In fact, there’s a laundry list of things that aren’t allowed in the kitchen. The two biggest no-nos are sugar and flour (too much can make the body “acidic,” and “that causes disease,” Campbell claimed in the interview.) Also banned: MSG, caffeine, coffee, fungus, and nightshade vegetables, which include tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant (because, according to Campbell, they can cause inflammation). And you thought you were eating clean. Upon reading this news—and imagining life without caffeine and cupcakes—your first instinct might be to pity Brady and Bundchen. (Can somebody get these two to a Dunkin’ Donuts STAT?!) You may also be tempted to poke fun at the diet’s holier-than-thou vibe. And of course you may wonder—in a panic—whether you should be following the Brady-Bundchen eating plan, too. The short answer: There are pros and cons. Let’s start with the cons. Unless you have specific food allergies or intolerances, there’s no science-based reason to eliminate entire food groups, explains Jackie Newgent, RDN, culinary nutritionist and author of The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook. There are other aspects of the diet that lack research backup, too, like that ban on MSG. Scientists have still not discovered definitive evidence to link MSG and health problems, according to the Mayo Clinic. MORE: 6 Celebrities Who Give a Damn About What’s in Their Food Then there’s the elimination of nightshade vegetables, like tomatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers. The ridiculed/revered Gwyneth has also espoused the virtues of eliminating these plants from the diet. But it’s just not based in reality: “The notion that nightshade vegetables are inflammatory is inaccurate,” says Newgent. “In fact, it’s the opposite; they’re disease fighters.” You also shouldn’t worry about sugar altering the acidity of your insides. “A healthy body has an amazing ability to balance pH level in the blood. So the chef’s suggestion about sugar and carbs leading to acidity and disease is not biologically factual,” Newgent explains. That said, the core of the diet is pretty solid: Allotting 80% of your food intake to organic veggies and whole grains is pretty damn healthy, and we’d all do well to take a cue from their plant-based, whole-food plan. “As long they’re conscientious about meeting nutritional needs, the gist of the eating regime seems to be a beneficial approach to good health and longevity,” Newgent says. “It sure beats the typical American diet!” And if we were all paid the big bucks to have bodies like Tom’s and Gisele’s, we’d probably give up sugar and eat organic vegetables 80% of the time, too—at the end of the day, it’s just another part of the job. Tom and Gisele have to eat raw “lasagna” but make gazillions of dollars. Us regular folk have to catch up on voicemail, sit through Meetings That Should Have Been Emails, and hunch over desks in tiny cubicles…but we also get to eat real lasagna every once in a while without major consequence. See? Everybody goes home happy.
