Crawford, 40, skips extremes in wellness optimization

balance over – Chace Crawford, 40, says he eats healthy without cutting out everything, cooks most of his meals at home, and delays his morning coffee—while rejecting the online habit of treating every health optimization trend as gospel.

Chace Crawford, 40, didn’t wait for the next viral wellness tip. In an interview with GQ published Tuesday, the “Gossip Girl” actor said he believes balance is the key to staying healthy—and that the internet’s race to optimize the body has gotten ridiculous.

“I generally eat healthy, but I don’t exclude anything,” Crawford told GQ. He said he feels “lucky” to have naturally gravitated toward healthier habits early in his career.

For Crawford, that balance starts at home. He said he enjoys cooking, makes a lot of his own meals, and “eat[s] at home mostly,” even for quick lunches or breakfast. “I usually make breakfast,” he added.

He also described one change he’s made to his routine: delaying his morning cup of coffee. While coffee has been linked to a huge range of health benefits—such as a reduced risk of certain cancers—Crawford referenced the risk side of the equation. Too much caffeine can cause indigestion, anxiety, and an increased heart rate. Sports nutritionists and scientists previously told Business Insider that people should cut off caffeine by early afternoon to avoid disrupting sleep.

Even with those practical tweaks, Crawford said he remains skeptical of wellness advice popularized online. “None of that stuff is gospel to me. I think the optimization thing is funny. I listen to a million podcasts,” he said. He also described how diet and nutrition have long interested him, but not in a way that pushes blind obedience. “It’s never like, ‘Oh, I got to do this’ or hop on this fad or this trend. In fact, the trends make you more skeptical,” Crawford added.

He’s not just skeptical about trends—he thinks they can pull people into extremes. Crawford said people sometimes get “too caught up in extreme health advice online. ” warning that the rabbit holes can reach absurd places. “Dude, it’s gotten so crazy. If you listen to anything. you can go down a rabbit hole on Google. and you can find a whole negative argument against blueberries!” he said.

For Crawford. the guiding principle is simpler: focus on whole foods and avoid the processed extremes. without pretending perfection is required. “You know how to eat right. It’s the whole foods, the unprocessed things,” he said. He added that even though he tries to avoid ultra-processed foods. he still allows himself regular indulgences when they come up. “I’ll still ‘eat any pizza, burger, or ice cream there is,’ although on rare occasions,” he said.

He was equally firm on another popular internet approach: elimination diets. “The elimination diet stuff, it’s not good if it’s not balanced,” Crawford said.

Doctors and scientists previously told Business Insider that there are three common health mistakes that people make in their quest for longevity: following extreme routines, trying buzzy wellness treatments that lack strong scientific evidence, and waiting too long to build healthy habits.

Crawford’s comments land close to that caution. “There’s just a lot of snake oil out there. ” he said. adding that he wishes people would stop offering themselves up as “guinea pigs for poorly evidenced interventions marketed under implausible claims.” Daniel Belsky. associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University and the Columbia Aging Center. previously said that line.

For readers looking for a takeaway, Crawford’s message is clear in how he frames health: don’t treat wellness trends like rules, and don’t trade everyday balance for an endless search for the perfect regimen.

Chace Crawford GQ interview wellness trends health optimization diet coffee whole foods ultra-processed foods elimination diets snake oil longevity