Gwyneth Paltrow says her dad's cancer got her thinking about a healthier diet

Gwyneth Paltrow advocated for a dairy and gluten-free diet in her latest cookbook, "It's All Good," which some critics called overly restrictive. But the 40-year-old health-conscience actress told the very first issue of Beach magazine that her father's cancer diagnosis prompted her to think about healthier foods.

"I began to consider the effects of food when my father was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998," told the magazine (via E! Online). "I started to research anti-cancer diets in hopes that he would try to hit it from all angles."

Bruce Paltrow, an American film director and Gwyneth's father, died in 2002 at the age of 58 after a battle with oral cancer.

"It's about being mindful about what you are putting in," Paltrow added. "Good whole foods are the way we have eaten for generations. It's amazing how good you feel when you just cut out the processed stuff."

'Every single nutritionist, doctor and health-conscious person I have ever come across . . . seems to concur that [gluten] is tough on the system and many of us are at best intolerant of it and at worst allergic to it,'' Paltrow wrote in her cookbook.

She said that her husband, Chris Martin, and two children follow the diet as well.

"Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we're left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs," Paltrow said.

Beach magazine hits stands May 23.