Been there, ate that, got the T-shirt. The celebrity world's devotion to kale has gone one step further, writes Emma Gunavardhana
Should we ever wake up to the news that Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce, Rachel McAdams, Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Aniston have been heinously kidnapped and held to ransom, our first reaction would be pure shock. Our second would be a smidgen of sympathy for their captors because whatever demands they’d be placing on Jay-Z et al, the ladies themselves would have to be kept in the manner to which they have become accustomed. And that means that those kidnappers would have to have an account at Whole Foods because there’s no way those girls would last too long without a hit of their favourite food – kale.
There’s something to be said for the attachment these healthy-living ladies have developed for the simple vegetable, but their love for the leafy green has reached critical mass as they are using it to make a lifestyle and a fashion statement. Rachel McAdams, and most recently Beyonce, have started wearing it across their chest – KALE – just to confirm how much they love it.
Steamed, baked or thrown into the Vitamix as part of a smoothie (as we’re sure Miranda Kerr prefers it) the low calorie, high fibre, no-fat green has become a diet staple with stars who not only care about how they look, but how healthy they are. The kale sweaters are essentially the new food-stagram. There’s no need to tweet what you’re eating – just wear it!
Kale does pack a pretty impressive nutritional punch given that it’s higher in iron than beef and contains vitamin K that protects against some cancers, boosts bone health and prevents clotting. There’s also vitamin A in high volume, which supports vision and the skin as well as helping prevent lung and mouth cancers. Plus, it’s an anti-inflammatory meaning those ladies might be taking the edge off their post-workout delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by adding it to their diet. The high levels of calcium prevent bone loss and are great for metabolism and its vitamin C content means it’s a great support for the immune system. There isn’t even a tablet than Glossip Girl can think of that would have all of the above.
Glossip Girl used kale in a smoothie once and was convinced of its ‘goodness’ by the taste of soil it added to the mix – that must make it healthy, right? That doesn’t mean we don’t want to be a little bit like Beyonce though and get a kale sweater. It just means we’ll wear it a little like we’d use a Range Rover key ring…
Thankfully, ingesting kale isn’t a prerequisite to being able to buy, or indeed wear it and we’ve found a sweat that looks a little like the one that Queen Bey is wearing right here …