Jordin Sparks drops weight, gets a milk mustache

 

Jordin Sparks, the 19-year-old who shot to fame on American Idol, is the latest celebrity to grace the Body By Milk "Got Milk?'' ad campaign.

And to judge from the ad, she has slimmed down considerably from her "Idol'' days. (she's shown here in March 2007)

But though she talks about milk's nutrition, she doesn't credit it with any special weight loss powers.

"I know that I am in charge of what I eat and drink and my choices affect how I look and feel," she says in a press release. "I skip the sugary beverages and reach for milk instead. Milk is full of important nutrients and is something I feel good about putting into my body. I encourage all teens to help make a difference in the world and Drink Milk for a Change."

(That last line refers to the link between the milk campaign and the VH-1 Save the Music effort.)

So, how did Jordin lose the weight? In July, she told TV's Insider that it was being the opening act for the Jonas' Brothers dance-intensive tour that did it.

"I'm literally drenched every night when I get off the set because the stage for this world tour I'm on is so massive. I'm constantly moving," she said then.

"I do have my trainer out on tour with me this time around. He just got here last week, and it's been a lot of fun. Any time I find time - or I'm not sleeping - he's like, 'Let's work out, let's do something.' I'm like 'nooo,' but he gets my butt up and I've got to do it. It's fun to do that."

 (Photos: Body By Milk, Fox-TV)

Sheryl Crow on Botox, cancer and high fiber

We've always enjoyed Sheryl Crow's music, and now we like her attitude about Botox, too.

Here's what she says in the current issue of Health magazine:

“When you shoot your face with Botox and stuff, you rob yourself of your ability to have youthful expressions, and that’s why sometimes people look a lot older.''

Crow, 47, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, says she's "sort of out of the danger zone, so I don’t think about it as much.''

But like so many cancer survivors, she can never entirely escape the worry:

"Recently I had to have my uterus looked at, and that was terrifying. It was like: Oh my God, what if it’s spread? So it’s definitely part of my life now,'' she told the magazine.

Also part of her life: a healthy, high fiber diet (she's a Fiber One fan) with lots of salmon and other fish, colorful veggies and tomato products for the lycopene.

But clearly, she tries not to obsess about diet, cancer -- or looks.

"I also have never spent a lot of time in front of the mirror,'' she says. "So as far as I know, I look like I’m 24, which is how I feel.”

Now there's a tip worth trying.

Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor

AP photo of Sheryl Crow performing at a benefit Sept. 12 in West Vancouver, B.C. 

The Obamas dish on their own health reforms

Whatever you think of the health care reform debate, it's hard not to agree that President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are themselves glowing testaments to the virtues of healthy habits (notwithstanding his very quiet fondness for cigarettes). So it's not surprising that he will grace the cover of Men's Health magazine for the second time, and she is being featured in Women's Health magazine. Both interviews appear in the October issues of the magazines. Here's a sneak peek at a few highlights:

President Obama is upbeat in the interview about the quality of American health care, but repeats his assertion that it needs to be more widely available:  "That’s part of the push behind health care reform—how can we make sure that all of us have the options of living healthier lives, which in turn will save us all money in the long term?”

As for his own habits, Obama says his first health reform in the White House was having a bowl of apples placed in the Oval Office. He still is working out 6 days a week, but concedes it's more for mental than physical health: "The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress.”

His hint for managing a massive workload: “[I] carve out time to think, which is probably the most important time for somebody who’s trying to shift an organization, or in this case, the country.”

As for Michelle Obama, Women's Health is indeed featuring the workout her trainer gave her to help sculpt those amazing arms. What may be more helpful to most of us, however, is what she says about raising her daughters to appreciate health and fitness, the lessons she learned from her own parents, and how she handles her biggest food temptation:

 “I do love a good burger and fries. French fries are my favorite food in the whole world. If I could, I’d eat them at every meal—but I can’t. My whole thing is moderation. If I make good, healthy choices most of the time, then having what I love every once in a while won’t hurt. I have to exercise and eat in a balanced way. If I start ignoring both, I will put on weight. I am fortunate in that I’m five-eleven, so it takes a while for the weight to be seen, but it’ll come! It’s just distributed more. If I didn’t exercise and eat right I would be heavier, and I have been.” 

And if you think your family is too busy to have dinner together, don't tell the Obamas. The first lady says it's a rare evening when the four of them aren't sitting down together for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor  

[AP photo of the Obamas and daughter Malia on Sunday]

Cindy McCain, I feel your pain

I was so sorry to hear about Cindy McCain's struggle with migraine headaches. I've had them for years, almost daily, and know how awful it is to have to "be on" for the TV cameras despite intense pain. How she must have suffered on the campaign trail. Change is a migraine sufferers' worst enemy. Yet she always looked elegant, poised and present. Not easy for most of us on a good day and even more remarkable when it's done on a world stage and you're trying to help your husband get elected president.

In my former life as a TV medical reporter there were many days when I had to appear in a newscast, cover stories, write on deadline and just generally be nice when my head was pounding. Today has been one of those head pounding days. None of my usual prescription medication has helped, so I stayed on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, freezing, waiting for the pain to subside. Migraines make me cold. They make me nauseous. They make me sensitive to bright light. Activity makes them worse. I am unable to concentrate, engage in conversation, keep my busy work schedule. The medication makes me sleepy, makes my body ache. But as I write this, the headache is finally fading. After a day on the couch, I need a rest. Pain is exhausting. 

 Irene Maher, Staff Health Writer

Cindy McCain on the torture of migraines

If you ever wondered why Cindy McCain often looked strained on the campaign trail, she might have been suffering from a migraine headache. The wife of former presidential candidate John McCain tells People Magazine all about it in the current issue, saying she tried to explain the pain to her husband by comparing it with what he endured as a POW during the Vietnam war.

"Torture," she says in People. "Being tied to a chair for four days. I can't imagine how unbearable that pain must have been, but yeah, I can, because a migraine may come close."

Mrs. McCain said she tried to downplay her own suffering, frequently donning dark glasses to avoid the bright camera lights that can trigger migraines. The condition also caused her to lose weight, which must have made all the speculation about her slender physique even tougher to bear. She tells the magazine she has regained some weight.

Saying she's speaking out now to raise awareness about migraines, Mrs. McCain will be the keynote speaker Thursday in Philadelphia at the International Headache Society congress, hosted by the American Headache Society. She is expected to call for more research dollars to be spent on this sometimes mysterious condition. She'll also urge the doctors there to work more closely with suffering patients, and she'll advocate for a public awareness campaign.

  “Migraine is a real disease,” she says in a news release from the headache society. “I am one of the lucky ones who have been diagnosed but still I struggle with the pain and tremendous debilitation of this disease.  So many people never get diagnosed or receive effective treatment.”

Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor

[Photo: Associated Press, 2008]
 

Madonna's amazing arms

We've been hearing so much lately about Michelle Obama's well-toned arms, we'd almost forgotten about Madonna, who has really taken this arm thing to a whole new level.

A photo of the 50-year-old star leaving a London restaurant with her boyfriend recently has those who care all abuzz about how she achieved this extraordinarily sinewy look. You'll have to go to the link to see that one; We're showing her here at a recent European concert, for a slightly less emaciated, but no less muscular, angle.

"The star credits her personal fitness trainer Tracy Anderson, whom she shares with actress friend Gwyneth Paltrow, for getting her into shape,'' reports London's Telegraph newspaper.

"Miss Anderson says Madonna is her hardest-working pupil and dismisses criticism that she has taken the exercise regime too far, and looks unfeminine as a result.

" 'Madonna is an athlete. That's what I try to hammer into people's heads, people who criticise her for training two hours, six days a week. She's just like a baseball player or a soccer player. I don't have to scream at her because she's so motivated. She organises her time so she can train – she makes an appointment to do it and she keeps it, but two hours is the most she ever exercises in a day. Madonna will never look her age. She doesn't even look half her age – she looks 19.' '' Anderson told the Telegraph.

We think she's starting to look like one of those freeze-dried specimens in the "Bodies'' exhibit at MOSI, but if you saw our triceps you could fairly say that's jealousy talking.

Madonna's arms
What do you think of Madonna's arms?
Wow! What's her secret?
Scary! Keep her away from the gym!
Poor thing. Someone get her a bowl of rice!
Who's that girl?

[AP photo]