Health advice on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle website Goop hasn’t never been exactly welcomed by the medical community.
From vaginal steaming to vaginal jade eggs to “increase chi, orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general,” experts have been quick to correct potentially harmful claims being promoted on the site.
But one doctor has issued what may be the most damning and outspoken criticism yet.
In a blog post, US-based gynecologist Dr Jen Gunter responded to comments made by Paltrow in a recent Fast Company interview about backlash against her site, stating “If you want to f**k with me, bring your A-game.”
“Dear Gwyneth Paltrow, we’re not f**cking with you, we’re correcting you. XOXO Science,” Dr Gunter’s post began.
In the open letter she addressed a range of problematic claims made by Goop, including promoting an intravenous drip as a solution for a hangover at a wellness event.
She also points out the double standard of advocating for cleanses to rid the body of “toxins” and then including botox in the Goop book without acknowledging it as an actual toxin.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s detox smoothie has too much arsenic for my taste https://t.co/EldMo2egO7 pic.twitter.com/X3uA0n23HG
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) May 29, 2017
Another myth debunked by Dr Gunter was the links between bras and breast cancer made on the site.
“Ever had a breast cancer survivor cry in your office worried that she caused her cancer by wearing bras for 20 years? Probably not. I have,” she wrote.
“When you give your platform to crackpot theories about bras and breast cancer you are literally fucking with breast cancer survivors.”
As far as health information is concerned, Goop is a “scare factory”.
Listen: Can you be clean living while injecting botox into your face? Post continues after audio.
“From tampons to tomatoes to toxic lube your website is a scare factory. Literally. It’s either made up (often poorly, but with liberal use of the word toxin) or someone’s hypothesis with little to no supporting data,” she wrote.
“Tampons are not vaginal death sticks, vegetables with lectins are not killing us, vaginas don’t need steaming and Epstein Barr virus (EBV) does not cause every thyroid disease.”
Promoting misinformation or health claims that lack scientific backing is costly both financially and physically. Dr Gunter argues that the “fear mongering” from such claims causes so much distress that researchers are required to do special studies even if the idea is “biologically” implausible or not supported by existing research.
As she puts it, there are better ways to spend those breast cancer research dollars.
A post shared by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow) on
Ultimately, it’s personal.
“Your goopshit bothers me because it affects my patients. They read your crackpot theories and they stop eating tomatoes (side note, if tomatoes are toxic why do Italians have a longer life expectancy than Americans?) or haven’t had a slice of bread for two years, they spend money on organic tampons they don’t need, they ask for unindicted testing for adrenal fatigue (and often pay a lot via copayments or paying out-of-pocket), or they obsess that they have systemic Candida (they don’t),” she wrote.
“I have a son with thyroid disease and I worry that in a few years he might read the kind of batshit crazy thyroid theories you promote and wonder if he should stop his medication and try to cure the chronic EBV that he doesn’t have.
“I also worry that science will have to spend more and more resources disproving snake oil as opposed to testing real hypotheses. I worry that you make people worry and that you are lowering the world’s medical I.Q.”
In a final conclusion, Dr Gunter pledges to continue to educate the public.
“We’re not f**king with you we’re correcting you and you know what? We’re not going to stop.”
