Mariel Hemingway: Healthy Living from the Inside Out
- By Life Extension
- Published 11/25/2008
- Health
Life Extension
Life Extension is "a global authority on health, wellness and nutrition as well as a provider of scientific information on anti-aging therapies. We supply only the highest quality nutritional supplements, including minerals, herbs, hormones and vitamins."
By Kyle Roderick, Life Extension magazine
Tall, svelte, and glowing, Mariel Hemingway moves in a dignified glide with the long strides of a heron.
The Academy Award-nominated actress enters a sunny, Malibu, California café with a wide smile on her face.
Hemingway is beaming with good reason: at 45, her health has never been better, as she’s conquered the mind and body problems that plagued her early years.
In her youth, Hemingway lived in fear of falling prey to what she calls “… the Hemingway legacy of mental illness, addiction, and eating and drinking to excess.”
While Hemingway’s father was an alcoholic, her mother also had alcohol issues and battled cancer throughout Mariel’s youth.
Eating a no-fat, low-protein, and carbohydrate-rich diet that kept her looking thin for the cameras, Hemingway, by her own admission, also drank caffeine like a fiend and exercised obsessively.
“I loved the energy I got from coffee and then I would jump rope for hours in my apartment after working out at the gym,” she recalls.
“Because I didn’t drink alcohol or take drugs, I thought I was the healthiest, cleanest-living person in the world, until I got to the point where I had zero energy, my menstrual periods stopped, and tests revealed that in addition to low thyroid function, I was vitamin-deficient.”
Hemingway had also developed recurrent sinus problems, severe eczema on her hands, and it seemed she was constantly fighting off yet another viral or bacterial infection.
The time was ripe for Hemingway to rediscover how it felt to be healthy and energetic.
The Road Back to Health
Hemingway found her way back to well-being with the help of holistic nutritionists, chiropractors, and other health care professionals. Along with changing her eating habits for the better and taking supplements, Hemingway also was guided in her journey by such books such as The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott, which helped her isolate her unique nutritional needs.
“This protocol has been around since the 1950s and basically says that each body needs a different ratio of fats, proteins, and carbs for all its metabolic functions to work correctly,” Hemingway explains.
“It puts the responsibility on the individual to determine how eating different proportions of these three food groups affects their physical, mental, and emotional functioning,” she explains. “I also learned valuable facts about the connection between insulin resistance, weight issues, and chronic illness by reading Ron Rosedale’s The Rosedale Diet,” she adds. “This book is a must for people who have weight problems or diabetes in their family history.”
While she was on the mend, Hemingway jotted down daily and seasonal notes of how she felt on the caffeine-free, nutrient-dense diet she was now consuming, complete with more fish, healthy fats, and nuts.
Hemingway’s menstrual periods returned, her mood swings disappeared and the quality of her sleep improved. “I noticed that my body felt tired and weak when I ate dairy products,” so I cut them out,” she recalls.
“Yet when I ate lean red meat such as lamb in winter, it gave me the mental and physical energy boost that I needed to function optimally in colder weather.”
Mariel Hemingway’s Supplement Picks
While she cooks organically and eats a diet high in flax seed, whey protein, almond meal, lean protein, and vegetables, Hemingway uses stevia as a sugar substitute and takes a variety of supplements on a daily basis.
For example, Hemingway takes a spectrum of digestive enzymes. “My husband and I take enzymes that have been found in certain studies to disarm harmful and abnormal immune complexes that precipitate autoimmune diseases,” she explains.
In addition to a full arsenal of antioxidant supplements and her beloved green tea, Hemingway is diligent about consuming multivitamins, multiminerals, and brain-specific nutrients such as ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine.
“I’m also big on anti-inflammatory supplements such as omega 3 fatty acids and a special mineral formula to maintain optimal bone density,” she says. “Bone health is very important to me now that I’m over 40.”
Although she’s careful to eat fruits, vegetables, and proteins that confer maximum immune benefits,” Hemingway says, “Regular doses of vitamins A, C, and E, cod liver oil, and shark liver oil help protect me from catching colds and viruses.”
Smart Supplementation
When it comes to nutritional supplements, Hemingway is a firm believer in trial and error. “Just as there is no magic diet for everyone, each individual has to experiment with the supplements that are right for them,” she says. “If an herb or vitamin formula works wonders for someone else, it may not be right for your body.
"As holistic health care professionals will tell you,” she continues, “your supplement intake may vary according to the weather and the circumstances of your lifestyle. Your body requires different support when the seasons change or when you are under extra stress,” Hemingway adds, “Especially during winter-time.”
For example, “My husband [documentary film director and producer Stephen Crisman] takes different supplements from what I take because his body has different needs.” That’s an understatement. While Hemingway is too discreet to provide further details, Crisman triumphed over cancer not once but twice, enduring eight surgeries in the process.
Hemingway helped her husband heal by giving him immune-enhancing supplements such as vitamin C, shark liver oil, high-grade alpha-lipoic acid, milk thistle powder, multivitamin/multimineral formulas, as well as various enzymes.
“While there’s much persuasive evidence-based medical research on vitamin C and immune function,” Hemingway says, “I believe in the power of shark liver oil to positively affect immunity and blood cell counts. Besides containing alkylglycerols (AKGs), which stimulate immune function and protect against uncontrolled cell growth, there are also major antioxidants and antibacterial elements in shark liver oil.”
While Crisman ate a diet of organic foods that Hemingway cooked for him to help speed recovery, he also started meditating and practicing Mariel’s calming and rejuvenating breathing exercises (see sidebar).
“Most people who are into health take anti-oxidant supplements because they understand that pollution, stress, and aging create oxidative stress inside our bodies,” Hemingway says. “Simple breathing exercises can give our cells major benefits, while helping calm heart rate and blood pressure.” Even better, “Breathing exercises are totally free,” Hemingway says with a laugh.
The Importance of Connection
On a spiritual note, Hemingway observes that, “The greatest health supplement of all is love. Without it we are incomplete.” A committed family woman, Hemingway has two daughters with her husband of 23 years.
With the girls well on their way to adulthood, Hemingway’s take on marriage and family is endearingly devoted. “My husband is my greatest teacher, followed by my children,” she claims. “Being a wife to Stephen and mother to my daughters has brought me such a depth of love, vitality, and mystery. Living with them and our caring for each other has blessed my life beyond description.”
Mariel’s Book
Opening a copy of her newest book, Healthy Living from the Inside Out
, Hemingway explains, “Part of the reason why I wrote this book was to share what I have learned about how to self-nurture and stay healthy while working, raising a family, and/or maintaining a network of friendships.
"Twenty-first century life is incredibly complicated,” she says. “My book helps people sort out their priorities and streamline their lifestyles so that they can feel better fast.”
Excerpted from longer article in Life Extension magazine, June 2008 - see the site:
Tall, svelte, and glowing, Mariel Hemingway moves in a dignified glide with the long strides of a heron.
The Academy Award-nominated actress enters a sunny, Malibu, California café with a wide smile on her face.
Hemingway is beaming with good reason: at 45, her health has never been better, as she’s conquered the mind and body problems that plagued her early years.
In her youth, Hemingway lived in fear of falling prey to what she calls “… the Hemingway legacy of mental illness, addiction, and eating and drinking to excess.”
While Hemingway’s father was an alcoholic, her mother also had alcohol issues and battled cancer throughout Mariel’s youth.
Eating a no-fat, low-protein, and carbohydrate-rich diet that kept her looking thin for the cameras, Hemingway, by her own admission, also drank caffeine like a fiend and exercised obsessively.
“I loved the energy I got from coffee and then I would jump rope for hours in my apartment after working out at the gym,” she recalls. “Because I didn’t drink alcohol or take drugs, I thought I was the healthiest, cleanest-living person in the world, until I got to the point where I had zero energy, my menstrual periods stopped, and tests revealed that in addition to low thyroid function, I was vitamin-deficient.”
Hemingway had also developed recurrent sinus problems, severe eczema on her hands, and it seemed she was constantly fighting off yet another viral or bacterial infection.
The time was ripe for Hemingway to rediscover how it felt to be healthy and energetic.
The Road Back to Health
Hemingway found her way back to well-being with the help of holistic nutritionists, chiropractors, and other health care professionals. Along with changing her eating habits for the better and taking supplements, Hemingway also was guided in her journey by such books such as The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott, which helped her isolate her unique nutritional needs.
“This protocol has been around since the 1950s and basically says that each body needs a different ratio of fats, proteins, and carbs for all its metabolic functions to work correctly,” Hemingway explains.
“It puts the responsibility on the individual to determine how eating different proportions of these three food groups affects their physical, mental, and emotional functioning,” she explains. “I also learned valuable facts about the connection between insulin resistance, weight issues, and chronic illness by reading Ron Rosedale’s The Rosedale Diet,” she adds. “This book is a must for people who have weight problems or diabetes in their family history.”
While she was on the mend, Hemingway jotted down daily and seasonal notes of how she felt on the caffeine-free, nutrient-dense diet she was now consuming, complete with more fish, healthy fats, and nuts.
Hemingway’s menstrual periods returned, her mood swings disappeared and the quality of her sleep improved. “I noticed that my body felt tired and weak when I ate dairy products,” so I cut them out,” she recalls.
“Yet when I ate lean red meat such as lamb in winter, it gave me the mental and physical energy boost that I needed to function optimally in colder weather.”
Mariel Hemingway’s Supplement Picks
While she cooks organically and eats a diet high in flax seed, whey protein, almond meal, lean protein, and vegetables, Hemingway uses stevia as a sugar substitute and takes a variety of supplements on a daily basis.For example, Hemingway takes a spectrum of digestive enzymes. “My husband and I take enzymes that have been found in certain studies to disarm harmful and abnormal immune complexes that precipitate autoimmune diseases,” she explains.
In addition to a full arsenal of antioxidant supplements and her beloved green tea, Hemingway is diligent about consuming multivitamins, multiminerals, and brain-specific nutrients such as ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine.
“I’m also big on anti-inflammatory supplements such as omega 3 fatty acids and a special mineral formula to maintain optimal bone density,” she says. “Bone health is very important to me now that I’m over 40.”
Although she’s careful to eat fruits, vegetables, and proteins that confer maximum immune benefits,” Hemingway says, “Regular doses of vitamins A, C, and E, cod liver oil, and shark liver oil help protect me from catching colds and viruses.”
Smart Supplementation
When it comes to nutritional supplements, Hemingway is a firm believer in trial and error. “Just as there is no magic diet for everyone, each individual has to experiment with the supplements that are right for them,” she says. “If an herb or vitamin formula works wonders for someone else, it may not be right for your body.
"As holistic health care professionals will tell you,” she continues, “your supplement intake may vary according to the weather and the circumstances of your lifestyle. Your body requires different support when the seasons change or when you are under extra stress,” Hemingway adds, “Especially during winter-time.”
For example, “My husband [documentary film director and producer Stephen Crisman] takes different supplements from what I take because his body has different needs.” That’s an understatement. While Hemingway is too discreet to provide further details, Crisman triumphed over cancer not once but twice, enduring eight surgeries in the process.
Hemingway helped her husband heal by giving him immune-enhancing supplements such as vitamin C, shark liver oil, high-grade alpha-lipoic acid, milk thistle powder, multivitamin/multimineral formulas, as well as various enzymes.
“While there’s much persuasive evidence-based medical research on vitamin C and immune function,” Hemingway says, “I believe in the power of shark liver oil to positively affect immunity and blood cell counts. Besides containing alkylglycerols (AKGs), which stimulate immune function and protect against uncontrolled cell growth, there are also major antioxidants and antibacterial elements in shark liver oil.”
While Crisman ate a diet of organic foods that Hemingway cooked for him to help speed recovery, he also started meditating and practicing Mariel’s calming and rejuvenating breathing exercises (see sidebar).
“Most people who are into health take anti-oxidant supplements because they understand that pollution, stress, and aging create oxidative stress inside our bodies,” Hemingway says. “Simple breathing exercises can give our cells major benefits, while helping calm heart rate and blood pressure.” Even better, “Breathing exercises are totally free,” Hemingway says with a laugh.
The Importance of Connection
On a spiritual note, Hemingway observes that, “The greatest health supplement of all is love. Without it we are incomplete.” A committed family woman, Hemingway has two daughters with her husband of 23 years.
With the girls well on their way to adulthood, Hemingway’s take on marriage and family is endearingly devoted. “My husband is my greatest teacher, followed by my children,” she claims. “Being a wife to Stephen and mother to my daughters has brought me such a depth of love, vitality, and mystery. Living with them and our caring for each other has blessed my life beyond description.”
Mariel’s Book
Opening a copy of her newest book, Healthy Living from the Inside Out
, Hemingway explains, “Part of the reason why I wrote this book was to share what I have learned about how to self-nurture and stay healthy while working, raising a family, and/or maintaining a network of friendships. "Twenty-first century life is incredibly complicated,” she says. “My book helps people sort out their priorities and streamline their lifestyles so that they can feel better fast.”
Excerpted from longer article in Life Extension magazine, June 2008 - see the site:
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