LiveWorld Transcripts

HealthShop presents

Actress Tava Smiley
Of "General Hospital"

December 16, 1999

Actress Tava Smiley, who portrays Chloe Morgan on “General Hospital” chats about how she maintains a healthy lifestyle and gives advice on how you can do the same.

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HealthShop: Welcome to healthshop.com's first live chat event. Our guest today is Tava Smiley, who is Chloe Morgan on ABC's award-winning daytime drama "General Hospital." Tava is here to answer your questions about eating right, exercising and feeling your best--for her life is all about feeling healthy and being happy. How are you tonight, Tava?

TavaSmiley: I'm fantastic, and I just wanted to welcome everyone to the chat room, and I'm very happy to be here and answer any questions you have. (smile)

Klithor: What first got you interested in a healthier lifestyle?

TavaSmiley: I think my whole life has been geared towards a healthy lifestyle due to the way my parents live. I've always been fairly active. But I think that moving to California several years ago opened my eyes to even healthier options.

Wesley: What is a typical day in your life? How does it begin?

TavaSmiley: A typical day, depending on whether I'm working or not, begins with getting up, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth… (laughing) No, I get up and go for a hike with one of my best girlfriends. Sometimes I try to make it to the gym. Sometimes I get up and immediately start doing errands. And oftentimes recently, I just get up and go to work. I don't really have a set game plan for every day, but I generally do something active--not every single day, but most days. I obviously eat during the day, and I tend to eat one or two big meals, but I oftentimes will do smaller meals throughout the day, and I will go to a movie if I can. But I've been working quite a bit lately, working on scripts, working with my acting coach, catching up with friends. There are certain things that I do if I can to help other people, whether it be a friend, or an organization like "Project Angel Food" where I deliver lunches to people infected with the HIV (AIDS) virus. When I have time, and can pull off a good deed, I do that, which may sound kind of silly, but it's great. That's pretty much it!

Raysun: What is your philosophy on a healthy body, mind and spirit?

TavaSmiley: I really believe in living each day to the fullest in every aspect of your life. Eat well, live well, dance, play, sing, laugh, do the things that make you happy--and your mind, body and soul will flourish. There are times we have to do things we don't love, but are good for us; and so we do those things. You make the best of those times and you just try to enjoy everything that comes into your life. Now here's my philosophical side; everything is a lesson. Everything is really fun or good, or everything is a lesson.

ClickTC: What types of food do you eat?

TavaSmiley: I eat so many things. It's more about what I don't eat. For the most part I don't eat dairy. Occasionally, I'll put butter on something, or there will be a small amount of dairy in a product that's already prepared. I eat a lot of soy products, such as soy cheese. I drink loads of soy milk, I use it in cafe lattes, on cereal. I like rice milk as well. I'm a big advocate of the alternative products. I do eat, very rarely, some red meat, but generally for protein I concentrate on fish, free range chicken, or soy products. And I try to eat whole grains. There's a grain called quinoa that is a whole grain and has a lot of protein, so if I can make quinoa pasta instead, I will. But I also play, and there's some sugar in my diet. I try not to eat too much sugar or caffeine. I try to stay clear of the things that I know aren't good for me, and I love, love, love salads. Even though I don't eat normal cheese, I do eat goat cheese. For some reason, it doesn't affect me. I think it's because a goat's digestive system is more similar to a human's than a cow's digestive system is, so my body can process it more easily, and it has good protein and is lower in fat. I think I try to eat salad almost every day, at some point during the day. And I love fruit. I think it's great to eat a little bit of whatever you want, if you really are craving it. Moderation is the key, and unless you are super-allergic, nothing is really going to kill you. So if you want something, just have a little. And eat well the rest of the time if you've eaten something that was bad for you. Just enjoy. And listen to your body. Oh, and by the way, that's really my philosophy. Your body will tell you everything you need to know if you just learn to listen to it.

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