Alicia Silverstone is just one of many enthusiastic vegans in Hollywood, and she gives her diet full credit for her appearance. But swapping turkey for tofu isn't necessarily the healthiest route for you. "You need to listen to your body," says Frank Lipman, MD, founder of Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center in NYC. "Some people do really well on a vegetarian diet, but some people just aren't meant to be vegetarians. If you're not feeling vital every morning -- your skin should look good, you shouldn't have bloating and fatigue -- then whatever diet you're on is probably not for you."
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Myth: "Juice fasts are the best way to drop pounds."
Beyoncé famously used the Master Cleanse to drop 20 pounds before filming "Dreamgirls." "I lived on water, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup for 14 days," she said. "It was tough; everyone was eating and I was dying." Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts have both professed their love for Organic Avenue juices. But it's important to know that not all juices are created equal. "Juicing is a great way to get nutrients into your body -- but drink green juices," says Lipman. "A lot of the juices are too sugary." Fruit-based juices can actually cause you to gain weight, and Beyoncé's Master Cleanse juice had hardly any nutrients at all -- not exactly a healthy way to lose weight.
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Myth: "I used leeches to detox."
Demi Moore told David Letterman in 2008: "I was in Austria doing a cleanse and part of the treatment was leech therapy. These aren't just swamp leeches though -- we are talking about highly trained medical leeches." She went on to say how fantastic she felt, explaining that the leeches had "cleaned her blood." But if you're looking for a new, effective way to cleanse, this probably isn't it. "It's an old Asian remedy, and it's not really detoxing," says Lipman. "It may work on a small part of the detox system, but you need to support the liver and the gut for a true detox." Lipman advocates the Be Well Cleanse, a combination of supplements and probiotic shakes that also incorporates two small meals a day, and ditching the water parasites.
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Myth: "Eleven or 12 hours of sleep a night will do the trick."
Heather Graham recently told "People" that she needs 11 to 12 hours of sleep every night to look her best. While most doctors agree that a good night's sleep is necessary for your health, there's no "more is always better" rule. "Everyone needs different amounts of sleep," says Lipman. "Some people need six hours, some people need eight hours -- 12 hours is a little much. Usually between six and nine is right." A study conducted by the Sleep, Health, and Society program at the University of Warwick -- which analyzed data on 1.5 million people -- confirmed that both too little and too much sleep can be harmful, and even lead to premature death.
Celebrities appear to have flawless skin and perfect bodies. And although most of them work unbelievably hard to look that way, they often credit the latest miracle serum or supplement instead of 'fessing up to pricey spa treatments and hours logged at the gym.
While we know these A-listers have armies of dermatologists, trainers, and stylists working behind the scenes, we want to believe that it's easy to look as good as they do. (If there were a pill that could give you Scarlett Johansson's skin or Gisele's hair -- no matter how big of a skeptic you are -- wouldn't you take it?)
Which is why we end up dishing out money on celeb-endorsed products or starving ourselves on crazy fad diets -- only to find out that we've been duped by another celebrity beauty lie.
We turned to experts to help dispel some of the myths celebrities have us believing -- from the ones that we know are far-fetched (like detoxing with leeches) to the ones that seem like they could work (juice fasts, anyone?). Read on to see which myths are totally busted.
