Is Jessica Alba’s gluten free diet why she’s so fit?
September 10, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
For those who haven’t gotten a hotness update on Jessica Alba recently, here ya go:
35 and thriving with her multi-billion dollar gig, “The Honest Company”, homegirl’s not only managing an organic sundry business, but is also doing it while looking… well… you saw that snap of her. Obviously, I had to know what kinda routine she’s rocking to look better than most chicks who are ten years her junior. So, I thumbed through a Popsugar piece, hoping to uncover the mystery.
And, at first, I found out about the plethora of exercises she does.
(Protip: she’s a no-excuses, no-snooze button sort who’ll forego pillow time for spin class.)
Which, while secondary to dietary habits, is definitely not to be overlooked.
Especially when you’re talking about someone who understands the secret behind the physical side of fitness. To be specific, I mean that the well-being aspect of getting in a quality cardio sesh is primary for her, while the superficial “some kind of beautiful” (esoteric Alba film reference there) that she most definitely is, is more of a fortunate side effect. Operating from that mindset, she does the stuff she loves (like biking, bikram, and swimming) and fits in meditative practices, too, to maintain the kind’ve calm that’s both a man-panty and pound dropper. Why? Because a genuine sense of well being bleeds through your pores, manifesting as non-fake confidence. And confidence is super schmexy.
(Zen’ing out’s an optimal weight loss technique, btw. Check the Qigong article to see why.)
And when we’ve got a good sense of well-being, it’s easier to make healthier food choices.
That’s probably why her list of eats is so clean. That said, when I stumbled upon this one bit – where she mentions avoiding gluten – I wondered, “Okay… but why?” Granted, I don’t eat the stuff myself. But, seeing as I’d never heard she was gluten intolerant or suffering from celiac disease, I wondered if there was some secret weight loss reason for why everyone’s been treating the stuff like it’s Krokodil for the past several years. But, as I took to the Googlemobile, I learned that it’s legit.
People can lose weight from quitting gluten.
You wanna know why?
Because it’s often found in processed foods – that they don’t replace it with other processed foods.
Lemme ‘splain. Sure, you can get porky off those pretzels filled with gluten-y goodness. Or the cookies. Or the chips. But it’s often got nada point nada to do with the gluten. Rather, the massive amounts of sugar, salt, and hyperpalatable seasonings (add honey mustard to anything I eat and I can kick these size 4’s goodbye) also in those foods are the plus sized culprits. The high glycemic indexes raise your blood sugar (so you crave more quickly and store more fat), while the salt bloats you ’til you look like a shipwrecked corpse on an ocean floor. Meanwhile, the fake flavorings carefully and methodically crafted to hijack your taste buds are making you eat even more of the waistline smiting snacks – which is making you store even more fat and making you crave even more, and… the cycle continues.
But you know what’s no better?
The gluten free alternatives to these recreational munchies. In fact, they’re often far worse. They may be minus the gluten, but they’re also high in sodium, sugar, fat, and probably a smattering of novel mystery chemicals designed by kyphotic, evil scientists in some underground lab, meant to turn you into a nom zombie that comes back to buy the family pack from BJ’s as soon as you’ve polished off this one.
Per Fooducate, here’s the diff between Snyder’s satanic gluten pretzels and Glutino’s allegedly angelic ones:
Calories: Regular = 110 vs. Gluten free = 120
Fat: Regular = 0g vs. Gluten free = 3.5g
Sodium: Regular = 250mg vs. Gluten free = 420mg
Christ on a celiac safe cracker, that’s quite the salty difference.
And it’s not limited to those two:
Does this mean the gluten one gets a green light? That it’s suddenly okay?
No and a half. All that means is that (legit gluten intolerance aside) we’re looking at the even eviler version which fronts like it’s the healthier option that’ll make you fitter, slimmer, and overall healthier. And that’s far worse. That’s not even a a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
That’s the gastronomical antichrist in christ’s robes.
And how do forever-hotties like Jessica avoid all’ve that mess?
By namely sticking to a super clean diet.
Sure, sometimes, she errs from her ingestion perfection.
(We all do. Let’s don’t beat ourselves – or anyone else – up for non-habitual snack lapses.)
But, with regard to when she’s looking her best, she says:
“(…)my diet is much more important if I’m trying to slim down. In that case, I usually don’t eat gluten, dairy, fried foods or processed foods. I try to stick to a diet that’s low in sugar and carbs and high in lean protein and vegetables.”
In the end, it’s not gluten that’s to blame. It’s gluten snackfood gluttony that does us in – thanks to everything else that’s in the full fattening package. Because, while many gluten infused foods do a knock up job of raising blood sugar levels so that you store fat or overeat, that’s more an effect of the products themselves than the gluten alone. And, when you look at Alba’s non-laundry list of foods she avoids, you realize, that’s the real reason she stays so fit (in conjunction with the massive amounts of activity she does). Gluten quitters who swap to more whole, plant based, natural foods are losing weight because they’re ingesting fewer calories, less fat, less sugar, and less sodium… while getting higher fiber and water content that helps them stay energized and feel full. So, no. Alba hasn’t just quit gluten. She’s quit the bad somatic influences gluten usually rolls with – while committing to activities she loves. And that may not be what you wanted to hear as you popped open that bag’ve fat slathered, salty kale chips that’re 500 calories a cheesy piece.
But, much like Miss Jess’s super successful company, we keep it honest here.