The worst celeb health habits

Smoking

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of cigarettes? If it’s cancer, that’s because countless studies show smoking increases your chances of developing the deadly disease. According to Health Canada, every 11 minutes, a Canadian dies from tobacco use. That means more than 37,000 Canadians die as a direct result of cigarettes each year. That doesn’t stop celebs from developing the nasty habit though. Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen, Brit Pop musician Lily Allen, model Kate Moss and socialite Nicki Hilton, among others, have all been spotted lighting up.

Considering maintaining their looks is part of their job, these stars might want to consider butting out.  Besides the bad health effects, smoking also ages you and can make skin wrinkly, saggy and pallid. Not exactly a celeb-worthy look.

Binge drinking

Besides the fact that it can cause alcohol poisoning, binge drinking can also harm your heart.

A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that “repeated exposure to excessive amounts of alcohol might prevent the myocardium from full recovery and lead to alcoholic cardiomyopathy by triggering chronic inflammation.” In other words, binge drinking can lead to heart failure.

Still, some celebs, including Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson, are known for their drinking binges (and DUIs).

Fad diets

To prepare for her role as Deena Jones in the 2006 film, Dreamgirls, Beyonce used the Master Cleanse diet. Basically, that means she lived on water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days-not exactly a nutritional combo. In just two weeks, she lost a reported 20 pounds-not really surprising, considering she didn’t eat any food.

On her website, Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow talks about her “go-to” cleanse, which involves 21 days of shakes and supplements. “Next week, when it’s back to the grind with work and the daily school run, I’m starting off with ‘Clean’, my go-to cleanse from Dr. Alejandro Junger, with whom goop has partnered for the month of January,” Paltrow wrote.  “I’ve used Clean in the past with great results, losing a few pounds and kickstarting a healthier and more energetic New Year.”

Really? Because 21 days of only shakes and supplements doesn’t sound like a healthy start to a New Year, it sounds like deprivation.

Not getting enough rest

We may think celebs have it easy, but judging by the number of them who’ve been hospitalized for exhaustion, it looks like we might be wrong. After her breakup with Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore was hospitalized for that very reason. She was just the latest in a long line of celebs, including Lindsay Lohan, Selena Gomez and Dave Chapelle, who’ve had prescribed hospital stays for fatigue.

Working out too hard

To shed baby weight, Kate Hudson dedicated hours to exercise. “I devoted six hours a day to a vigorous workout regime,” she told Star magazine. “I would do 45 or 55 minutes of cardio then an hour of Pilates or yoga, three times a day.”

For her roll as a ballet dancer in Black Swan, Mila Kunis told MTV she had to dance 5 hours a day, every day (the only exception being her birthday) with her ballet instructor, Alexandra Blacker.

“I went in there, started working with her for seven days a week, five hours a day and was put on a 1,200-calorie diet for a total of five or six months,” she said.  “She never gave me a break. She was 20 and she kicked my ass.”

While exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, moderation is key-and spending five or six hours working out definitely isn’t moderate, especially when combined with a low-calorie diet.

Related:
• How to lose baby weight like a celebrity
• The shocking secrets behind celebrity fitness
• 5 Hollywood skin secrets