Could Gwyneth Paltrow be hazardous to your health?

Actor’s penchant for alternative remedies might be costing fans their money, waistlines and mental health

This might sound strange but journalists across America have started to blame Gwyneth Paltrow for habits such as overspending, oversharing and under-eating. According to them, the 44-year-old Hollywood star is ill-informed on many matters, which could ultimately cost her followers their money, waistlines and mental health, reports New York Post.

In a recent issue of Women’s Health magazine, Gwyneth revealed that had rid her body of parasites by subsisting solely on raw goat’s milk for eight straight days. However, Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health law and science policy at the University of Alberta, claims the lactose-heavy starvation ritual is wrong. “Celebrity culture can be dangerous, make no mistake,” he said. “Gwyneth is responsible for keeping health myths alive and creating confusion. She’s providing health advice that is completely disconnected from reality.”



Gwyneth’s influence cannot and should not be underestimated. Research indicates that celebrity health advice has an outsize effect on ordinary people. The “Angelina Jolie Effect,” for example, is much-debated upon in medical circles, after the actor had her breasts, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to prevent developing cancer. Whether she raises awareness or unnecessarily alarmed the world, we cannot say.

As for Gwyneth, people tend to take her word on the alternative remedies. But these are hardly ever held up to scrutiny. At worst, people run the risk of developing eating disorders or the weight they lose ends up returning.

But the Shakespeare in Love star’s obsession with below-the-belt treatments could simply be wastes of money. It can also be contagious. To prove this, Timothy – who, in 2015, wrote Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything? How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty and Happiness – went on a 21-day Clean Programme Gwyneth champions. He even met with its creator Dr Alejandro Junger. According to him, the regimen was brutal.

“It almost killed me! No coffee, no white sugar, no gluten – which is only bad for the 1% who have celiac diseases….I was psychopathic,” he said. “I wasn’t allowed certain fruits either.” Timothy drank shakes for breakfast and dinner and lost nine pounds, which came right back.

It must also be noted that Gwyneth – a mother of two with seemingly pathological aversions to toxins – cops to smoking one cigarette every Saturday night, along with her usual, nightly glass of red wine. “It’s just the right amount of naughty,” she told the Telegraph.



Too bad Timothy does not agree. “There’s no safe level of smoking. The right amount is zero!” he stated. For him, there is no substitute for consuming a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and listening to one’s doctor. Following celebrity health advice is likely to leave one befuddled, hungry, poor and plump as ever.

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