ArhnnaDaily Star

ArhnnaDaily Star
~
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StarNet
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IT'S Ii.
~
The starsof CBS'sThe Big Bang
Theory get advice you can use,too.
Start Getting
Healthier
RightNow!
by Dr.MarkLiponis
Get a fresh start
everythingftom
.
in 2010! Our PARADE month of makeovers will helpyou with
finances
tofamily.
This week, we kick things off with your health.
To inspire you, Kaley CuocoaT{liJohnny Galecki, stars of the hit CBS sitcom "The
Big Bang Theory, "joined PARADE
ContrilJuting
Editor Dr. Mark Liponis
for a three-day stay at Canyon Ranch Health Resort, where he is the medical
director. They were game for some healthy changes. Are you?
ALEY AND JOHNNY ARE
both young and healthy, but
they wanted to look and feel
even better. So on a brief hiatus
recendy from shooting their TV
show, they visited me in Lenox,
Mass. Over a
period of three days, we ran
tests to check everything
from cholesterol to bone
density to blood sugar,
then gave them advice
on health, nutrition,
and fitness. Through it
all, Kaley and Johnny were
great sports. They agreed
to share their experiences so that others could
also through the lessons they
learned from their parents.
Many factors affect your
physical condition, and family background is one
of them.
.HANDLE STRESSBETTER
Kaley, 24, grew up in a tight-knit family that valued healthy eating and exercise. When stressed,
she's likely to get active-playing with her dogs
. -.
.,. .or riding one of the horses she's
had since childhood.
Small
. when he's stressed, Johnny
changes
tends to reach for a cigacanmake
rette or an unhealthy snack.
To help him learn better ways to
a big
cope,
we
hooked
a biofeedback monitor,
differencewhich works muchh\mlikeup toa lie-detector
test. "Sen-
sors measure a person's physical reaction to stress,
and the results appear on a computer screen in real
time," explains my colleague Dr. Jeff Rossman.
COVER AND INSIDE PHOTO BY MATTHIAS CLAMER FOR PARADE; HAIR BY STEPHEN
ARTISTS, AND STYUNG BY MINDY SAAD/CELESTINE;
COVER WARDROBE: CUOCO'S
BY ALEXIS BITTAR; GALECKI'S
. I like to immerse myself in my work, but I needl
balance in my life."
Johnny, 34, grew up in a
blue-collar neighborhood
outside Chicago. At 15,
he left home and headed
to L.A. on his own. Now
benefit from what they
learned, too.
As actors living in
Hollywood, Kaley and
Johnny have pretty similar lifestyles these days. But their childhoods were
very different, and their backgrounds continue to
shape their health-not just through genetics but
EARRINGS
"Johnny's testing showed a strong
physiologic response to stress, but he
was able to control it using some simple
breathing and visualization exercises."Johnny say
the experience helped him realize that "it's im
portant to take time for myself and decompress.1
SHIRT BY TOMMY
HILFIGERAND
DENI~
.SAVEVOURJOINTS
Kaley is in excellent physical shape, but her posture is her Achilles' heel. "It's true," she says. "I
told the doctors that my back hurts when I slouch)]
and they said, 'No, your back hurts becauseyou
slouch!'" To help her with the problem, physical'
therapist and physiologist Reba Schecter analyzed
Kaley's carriage and movement.
"Kaley often has pain in her neck and hips,
which could be improved by being more mindful
of her posture and doing some simple exercises,"
Schecter says. Additionally, her ankles are rotated
slighdy inward-a skeletal problem she's had since
childhood-which can be corrected with custom
I
inserts (orthotics) in her shoes. We were happy to
catch this now, because ifleft uncorrected it could
cause serious joint problems later in life.
RAMSEY/ARTISTS BY TIMOTHY PRIANO, MAKEUP BY NICK BAROSElEXCLUSIVE
DRESS BY CATHERINE MALANDRINO,
BRACELET BY RJ GRAZIANO, AND
BY SEVEN 7 JEANS;
COVER BACKGROUND
BY KULYKlSPLlGETTY
PAGE
4.
JANUARY
3,
2010
. PARADE
Schecter helped the actress get comfortable with
the feeling of good posture-shoulders back, head
up, chin in, and spine straight. "Kaley learned how
to take the strain out of her neck by shifting her
V>
.Z posture," Schecter says."She really got the hang of
«w
~~ it and felt better almost immediately." Kaley agrees.
>!dj "Standing straight helps me look taller and more
.I.>
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'-V> confident," she says. "That's really cool."
>->DaJ
g
~ .GETTHE
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~~
RIGHI NUTRIENTS
~§
Both Kaley and Johnny have struggled with food
in the past, so they met with nutritionist Chrissy
Wellington to assess their eating habits. Before she
~
~
~
~ began working with her own nutritionist several
~g years
~ pIing
ago, Kaley felt like she was constantly grap-
he has breakfast
every mornmg.
Eating right after
you wake up kickstarts your energy
and metabolism
and sets a healthy
tone for the rest of
the day.
Kaley's
and
Johnny's
blood
tests looked good
overall, though
Kaley has an elevated level of a
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with her weight, despite being hungry all
~ ~ the time. She now "grazes" throughout the day to
~
avoid feeling hungry and makes notes about what
hereditary form
of "very bad" cholesterol known
:
~ ~ she eats to stay in control. "It's an everyday batde
as lipoprotein(a),
which diet and
"
~
~
~. for
me," she says. "I need guidelines."
~ r; Johnny has been through several crash diets to
~.~ slim down for roles, and we saw the effects in his
~
~ ~ bone-density
scores, which were slightly lower
than normal. (Smoking also decreases bone den~ ~ 'sity.) These days, Johnny is eating much better. He
3 ~ has become a vegetarian for the most part, though
3
~
~
~ he still eats fish. And he has made other sacrifices,
~.
t~o(). "I s,!QPpeddrinking soda about six weeks ago,"
~ ~ he says. "I wanted to make a new health change,
~ ~
so that's what I picked." Wellington applauded
~ ~ him for that but encouraged him to make sure
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Howdo you compare?
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.
Health Measurement
Kaley Johnny.'. .Desired
Body-mass index (BM!)
19;9
Bodyfat
22.4% ~ 25.1%
lessthan25
lessthan25%
Bone density
Cholesterol
92%
182
62
88%
203
63
100%
lessthan200
Over50
97
119
lessthan100
12
119'
32.4
5.6%
90/60
6
lessthan 10
118
lessthan 150
13.4
32-100
5.6% lessthan.6%
110/70 Below130/80
HDl ("good") cholesterol
LDl("bad") cholesterol
lp(a) ("very bad") cholesterol
Triglycerides
VitaminD
Blood sugar (A1c level)
Blood Pressure
the addition of a B vitamin can help control. Surprisingly for a guy who lives in sunny Southern
California, Johnny is severely deficient in vitamin
D. We ~commended that he get out of the studio
and into the sun more often, and that he take a
vitamin- D3 supplement daily.Actually, that's good
advice for many people.
.PLAN A HEALTHY
NEWYEAR
At the end of our long weekend together, Kaley,
Johnny, and I reviewed their health plans for the
a look at yourselfin a
full..lengthrnirror.Good
Get a complete checkup.Ask posture balancesthe
headdirectlyabovethe
yourdoctorto helpyoufill in the
neckanda sttaightspine.
abovechart.KnowingyournumTrystandingagainsta
berstellsyouthe areasin which
wall-the backof your
youneedto Improve.
headshouldbe about
De-stress. Try10 minutesof median inchaway.andyourshoulder Takeyourvitamins.UkeJohnn~
tationoryoga.Simplestretches
can bladesandbuttocksshouldtouch manyof usaredeficientinvitamin
loosentensemusclesin the neck, thewall.
Dandneeda D3supplement.
Talk
back,Clnd
legs.Orblowoffsteamby Eat breakfast. Startthedayright withyourdoctor.
exercising,
dancing-evenrelaxing withfruit,awhole-gr(\lin,
high-fiber Stay fit. Make exercisea part of
ina hotbath.
cereal,andasourceofproteinsuch yourroutine.Just30to 40 minutes
Stand up straight. If you'rea . assoymilk,eggs,
oraprotein-pow-of physicalactivitya daywill help
sloucherlikeKale~startbytaking dersmoothie.
youstayfit for life.
Smallsteps can makea bigdifference inyourhealth.
--~-
~_Range
.
24.4
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Your
~c:.Q~~
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coming year. Kaley's main goals are to improve her
posture and lower her levelsoflipoprotein(a). She'll
continue to exercise and watch what she eats.
Johnny, who's been hooked on cigarettes for 20
years, needs to quit smoking. His lungs already
show mild but significant damage. "Mter talking
to the doctors and undergoing lung-capacity tests,
it became clear to me that I smoke too much,"
he says. "That's one of the things I was worried
about. But I've been cutting way, way down, and
hopefully I'll continue to wean myself off cigarettes
until I'm smoke-free. It's definitely time." Johnny
is also a terrible snorer and likely has a condition
called sleep apnea, which means he stops breathing periodically throughout the night. He could
probably benefit from a complete sleep study. But
for now he's planning to practice meditation and
exercise more. "I need to look at how to best sustain a healthy lifestyle
over a long period of
time," he says.
Mter their check-
W:1h:h CBS'sTtw
Earty Show on
Mondny, 7-9 a.m., for
ups, Kaley and Johnny
had a lot of informa-
from Dr. Liponis
mOreheam,ildvicf.'
tion to process, but
they felt relieved and inspired to make healthier
choices in the future. Empower yourself to do the
same. Start by talking with your doctor about any
concerns you may have, and then determine what
you need to work on going forward. Make 2010
your healthiest, happiest year yet.
!III