KEY POINTS:
Jennifer Lopez sniffs grapefruit oil, Cindy Crawford sips vinegar, Sharon Stone stockpiles the humble prune and Owen Wilson never misses his daily double dose of asparagus and parsley.
The diet secrets of America's A-list celebrities have been winkled out of their doctors, nutritionists and trainers and put under the microscope by two authors.
In The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets, published last month, Cindy Pearlman and Kym Douglas expose the absurd lengths the stars go to maintain their sylph-like figures - and reveal the secrets that might be worth the rest of us giving a try.
"The truth is that diets don't work," says Pearlman, who writes for the New York Times and has co-authored books with a slew of big names, including Martha Stewart and Olivia Newton-John.
"We interviewed A-list stars and their trainers and nutritionists because celebs have no choice but to stay in shape - it's their job. We wanted to find the supermodels who eat real food, and not just a diet of cigarettes and Diet Coke."
Pearlman and Douglas admit that in the course of their research they picked up dieting tips that they have since incorporated into their own lifestyles.
"I'll never forget the day a Hollywood diet guru revealed that my habit of eating a large bag of popcorn every time I went to the cinema was equivalent, calorie-wise, to eating several Big Macs," says Douglas, who now takes her own air-popped corn to the cinema.
"I've also adopted a tip from Richard Giorla, nutritionist for Carmen Electra and Jennifer Lopez, to carry around a vial of grapefruit oil,' she says.
"He says that the oil lets out an aroma that affects your liver enzymes, which activates the nerves that cause fats to be broken down and burnt off. We spoke to doctors who backed that up but, from my point of view, I can only say that it noticeably and definitely reduces my appetite."
Pearlman has picked up a few diet tricks of her own from the stars. "Asparagus, parsley and dried prunes are a staple in many celebrities' cupboards - and now my own - because of their ability to repress hunger and reduce bloating. I've also started following the lead of Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford by taking a few sips of vinegar before going to dinner because the vinegar kills your hunger pangs. I have to admit the kilos have dropped off me since I picked up these tips."
Klum also claims putting Epsom Salts in her bath water helps reduce bloating.
John Cusack, meanwhile, stays away from everything white, including flour, sugar and wheat and, more conventionally perhaps, Oprah Winfrey swears by Wulong Slimming Tea for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
Some of the tales in Pearlman and Douglas's book detail bizarre behaviour by celebrities seemingly driven to near-distraction by their diets.
"I can't name her, but there is a young starlet who goes into Jerry's Deli in Beverly Hills every week and orders their famous three-storey chocolate cake," says Pearlman. "She looks at it for half an hour, then she drinks some water and leaves."
Leslie Maltz, fitness trainer to Uma Thurman, admits exhibiting some curious behaviour of her own in restaurants.
"When the waiter puts bread on the table, I immediately - and without hesitation or thought - dump my entire glass of water on it,' she says.
"But even I have my limits. The most outlandish diet I discovered one of my celebrity clients following required her to drink a mixture of chilli pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup all day long for two weeks. I persuaded her to abandon that diet immediately; it made me ill just to think of it."
Jackie Keller, a nutritionist who counts Angelina Jolie and Susan Sarandon among her clients, abhors such behaviour.
"I try to educate my clients to make food their friend,' she says.
"Most of us think of food as an enemy that makes us fat. Successful dieters change that mindset and befriend favourable foods."
- Observer
