Some time ago, Netflix released a new documentary series called “The Goop Lab.” This series is based on actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s “lifestyle brand” called Goop.
What exactly comprises a “lifestyle brand” was a bit beyond me, but apparently, it is a brand that represents certain opinions, attitudes, and values of a group. The ultimate goal is to motivate and inspire you, by, of course, marketing various products that guarantee your rightful place in that lifestyle of your choice.
Some of these you may be familiar with but don’t even know that they are marketed as lifestyle brands are Nike, Apple, and Red Bull. They are not just selling a product but allowing you to invest in a lifestyle. One in which you can do and be anything you set your mind to.
Many of these brands do indeed focus on health, not a bad idea as most people these days are consistently trying to improve their health and fitness. Health and wellness seminars and workshops galore, social media channels, and influencers, all aiming to be inspiring and interactive are part of this clean lifestyle thrust.
As I always admit, I don’t have any issue with health promotion in any form. Once it is accurate and truthful.
Oscar-winning and immensely popular actress Gwyneth Paltrow founded Goop—a wellness and lifestyle company–in 2008. What started as a harmless weekly email newsletter offering various types of “new age” advice such as “Nourish the Inner Aspect” expanded to a complete lifestyle website.
This business, now reportedly worth $250 million, has progressed to include several shops, a print magazine, a podcast, and a Netflix series, and continues to shower us with incredibly bad advice, not to mention scientifically unproven and often downright inaccurate.
It even prompted then chief executive of the National Health Service England, Sir Simon Stevens, to harshly criticise the information provided as posing “considerable risks to health.”
The head of the NHS accused the show of spreading “misinformation” and took aim at the “dubious wellness products and dodgy procedures” featured in the series. He declared people are risking their health and wasting their money by purchasing “too-good-to-be-true remedies.”
Some of the alternative therapies peddled on the series for various physical illnesses include energy healing which is based on the theory that someone can manipulate the “energy field” around a person’s body to help some ailment.
Also mentioned is the ever-popular “vampire facial” which essentially involves extracting a sample of your blood and injecting it back into your face in an attempt to make you look more youthful and well-rested.
There is no robust scientific evidence to support any of these claims. And although some of it may seem like harmless fun, advising the unsuspecting population to try out DIY coffee enemas and colonic irrigations may indeed result in exposure to the potential risk for little or no benefit.
Even a disclaimer that the show’s purpose is to “entertain and inform” not necessarily provide medical advice, does not absolve them of everything. Celebrities particularly are influential and using their prominent role in the public eye to essentially sell misinformation and distortion is dishonest and unethical.
This particular lifestyle brand was penalised for this when in 2017, they marketed a “vaginal egg” made of jade and rose quartz which they claimed to “increase sexual energy,” balance hormones, and regulate menstrual cycles, among other things.
Many gynaecologists were overtly critical of this, citing infection risk and other potential problems. I agree with them and it seems that I was not the only one. Legal action was brought by a consumer protection office due to unsubstantiated claims and Goop was fined $145,000.
Many celebrity endorsements are based on pseudoscience, are not effective and virtually consist of fake news–a phenomenon not reserved for only politics.
Using people’s natural concern for their health to market false or at the very least, ambiguous information is becoming increasingly common.
The responsibility lies with us to question these claims even if they are made by someone renowned. Ultimately, there is little substitute for rigorous scientific evidence that is validated and proven.