— YouTuber and physician Dr. Mike details vagin*l eggs, rectal ozone therapy, and more
by Mikhail Varshavski, DO April 13, 2023
In this video, Mikhail Varshavski, DO -- who goes by "Dr. Mike" on social media -- breaks down the science (or lack thereof) behind Goop's products and their claims.
Following is a partial transcript of the video (note that errors are possible):
Varshavski: Since the launch of Goop in 2008, Gwyneth Paltrow has continued to make headlines with her controversial and sometimes ridiculous takes on wellness and health. Granted, most people when they see a headline about vagin*l eggs or steaming groins tend to chuckle and just move on. While you might, unfortunately, not everyone does. Let's talk about why this $100 billion wellness industry continues to thrive and the actual danger it poses to their customers. Let's start with the art of persuasion.
Ana Navarro: "I have used ozone therapy rectally." What is that?
Jennifer Gunter: "Unscientific, unproven, potentially harmful therapies."
Carson Daly: That's a razor thin line to have to tread across between scientific evidence and just merely entertaining.
Commentator #1: Right. It's been known to make some slightly pseudoscience-y claims.
Commentator #2: Goop is taking advantage of people at their most vulnerable positions and it's really just not acceptable.
Varshavski: When an influential celebrity enters the scene, our reptilian brain begins to take over. It's actually a known psychological phenomenon that familiar faces, like those of celebs, tend to be more trusted. This is likely a survival mechanism to distrust strange enemies and instead trust those in our tribes. However, I can assure you these celebrities are far from your tribe.
Kim Kardashian: One of my bathrooms has to be different because you took my 10 marble slabs.
Varshavski: Celebrities will pose their advice as simply what they do or what works for them, while simultaneously building enormous businesses that profit off their innocent storytelling.
Paltrow: It's not meant to be advice for anybody else. It's really just what has worked for me.
Varshavski: But still buy your products using "link in bio," right? "But Dr. Mike, what's the harm if they're just sharing what works for them and making a profit?" There is nothing wrong with making a profit, except if it's profiting off of misinformation under the guise of questionable anecdote at best. At worst, it delays people from getting actual medical treatment.
Think about it. It's not unreasonable to have a person with stomach problems seek help from unproven supplements while cancer spreads throughout their body. This isn't an exaggeration either. In 2017, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that people with cancer who had used alternative medicine instead of conventional treatment had a greater risk of dying.
It's not just the delay in getting real medical care. These unregulated treatments potentially create harm like medication interactions, liver inflammation, heart arrhythmias, or even an increased risk of getting cancer. Yes, cancer. Yet somehow this industry is expected to grow to $400+ billion by 2030.
Honestly, I think it's my fault. Well, not my fault, but modern medicine's fault. Truly, our healthcare system has provided us with nothing short of a garbage experience. We have shrinking appointment times, burnt-out physicians, and corrupt insurance plans that leave people wanting an alternative to regular medicine.
I get it. But you know what bothers me even more? It's that many of these companies target women in their advertising. My theory as to why? They know women have been hurt even more by the traditional healthcare system. They get misdiagnosed more often, even in life-or-death moments like heart attacks. Their bodies are poorly understood as a result of less inclusion in research and education, and their physical pain is not taken nearly as seriously.
It doesn't stop there. These companies prey on known insecurities. They promise unrealistic beauty outcomes that most of the time, at least on social media, are achieved through plastic surgery, injections, and Facetune, not their miracle product. Let's not skim over that detail.
Now, let's look at some of Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness claims and Goop products that landed her in hot water with doctors and agencies like the NHS.
The infamous jade egg. Goop claimed that inserting this egg-shaped stone into the vagin* could improve sexual health, balance hormones, and even prevent uterine prolapse. The problem? There is absolutely no scientific evidence to back these claims. In fact, using a jade egg can lead to infections and even toxic shock syndrome. This product got destroyed by the medical community and Goop ended up paying $145,000 to settle the false advertising claim and reimbursed any customer who actually bought the product.
Just last month, [Paltrow] appeared on a podcast where she admitted one of her "very helpful" wellness treatments had been rectal ozone therapy, a process of having gas injected into the rectum in the hopes of reducing oxidative stress and a whole host of other miraculous health benefits. However, according to the FDA, ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical applications in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapies.
Even the U.S. Code of Regulations isn't shy about the proven effects of ozone on humans. "Although undesirable physiological effects on the central nervous system, heart, and vision have been reported, the predominant physiological effect of ozone is primary irritation of the mucus membranes." Irritation of the rectum -- I'd think twice.
In 2021, [Paltrow] felt she was suffering lingering effects of COVID-19 and a year later was still noticing symptoms like brain fog and fatigue. Long COVID is a serious and deeply complex condition that certainly requires more research, but not if you're [Paltrow], who went on to describe her recovery routine designed by Will Cole, her chiropractor, who criticizes pharma for being profit-driven and sells a $197 gut supplement and a $724 toxin home test.
[Paltrow] detailed every step of her long COVID recovery process, enthusiastically listing the products for sale alongside her writing on Goop's website, such as the Goop Wellness Box for $265 or her infrared sauna blanket in stock for $600. Free shipping, though.
When asked about [Paltrow's] long COVID cure, Dr. Stephen Powis, the National Medical Director for England's NHS, stated that like a virus, "misinformation carries across borders and it mutates and it evolves." Goop's editors were quick to point out that, "This is one person's story and recounts an individual experience. It is not meant to be a diagnosis for healing or treating any specific disease, symptoms, or side effects." At least that was honest.
Goop has written favorably about the stickers that promote healing. One of their blog posts promotes wearable stickers from Body Vibes, such as the anti-anxiety 10-pack, which "fill in the deficiencies in your reserves, creating a calming effect." Goop blog writers did leave a warning, though, saying, "Leaving them on for the prescribed 3-day period left a few Goop staffers with marks on their skin, so be careful to stick them on somewhere concealable if you've got an event coming up."
Well, as a practicing physician, I would have put a warning that this is complete horses**t and that anxiety can be a real problem that has legitimate solutions you can pursue with your doctor. Unless, "Trust me, bro," is a form of evidence, there is zero evidence that wearing stickers will reduce your anxiety.
Mike Varshavski, DO, is a board-certified family physician and social media influencer with more than 10 million subscribers.
