What can we learn from Marilyn Monroe?

A lot apparently.

Marilyn Monroe was considered to be one of the most beautiful women of her time.

But, we’re not talking beauty tips.

(Well, to be honest, much of what I’m about to discuss is largely responsible for her incredible beauty.)

More specifically, we’re going to talk about Marilyn’s diet, which she herself called “absolutely bizarre”.

But, the reality is, it wasn’t that bizarre at all.

In fact, while she probably never considered it a “thyroid diet”, it’s quite thyroid-supportive in many respects.

Yet, what might leave you scratching your head is what Marilyn Monroe ate to lose weight.

Some might call it unconventional, but it’s based on the same principles that we use to help our clients lose weight.

More on that in minute.

First, let’s dive in and take a closer look at what Marilyn Monroe’s diet primarily consisted of.

(Please note that this is Marilyn’s Monroe’s diet as she detailed it in the September 1952 edition of Pageant magazine.)

Marilyn Monroe Ate Lots of Eggs and Dairy

marilyn monroe breakfast

Believe it not, Marilyn’s breakfast consisted of a cup of warm milk with two raw eggs stirred in.

With so much dietary misinformation out there, many would probably consider this breakfast to be quite bizarre.

Yet, that’s not the case at all.

  1. It’s fairly balanced with adequate carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, all of which are necessary to support thyroid function.
  2. It’s extremely nutrient dense, containing good amounts of many essential vitamins and minerals required to support proper thyroid health.
  3. It’s rich in calcium (and milk lactose improves calcium absorption.)
  4. It contains healthy cholesterol needed to support thyroid-protective hormone production.
  5. It’s very metabolically stimulating.

(NOTE: Don’t tolerate dairy? See how we help our clients overcome their dairy intolerance in this post on How to Overcome Dairy Intolerance Once and For All.)

Unfortunately, the anti-dairy movement has done a fairly good job of scaring many away from the benefits of dairy.

Due to hypothyroidism, gluten-intolerance, and generally poor diets, your digestive tract can become inflamed, impairing your ability to produce the necessary enzymes to digest dairy.

However, studies show that even in coeliac patients, lactase enzyme production and lactose digestion often returns to normal.

Regression of lactose malabsorption in coeliac patients after receiving a gluten-free diet.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17917999

“CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that a large proportion of CD patients experience a regression of lactose malabsorption after receiving a gluten-free diet. This may be related to normalization of the brush border with an improvement of lactase enzyme activity.”

Plus, dairy is a good source of calcium, which helps to lower the inflammation too.

So far, so good.

Marilyn Monroe Also Ate Lots Ice Cream

marilyn monroe ice cream

We do know one thing that’s certain, Marilyn Monroe was quite fond of fudge sundaes…

…And that’s just fine.

Ice cream can be beneficial for many reasons, and it’s something we often use with our clients.

Again, it’s fairly balanced with adequate carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, which is necessary to support thyroid function.

We use ice cream therapeutically because it does contain a higher percentage of fat.

This increased fat helps to slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates/sugars.

Ever felt tired in the afternoon sometime after lunch, or had trouble sleeping at night?

Both are commonly caused by a drop in blood sugar.

Using Ice cream properly can help in both circumstances.

Maintaining blood sugar levels throughout the day is also important for reducing stress responses commonly associated with the hypothyroid condition.

But, it’s important to use real ice cream that doesn’t contain gums, carrageenan, or other thyroid-suppressive ingredients.

Finding ice cream without these adulterants can be more difficult than you might realize.

Check the ingredients. And stick with vanilla.

Of course, ice cream should always be consumed in moderation.

Don’t Forget the Steak, Lamb Chop, and Liver

For dinner, Marilyn typically ate steak, lamb chop, or liver.

Her use of liver was extremely thyroid-supportive.

It was much more common to eat liver and other organ meats back then than it is today.

(NOTE: Want to see how organ meats can help save your thyroid? Take a look at this article on “How Did Your Ancestors Survive Without Thyroid Medication?”.)

Organ meats, especially liver, offer many benefits that muscle meats don’t.

  1. Liver contains large amounts of the essential vitamins A, D, E, and K.
  2. Liver is rich in thyroid-supportive B-vitamins.
  3. Liver contains healthy amounts of the essential thyroid cofactors including selenium, zinc, and copper.
  4. Liver helps promote the production of pregnenolone, the precursor to all of the thyroid-protective youth hormones.

Liver is one of the most thyroid-supportive foods you can eat.

(NOTE: We have a great liver recipe that we use and recommend to many of our clients, which you can find among these “7 Amazingly Delicious Thyroid Healing Recipes”.)

Last (But Not Least) Carrots

marilyn monroe carrot

Another important and beneficial food that Marilyn Monroe ate was raw carrot.

She said she ate four to five raw carrots every evening with dinner.

As I’ve written before, carrots are an important part of supporting thyroid health.

Among other benefits, eating raw carrot helps to detoxify and reduce thyroid-suppressive estrogen from your digestive tract.

The antibacterial properties of carrots also help to lower endotoxin levels in the gut, which further promote the production of thyroid-suppressive cortisol and estrogen.

(NOTE: Want a delicious, easy, and extremely pro-thyroid raw carrot salad recipe? Check out this blog post for step-by-step instructions.)

Who knew that Marilyn Monroe’s diet was so thyroid-friendly?

Yet, maybe liver wasn’t the most interesting part of Marilyn’s diet…

Marilyn Monroe’s Weight Loss Diet

When Marilyn Monroe wanted to lose weight, she didn’t starve herself, that’s for sure.

Let’s take a look at what her typical weight loss diet consisted of…

Breakfast (8 AM)

  • Orange juice or stewed prunes
  • Hot cereal
  • 2 Pieces buttered white toast
  • Milk or Cocoa

Snack (10 AM)

  • 1 Cup milk and 1 cracker

Lunch (1 PM)

  • Choice of 1 egg or 2 tablespoons cottage cheese
  • Choice of 1 Potato (baked or mashed); or spaghetti, boiled with tomato or butter or butter (no cheese); or 1/2 cup noodles boiled in milk
  • 1 Piece buttered toast
  • Jell-o or cooked fruit

Snack (3:30 PM)

  • 1 Cup milk and 1 cracker

Dinner (6:30 PM):

  • Choice of lean beef, chicken, lamb chop, sweet bread, fish, or chicken liver
  • 1 Potato (any way but fried)
  • Choice of 1/2 cup tomatoes, beets, carrots, string beans or peas
  • 1 Piece of bread

Dessert (11 PM)

  • Choice of junket, custard, tapioca pudding, rice pudding, or baked apple
  • Eggnog

I think it’s safe to say that most people today wouldn’t think of this menu as being the key to weight loss.

Yet, Marilyn Monroe understood one of the most important concepts of weight loss that we teach our clients today.

The best way to lose weight IS NOT to restrict calories or cut out carbohydrates (or any other macronutrient group for that matter). This is the fastest way to ruin your thyroid health.

The best way to lose weight IS to eat a nutrient dense diet full of highly metabolically stimulating foods.

By eating foods that stimulate your metabolism, you burn more calories; you can effectively eat more and lose weight, without ruining your thyroid in the process.

Yet all in all, what’s pretty incredible is that Marilyn Monroe’s diet consisted of many foods that we use and recommend to our thyroid clients.

Her diet was pretty simple, and might be considered ‘bizarre’ by many today.

Yet, we don’t see it that way.

Not only was her diet extremely nutrient-dense…

Those nutrients were also very thyroid-supportive.

For those reasons, I would consider her diet to be overall thyroid-friendly.

If anything, her diet could be a little better balanced, but her diet met most of the requirements for our Thyroid-Diet Rule #1 of our 3 Essential Thyroid Diet Rules All Thyroid Sufferers Should Follow (…But Don’t).

While Marilyn Monroe might have considered her diet to be “bizarre”, it isn’t nearly as bizarre as some of the popular, yet thyroid-suppressive, diet fads today.

Looking for a simple and easy diet trick to boost your thyroid health?

In this 3 Food Triple-Thyroid-Boosting Daily Protocol, I show you how combining these 3 simple foods can help exponentially boost your thyroid function and metabolism.

The Simple 3 Food Triple Thyroid-Boosting Daily Protocol

Get more information about the 3 Food Triple-Thyroid-Boosting Daily Protocol here.