Gwyneth Paltrow Criticized Over ‘Unhealthy’ & Paltry Daily Food Intake

Mar 22, 2023

Gwyneth Paltrow is not only a talented and celebrated actress but also a savvy businesswoman who promotes wellness and health through her brand, Goop. However, the star has come under fire for encouraging what some critics are calling an unhealthy diet that could do more harm than good.

The quintessential '90s movie star, Paltrow first found commercial success on the big screen in 1991's "Hook" as Wendy Darling. She then earned her place as one of Hollywood's sweethearts with movies like "Seven," "Emma," "Sliding Doors," "Great Expectations," "A Perfect Murder," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Shakespeare In Love," for which she won an Oscar in 1999.

She followed this in the 2000s with memorable roles in "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Shallow Hal," before rounding off the decade by jumping into the Marvel universe as Pepper Potts in the "Iron Man" series of films.

After marrying singer Chris Martin in 2003 and giving birth to her daughter, Paltrow decided to greatly scale back her acting career. Since 2006 with the birth of her second child, Paltrow has not taken a leading role in any films. Currently, Paltrow is married to producer Brad Falchuk, who she met while working on the show "Glee."

Paltrow launched her wellness and lifestyle brand Goop in 2008. Goop's offerings include wellness products such as supplements, skin care and sexual health products, as well as fashion and home goods. It also offers wellness experiences such as retreats and summits.

Goop has been both praised and criticized for its promotion of alternative health practices and controversial products, such as jade eggs for vaginal health. The brand has faced criticism from medical professionals and skeptics who argue that some of its claims are not supported by scientific evidence. Despite the criticism, Goop has become a successful and influential brand in the wellness industry.

Naturally, some of the criticism aimed at Goop has extended to Paltrow. Many critics argue that Goop's promotion of unproven health practices contributes to the spread of misinformation about health and wellness. Paltrow has been known to follow restrictive and unbalanced diets, such as the macrobiotic diet and the elimination diet, which some experts argue can lead to nutrient deficiencies and other health problems. 

She came under fire again after she appeared on a podcast in March 2023 with Dr. Will Cole to share what her daily wellness routine looked like. She described a typical day for her as such:

"I eat dinner early in the evening… I do a nice intermittent fast... I usually eat something about 12. In the morning, I’ll have some things that won’t spike my blood sugar, so I have coffee, I’ll have a celery juice with lemon, lemon water…  For me it’s important because I have trouble with methylation, so my body is not in natural detox. I’m not good at it." 

She added: "I try to do one hour of movement, so I’ll either take a walk, or I’ll do pilates, or I’ll do my Tracy Anderson. And then... I dry brush and I get in the sauna. So I do my infrared sauna for 30 minutes. … For me, it’s really important for me to support my detox."

“I really like soup for lunch, I have bone broth for lunch a lot of the days. … And then for dinner I try to eat, you know, according to paleo. So lots of vegetables," she said.

When clips from the interview made their way to TikTok, users weren’t too pleased.

“So coffee and bone broth are meals now,” one viewer commented, while another said, “wellness??? 😳😳😳 well, I don't want to be WELL then.”

Many viewers on TikTok also dubbed Paltrow the ultimate “almond mom,” a somewhat derogatory term used to describe a person who is fixated on health and wellness to an extreme level. Some viewers also accused Paltrow of actively misrepresenting her bid to stay thin with wellness.

“Wellness is the new ‘how do u stay thin,’” one user wrote, while another said, “This is much more unhealthy than being chubby. Her poor body.”

“I work in film and this is unfortunately a pretty standard diet among women in Hollywood even to this day,” another comment read. 

In a now-deleted clip posted to her Instagram Stories on March 17, 2023, Paltrow responded to the backlash and clarified that she “eats far more than bone broth and vegetables.”

“I eat full meals. And I also have a lot of days of eating whatever I want and eating french fries and whatever. But my baseline really has been to try to be healthy and to eat foods that will really calm the system down,” she said, according to Today.

She added she suffers from long COVID, which led to inflammation in her body. "So I’ve been working with Dr. Cole to really focus on foods that aren’t inflammatory ... so lots of vegetables, cooked vegetables, all kinds of protein, healthy carbs to really lower inflammation and it’s been working really well,” she said.

The star also said she was simply sharing the daily routine she adheres to because it works for her specifically, and that what she had said was not meant to be a model for anyone else looking to improve their health. She explained:

“This was a transparent look at a conversation between me and my doctor. ... It’s really just what has worked for me, and it’s been very powerful and very positive."

What are your thoughts on Gwyneth Paltrow’s daily routine? What healthy habits do you incorporate into your everyday life? Let us know and pass this on to friends and family, too.