Iron Man star Gwyneth Paltrow opened up last week about her personal struggles with her health after testing positive with COVID-19 early in the virus’ stay around the globe. The 48-year-old actress took to the blog of her lifestyle brand Goop to explain how she has personally been dealing with the lingering effects of the coronavirus on her body. And in response, a number of health experts are challenging her advice.
Gwyneth said that she has been dealing with long-tail fatigue and brain fog since having the virus. It led the actress and businesswoman to get some tests done, and she learned she had high levels of inflammation within her body. She told Goop readers that she has since been implementing “intuitive fasting,” taking supplements “in service of a healthier gut,” working out in the mornings and using an infrared sauna.
Dr. Jane Orient from the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons responded to the advice. Here’s what she told Newsweek:
Ms. Paltrow offers insufficient information to assess exactly what she is doing, or the rationale. Various dietary regimens and nutritional supplements are being tried, but I know of no systematic studies. Symptoms may persist after COVID-19, as they do for many viral illnesses, such as infectious mono. People do recover with time.
A number of other professionals have also weighed in on Goop’s health advice. Dr. Christian Sandrock, who is a physician specializing in infectious diseases and critical care medicine said fasting after having COVID-19 could be detrimental to one’s health, depending on the patient, adding that he does not recommend patients of the virus fast. He did, however, recommend against overeating and eating non-processed foods.
Professor Stephen Powis, who is the medical director of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom added another negative response (via Newsweek) to Paltrow and Goop’s advice. In his words:
Some of the solutions she's recommending are really not the solutions we'd recommend in the [National Health Service]. We need to take long COVID seriously and apply serious science.
Powis also took the opportunity to warn the public against “misinformation” by social media influencers specifically, who he believes has a “responsibility and duty” to pay attention to that. Surely, Gwyneth Paltrow’s advice should not be taken blindly, and each of us should consult our own doctors about how to deal with health situations such as COVID-19.
Another element to be aware of in terms of Paltrow’s advice, is that it was specifically tied with promoting the book of medical practitioner Dr. Will Cole. She is currently implementing this “intuitive fasting” technique into her post-COVID regiment, and she spoke about it recently on Instagram:
Gwyneth Paltrow certainly has some great holistic resources to share with her readers and consumers about COVID-19 but, at the end of the day, she 1) does run a business and 2) is not a medical professional. The CDC has yet to completely understand the significance of the effects of how COVID-19 affects our bodies long-term, but physicians do absolutely recommend a healthy diet, exercise and therapy during this time along with safety precautions such as wearing masks.
