Nine time Grammy award winner Sheryl Crowe graces the cover of Health magazine’s October 2009 issue. Readers were invited to ask intimate questions about the 47-year-old singer, performer, cancer-survivor and new mother. Writer Jancee Dunn reveals how this “wildflower” is no shrinking violet; She talks openly about managing her remission from cancer, what she learned from Michael Jackson about fame, how she knew she was ready to adopt on her own, and offers tips for staying young.
When Sheryl was first diagnosed, she met with a nutritionist specializing in disease prevention and wellbeing, and still incorporates the tips she learned:
- Omega-3 “I eat salmon or other fish at least three times a week. I eat a lot of walnuts, almonds, colorful vegetables.”
- Antioxidants “I drink pomegranate juice and keep a vat of tomato soup around or some kind of tomato sauce, because it has lycopene, and prunes, which get such a bad rap but are loaded with antioxidants.”
- Fiber “One big thing I learned was that so much of wellness depends on your body getting rid of waste. So I eat a lot of Fiber One, which has 14 grams of fiber per serving.
For Crowe, getting cancer “was a really personal blow, because I was newly out of a relationship and that made it more difficult to even fathom that I could be diagnosed with cancer. And this great friend told me one of the gateways to awakening is to allow yourself to experience your emotions. As Westerners, we’ve gotten adept at suppressing them. It’s always ‘Try not to think about it’ or ‘Keep yourself busy.’ You push all that stuff down, and it manifests itself in other ways—whether it’s stress or disease. So my attitude was to grieve when I felt like grieving, be afraid when I felt like being afraid, and be angry when I felt ike being angry. It also helped me to learn to say no to people. That’s been really liberating.”
When Minnesota reader Joan Steffend asked if there was one piece of wisdom Sheryl would like to make sure her son Wyatt, age two, has in his heart and could carry into the world, Crowe responded, “Respect is huge—respect for the planet and honoring and loving this organism that sustains all of us. And try to make every decision out of compassion, which encompasses how you treat the planet and every person.” Crowe goes on to explain how she “let go of this picture I’d always painted about my life, about how it was going to be set up with a husband, a house, and all that. At the time I was considering adopting, everything else had sort of not worked. When you let go of the story you tell, a lot of times it creates a whole world of expansion for other things to come in.”
Sheryl Crowe was a backup singer on tour with Michael Jackson in the late 1980s. She recalls her 18 months touring with him: “I learned so much from watching him, about professionalism, about uniqueness, about artistry—things that set him apart from the rest of us. And it was a gift that I got to be witness to his greatness. I got to see some of the crazier stuff, too—the fans, the kind of undoing of his identity and the re-doing of his identity, and how lonesome that must have felt.”
As a new mom and busy performer, Sheryl takes good care of her health and is truly an athlete. “I try to do something every day that’s sports-related, and I like to be outside,” she shares. ”I love riding my bike, and playing tennis, and paddle surfing. I don’t love going to the gym, but I’ll do it if it’s rainy.”
Sheryl’s tips for looking (and staying!) young:
- I try to purge myself of stress.
- I definitely am embracing aging. 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.
- I also have never spent a lot of time in front of the mirror. So as far as I know, I look like I’m 24, which is how I feel.
For more info: In October 2009, Sheryl will release a deluxe two-disc edition of her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, stuffed with goodies like a bonus DVD, rarities, and B-sides.
ABC’s General Hospital stars record children’s books (gallery) Kelly Monaco, Rebecca Herbst and other cast members from ABC’s General Hospital taped a reading for a children’s book for Speakaboos on…Keep Reading » Meryl Streep’s own recipe for roast chicken in Glamour Glamour’s September issue (on newsstands now) has a fun food piece with the women from the new movie Julie & Julia. Meryl Streep wrote a…Keep Reading »
Parenting 101: Baby safety tips for newborn, crawling, and walking babies Having a baby in the house changes everything. Lurking next to those seemingly innocuous blinds on the windows are cords which can strangle with…Keep Reading » Treasured moments: Fresh perspective on family photos Within a family, our tenderest moments with our children happen quite naturally; While laying on the floor playing a game, building blocks, or reading… Keep Reading »
