limit what her kids ate and once they were all old enough to eat what they wanted, they all gained 20-30 pounds! I hope those kids are getting enough to eat, so that they arent starving
She also won’t allow them to have real intellectual stimulation or watch any cable channel that isn’t Fox News. I kidding but its probably true, I hate her so much.