Top 10 Questionable Pieces of Advice from GOOP

Many lifestyle blogs and websites share a recommended gift guide each holiday season, but the GOOP one really takes the cake. Originally, Paltrow’s guide did not have the word “ridiculous” in the title, implying that the items she was sharing were real recommendations. When the guide received backlash for being over the top and ludicrously expensive however, the company seemingly reworked their approach moving forward, making a dedicated “Ridiculous and Awesome” section and then a more run-of-the-mill list. That being said, even her “regular” gift guides include items like a $100 ladle and $372 “singing bowl set”. So yeah… still somewhat ridiculous.

The idea of detoxing as being beneficial for health and weight loss is not a new one. Gwyneth Paltrow and the people at GOOP did not invent this concept, but they sure do love to push it. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the recipes for teas, smoothies and meals they recommend, but the idea that detoxing is crucial to cleansing the body and keeping it healthy? That’s a little less legitimate. There is no medical evidence that these unspecified “toxins” are actually removed from your body by consuming particular products. Honestly, your organs do a good job on their own of eliminating anything that shouldn’t be in your system.

Using the alarmist title, “You Probably Have a Parasite—Here’s What to Do About It”, GOOP published an interview with naturopathic physician Linda Lancaster in which she gave some interesting advice about how to deal with the parasite we all apparently have. According to Lancaster, in Biblical times people suffering from parasites would be put in a tub of milk until they left the body. Her modern solution is to do an 8-day cleanse where you drink exclusively goat’s milk. While the topic of consuming raw dairy is a controversial one, some studies have even shown that drinking goat’s milk can actually cause parasites rather than preventing them.

Entertaining is a serious business, and of course there are countless things to do if you plan on having friends over for a dinner party. You know... pick up groceries, make a meal plan, get some booze - and if you’re feeling really fancy, plan some table decorations. Regardless, there is no way you need a week long plan in order to prepare for such a casual event. Like many other things from GOOP, it seems like their target reader is the unemployed upper class individual with an unlimited budget for things like gift giving and party planning.

#6: Buy Beauty Products That Have Been Prayed To

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We’re not going to knock anyone’s religious or spiritual beliefs here, but when someone tells us that we should shell out $100 for a skin cream because it has been created with “intention”, we’re going to have to start asking questions. This particularly odd GOOP obsession has seen them promoting the idea of beauty products like serums and oils that have been prayed or sang to. We doubt it does any harm to have someone doing a bit of chanting around your nighttime cleanser, but it should definitely not be thought of as a technique that will actually affect how the product works.

One of the major issues people take with GOOP and its content is the fact that many of the health and wellness related theories and articles posted on the site are directly tied to products sold by the brand. Ayurvedic medicine is a type of alternative medicine that comprises many different beliefs and systems. One of the aspects that GOOP has embraced is the idea of taking herbal supplements to enhance your health. While many question the necessity of such dietary supplements, there have also been cases of them actually causing harm to consumers.

In a 2016 New York Times article, Gwyneth Paltrow admitted to using a method called apitherapy to improve her inflammation and heal scarring. What is apitherapy, you ask? Oh, don’t let the fancy term confuse you - it just means intentionally getting stung by bees. No respected studies have actually shown any health benefit to humans from using this technique, but since she’s always on the hunt for the latest health and beauty treatments, Gwen took one for the team and tried it for us. Since many people are actually allergic to bee venom, it is unsurprisingly not recommended as a first line of defence for your ailments or injuries.

One of the pieces of advice that has landed GOOP and Gwyneth in hot water (pun intended) is the recommendation that women should be steaming their nether regions for optimal health. It allegedly “balances your hormones” and cleans your uterus and other reproductive bits. Doctors have refuted this claim, by clarifying that not only is this practice not beneficial because vaginas do a good job keeping themselves clean and balanced, but also it can actually cause bacterial infections. Yikes. They also added that steam won’t get to your uterus without the use of more invasive techniques, which are definitely NOT doctor-recommended.

We love the fact that GOOP is all for sex positivity and encouraging women to embrace their sexuality. One of the pages they offer on the site is a guide to sex toys, which is great! It features your standard vibrators and BDSM paraphernalia, but the real standout is the Lelo Inez. This “personal massager” is made from 24-karat gold and sells for a whopping fifteen THOUSAND dollars US. We’re all for treating yourself, but this seems a little excessive. Luckily, the silver version is perfect for those on a budget at only seven thousand.

By far, the most widely discussed and derided piece of advice GOOP has given is that you should insert a jade egg into your vaginal canal in order to increase your “feminine energy.” This piece of news made headlines because it just sounded so ridiculous and of course, because they were for sale in the GOOP shop for an affordable $55 to $66 per egg. The idea behind strengthening your pelvic floor isn’t a bad one, but there are many ways to do it that don’t involve the GOOP-prescribed egg. In fact, you can do kegel exercises without any supplies at all!