After actress Gwyneth Paltrow recently discussed her recovery process from COVID-19 on her blog, a top leader of National Health Service England is cautioning people against adapting Paltrow’s regimen in their own recovery.
NHS England’s Stephen Powis said that some of Paltrow’s practices were “really not the solutions we’d recommend,” as reported by the BBC.
On her lifestyle and wellness website, “Goop,” Paltrow explains that she “had COVID-19 early on, and it left me with some long-tail fatigue and brain fog. In January, I had some tests done that showed really high levels of inflammation in my body.”
She said that she received help from “the functional medicine practitioner Dr. Will Cole,” who, after seeing Paltrow’s labs, told her that her healing journey would be longer than usual.
She referenced Dr. Cole’s forthcoming book, saying that her recovery journey is similar to the “protocol” he describes in it. “It’s keto and plant-based but flexible,” she writes, adding that she has fish and a couple other meats. She also said that she fasts until 11 a.m. each day. Since there is no sugar or alcohol allowed in her regimen, Paltrow adds that she has been “doing major research and finding some great stuff to support what I’m doing.” One of the items she reports finding includes an herbal nonalcoholic cocktail brand, which she links in the article along with the glass that she likes to drink it out of.
She also described how Dr. Cole has put her on supplements, most of which are meant to help her gut become healthier.
Paltrow writes:
“Everything I’m doing feels good, like a gift to my body. I have energy, I’m working out in the mornings, and I’m doing an infrared sauna as often as I can, all in service of healing. A side benefit is my skin, which makes me happy—and makes me want to double down on skin care even more. Let’s make 2021 the year of never needing makeup, people!”
Throughout the blog post, there are multiple links to the products that Paltrow describes using.
Powis is the national medical director for NHS England and called out Paltrow’s guidance, saying that “serious science” should be used.
“Like the virus, misinformation carries across borders and it mutates and it evolves,” he said. “So I think YouTube and other social media platforms have a real responsibility and opportunity here.”
“In the last few days I see Gwyneth Paltrow is unfortunately suffering from the effects of Covid. We wish her well, but some of the solutions she’s recommending are really not the solutions we’d recommend in the NHS.”
“We need to take long Covid seriously and apply serious science. All influencers who use social media have a duty of responsibility and a duty of care around that.”
This is not the first time Paltrow has been under fire for allegedly promoting anti-scientific ideas. In 2018, Goop announced it had settled “a consumer protection lawsuit filed by state prosecutors representing 10 California counties,” according to The Washington Post. Paltrow’s company reportedly consented to pay $145,000 in civil penalties.
The suit specifically called out Goop’s notorious “jade egg,” which the site reportedly told women to put into their vaginas for different lengths of time to “increase vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general.” Paltrow was publicly criticized by an OB/GYN, who wrote an open letter to the actress saying the claims were not factual and could be dangerous.