Back when Gwyneth Paltrow first started goop.com, we would write about the weekly newsletters and Gwyneth’s half-hearted attempts to educate the peasants on her lifestyle. While I’m sure she had people helping her in those early days, Goop did have a homespun feel in those first years, like Gwyneth was still figuring out “her voice” as a lifestyle/elitism blogger. Over the years, Goop has obviously shifted, from homespun and amateurish to straight up commerce and what we have now, which is some weird hybrid of lifestyle/commerce and the worst of Gwyneth’s fixation on wellness, gurus, shamans and shady PhDs who only tell her what she wants to hear. Just in the past few months, I’ve covered some of the most eye-rolly Goop stories, everything from “new trend: walking around barefoot” to “Gwyneth went on an eight-day goat-milk-only cleanse” to “please stick this jade egg up your business.”
Many of the recent faux-medical Goop recommendations have been widely refuted by actual doctors. Dr. Jen Gunter – a certified OBGYN – has made it part of her mission in life to smack down some of Goop’s most specious and ridiculous claims. Gunter has become something of a folk hero for anti-Goop people. Gunter has started to get under Gwyneth’s skin too – as much as Gwyneth wants to front like she’s so above criticism, she showed how thin-skinned she really is last week, when she devoted the weekly Goop-letter to trying to smack down Gunter and other medical doctors who routinely fact-check Goop. Goop’s editorial – which was probably written by Gwyneth and some of her staffers – attempts to patronizingly explain that they are merely presenting women with more information, that Goop’s critics aren’t merely trying to disseminate the correct medical information, they’re actually being “dismissive” of all of Gwyneth’s precious gurus and shamans. As Vox noted, “Rather than offering a clear and coherent defense of alternative medicine, Goop’s statement is filled with ad hominem attacks and baldfaced hypocrisy.”
Along with the Goop editorial, Goop also published what seems to be an individual editorial from Dr. Steven Gundry, who specifically addresses Jen Gunter’s various takedowns. Gundry’s editorial is possibly the worst part of all of this, as he repeatedly attacks Dr. Gunter for using the word “f–k” when she writes about Goop. He patronizingly attacks her medical knowledge and is completely dismissive of the very idea that Jen Gunter might also be pretty concerned about women’s health, as she is (again) a certified OBGYN. Dr. Gunter responded:
I must be affecting @goop's bottom line
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) July 13, 2017
Hey @GwynethPaltrow I give away my health info for free, you sure sell lots of stuff. Do you and your pals at @goop know about bias?
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) July 13, 2017
Dr. Gunter also wrote a blog post about the Goop “takedown” piece, which is absolutely worth a read – go here for here article, titled “GOOP’s misogynistic, mansplaining hit job.” She made me laugh, a lot. But mostly I cheered for her, because she’s David and Goop is Goliath and Dr. Gunter is going to take that a–hole down.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Looks like somebody’s found Goopy’s sore spot. Rock on, Dr. Gunter!
For what it’s worth I follow Jen Gunter on Twitter. I recommend reading her tweets to see what she’s like. She may be a liberal with pink hair, but she does not joke around with medicine. She genuinely wants women to avoid cuckoo advice and stay healthy. She is performing a beneficial public service – for free. If anyone knows otherwise, I’d like to hear about it.
And if you follow her – now is a good time to publicly support her. This is exactly the kind of person Goop is – she knew the sort of lunatics who support her would attack this person who DARED to suggest women shouldn’t be treated like idiots with money.
It’s weird that Goop and Taylor Swift don’t hang out more. They’re so similar and nasty. Some sort of C*nt Squad would probably make them both feel better.
She may be a liberal with pink hair? Is that a bad thing? Actually, I’m at the point of believing that if you’re not a liberal, you’re a garbage disposal.
@ Raina. I’m with you lady!
I’m following Dr. Gunter on Twitter from now on. Her response to Dr(coff coff) Gundry is beyond awesome.
I like how Christy Turlington (a Gwyneth BF) has followed Dr. Gunter on Twitter.
They’re not close anymore. Christy started a women’s health charity called Every Mother Counts.
There is a guy, timothy Caulfield, who wrote an entire book “why goop is wrong about science” – taking on her points on diet, supplements, parasites – so I wonder why GOOP/ Dr Gundry didn’t attack that guy, only Dr. Jen Gunter?
Or what about when NASA dissed goop’s product!
I don’t get the doctors defending GOOP tbh. I would trust an MD like Gunter over the MDs who treat Goop anyday….
But also this a sad reflection on the state of modern medicine that there are MDs willing to practice pop science and side with goop.
*sorry for spelling errors and also by “pop science” I mean not science at all.
I really wish women didn’t feel so desperate for medical help that they felt pseudo science supplements, pseudo science doctors, and jade eggs were the answer.
Well well, goop, you asked and Dr Gunter did in fact bring her A game!
Remember, Goop is a college dropout and had crappy grades in her fancy private high school and so much came to her because of her family connections; she doesn’t know what an “A” is, much less an A game
Yes. I’ll take the opinion of a doctor over Goopy’s nonsense, thanks.
Gwenyth is really quite pathetic and trashy isn’t she? I mean I always got a desperately needy vibe from her but this is next level!
I’d laugh, but she’s preying on vulnerable and/or rather foolish women to make a buck. She belongs on late night infomercials with the rest of the scam artists and is not worthy of any more attention than that.
The difference between some snake oil salesman and Goopie is that I really think Goop BELIEVES that she is the bringer of Great Truth, and she’s truly doing the peasants a favor….because of how she’s drop dead gorgeous with a stripper’s butt and she’s a STAH with an OSCAR, and Daddy and Mummy and all that.
Basically it’s what she’s believed about herself all along. She just needs everybody else to AGREE with her and everything she says it to make it true. Just so much damn fun to be around.
That’s a good point. I think she has the problem as well of being and growing up privileged, but not smart. She wants to feel as important and accomplished as she was treated (because of mommy and daddy’s connections) by accomplishing something great on her own. But problem: she’s not smart, she’s just good at sales. Plus she will not be remembered as a great actress, she’ll be remembered as Iron Man’s girlfriend who made that Shakespeare movie. Her prestige acting career fizzled so now she wants to be special at something else. Unfortunately the health of others may suffer because of her neediness. Pathetic really is the word I’d use.
Gwyneth’s Oscar is a joke in itself. She backstabbed her friend to steal the role from her. Shame eludes her in life.
Everyone should check out Sarah @ Laineygossip’s review of her experiences at GOOP’s ‘wellness summit.’ Gwyneth Paltrow is a pernicious individual. She wants to make ‘wellness’ her brand, but take no responsibility whatever for the dangerous quackery she peddles. She and her team are deliberately pandering to the fad of distrusting science and doctors in favor of nonsensical pseudoscience and a slew of wildly overpriced products and services that are utterly ineffective. This sort of blather may line her pockets, but it will also lead to death and injury. It’s cynical, amoral, and viciously irresponsible.
I love how Lainey didn’t do the write up. She will go all in on so many other celebrities. But she will never do the take down of Gwyneth. I you can’t accept fault in your favorites and say so in your own voice. I don’t want to hear you say anything against anyone else. Very telling indeed.
^^^THIS.^^^
Gwyneth Paltrow’s “brand” is hell-bent on making money and appearing relevant and important. But she has no idea what collateral damage she is causing.
@nemera34 she is that way about Taylor Swift too.
its part of why i have a hard time with Lainey.
Something about her writing rubs me the wrong way, and i think its because she has such OBVIOUS favorites who can do no wrong.
Lainey might not have done the write ups, but she was publishing serious takes on GOOP’s issues for quite a while before other sources caught up to the fact the site is peddling something other than an aspirational lifestyle.
She has certain celebrities she enjoys for their particular brand of ridiculousness, and while she obviously prefers to keep her own commentary on the lighter side of that she does let her other writers delve into the less entertaining aspects. I don’t think she has real favourites (beyond some lesser known people she stans for occasionally), just favourite people to write about.
What an obnoxious tw*t. The face of all the white feminists that voted for 45.
If she was ever capable of being honest with herself, she’d admit that the only difference between her and Jenny McCarthy is the tax bracket of their respective audiences. Otherwise they’re both arrogant, attention seeking, snake oil salesmen.
Oh, for God’s sake. I know that “white feminists” has become the catch all insult for everything anyone dislikes but the truth is that very few “white feminists” voted for Trump. A majority of white women did, which is unfortunate but a majority of white college-educated women, who likely comprise most of the white women who self-identity as feminist, voted for Clinton.
Don’t blame white feminists for either Trump or Goop.
I’m not trying to be dismissive, but most of the white women I know or have seen online who voted for 45 would never in a million years call themselves feminists. They think of feminists as man haters and baby killers.
There are problems with white feminists, and I think Goop falls into that category (as well as being an elitist) but I don’t think voting for Trump is even in that catchall.
Yes! Who are the white feminists that voted for Trump? There were plenty of white, college-educated women who voted for him, but I doubt many of them would self-identify as feminists.
Not even “a majority of white woman” though. Only “a majority of white women” *who went to the polls and voted*, and it wasn’t exactly a big majority, either. Given voter turnout in the US, that’s waaaaay down in terms of the general pop of white women in America. That stat has been misused/not used clearly for too long to misrepresent the typical “white woman” view on Trump. Can we not?
As to Emma’s question, you’re right: white women *with college educations* who voted mainly supported Dems.
I didn’t vote for Tangerine nor did any of my sisters, sisters in law, aunts, grandmother or cousins on the more educated successful side of my family. No feminist in her right mind would have voted for Tangerine. I am sure she didn’t either because someone like the Tangerine is too vulgar for her to even consider.
@godwina
People who don’t vote are essentially saying that they don’t care and that the hardships inflicted by an evil regime are not their problem. Not voting doesn’t earn those people any points in this scenario.
Thank you. Goop is odious, but no, she is not one of “those white feminists” (all 3 of them, if that) who voted for Trump. (Remember, too—hard to forget!—that Goop is a snob: there’s no way she would vote for someone as overtly vulgar and coarse and “unclassy” as Trump.) But mainly, to imply that all “white feminists” are basically elitist, clueless, hypocritical snobs just like Goop is not only needlessly derogatory, it’s simply wrong. The white feminists I know, myself among them, have a far broader, far less exclusive definition and approach to feminism, one than Goop could ever even begin to conceive of. White feminists= Goop is an absurd comparison–or insinuation–to make.
What is this rumour? I’ve seen it on Jezebel too. I believe you that white feminists are bad allies, say the wrong thing, are offensive, don’t show up for BLM, take your support for granted etc. I haven’t been in a feminist group so I’ve always been curious what specifically white feminists do to the black feminist group members that’s so bad. But I believe you.
Why would people go to the trouble to pretend to be liberals and vote for trump? If they agreed with trump And also liked activism why would they pretend to be activists for the other side? (Instead of being activists for their own views) What’s the logical reason any person would do this, let alone all white feminists? There are a lot of old and a lot of pro life (but agsinst planned parenthood and birth control SMH) white voters. remeber that, and the electoral college when the numbers don’t make sense to you
I think we can all agree that Paltrow is a white feminist. A white feminist by the way is not just a white woman who is a feminist. Its a woman who ascribes to the principles of white feminism. What are these principles? Well, they are unable to see intersectionality which means they fight solely for the issues that directly affect them. They are unable to understand the concept of white supremacy and how it frequently places them above many men of color, which means they are rarely fighting for true equality. While they do have some legit grievances, they mostly just invent some where they are none. For example, Goop and TSwift think that if other women disagree with them then they are anti feminist.
As for Trump voters, I do agree that many white feminists voted for him. We saw them on the news arguing that his daughter and his campaign manager were proof that he was pro equality. For these white feminists, maintaining the white supremacy was more urgent than challenging patriarchy. Remember much of 2016 was dominated by BLM and demonstrations against police shootings. That stuff really scared wittle white feminists everywhere which is how you ended up with the majority of white educated women in the exact demo that white feminists fall in, voting Trump.
Do you have empirical evidence to back these claims? Are there studies that say self-identified white feminists voted for Trump in particular / meaningful numbers?
Double post
I wrote….”which is how you ended up with the majority of white educated women in the exact demo that white feminists fall in, voting Trump”
In other words if you had a Venn diagram of white feminists and white educated women, the overlap would be high. Why? Because white feminists are almost exclusively white educated women. And 63% of white women in this age range identify as either strong feminist or feminist. So if the majority of that demo voted Trump, its safe to say that many white feminists sold us out.
By the way, when you find yourself playing this not all white feminist game, you are probably a white feminist.
His voters were not self described feminists for the most part. Educated women can be professional but not feminists.
Your argument is flawed because you are assuming you know how these women view themselves or feminism. There are women who say no they aren’t a feminist but they do believe in being equal but are a box of contradictions.
Also there is an assumption that all white feminist are unaware of the problem of intersectional feminism. Where did you come up with that assertion? Taylor Swift and Lena are not the voice of any group. They are the voice of themselves.
It is an assumption that white feminists live in privileged white bubbles and actively feel superior to people of color. Where is the evidence of large groups of self described feminists, who aren’t fame whores, believe this to be true?
That does not reflect my world or my upbringing at all. Civil Rights has been an issue several members of my extended family are and have been involved with. I didn’t grow up in home where people of color weren’t a part of our lives in significant ways. My mother is a hardcore feminist and activist. She writes about it and is fearless in her dealings with politicians and has always believed women of color need to be included in the conversation. She didn’t jump on the HRC bandwagon because she was waiting for her to acknowledge what the Clintons unleashed upon the black community and her calling black youth Superpredators. Not to prove anything but because it was the right thing to do and she cares about the problem. And as I do, find the Dem Party hypocritical at times for not doing more but giving lip service when there is an election.
Some of us are having the conversation but very few have the level of exposure as Taylor Swift. Others are just as you describe. Believe me I find her to be a fake idiot along with Lena the liar so I have no qualms lobbing insults their way. But as a whole group we aren’t a monolith.
YES YES YES….My boss is a WHITE feminist who voted for TRUMP.
I never really saw it before, but she is RACIST. And ethnocentric.
She had me fooled, completely.
Until the election.
so Yeah, these Trump voting White Feminists EXIST!!!!!!
Hey now.
Grabby said “all the white feminists that voted for 45.”
She didn’t say all white feminists. Even though she could have, and i’d still be castigating people for being all #notallwhitefeminists.
The major faces of white feminism are highly troubling. Lena, Goop, TSwift. They often play into a rhetoric that damages minority communities and WoC specifically. There are quite a few other issues where white feminists have left their sisters out to dry. The attendance for the womens march vs the atttendance to BLM and other marches supporting black rights shows quite clearly that many white feminists will step out, but only for themselves.
This lack of intersectionalism is a big problem with feminism. Instead of being defensive because you feel attacked, try to understand WHY someone may say this. Especially someone who is a feminist/humanist.
I expect that men will understand when I say ‘the men who voted for trump’ doesn’t mean all men. Just like when someone says the white people who voted for trump, doesn’t mean all white people.
Sorry but no, I am not required to presume that every accusation leveled at white feminism is accurate. This is a rhetorical tactic that is used to silence white feminists, to the point that we get it from all sides – from crazy people on the Right who tell us we should just shut up to our supposed allies on the Left who lecture us about intersectionality while throwing out specious claims about white feminists voting for Trump.
You want to come at me with facts, then fine. Otherwise, I am going to continue to speak out against the harmful demonization of the vast majority of white feminists, who very much understand the intersection between race, class, sexual orientation and gender and are trying to do something about it and yet are constantly told we should just sit back and be silent.
I did provide facts, unless the women’s march versus the previous black lives matters march is fiction? The information on intersectionalism is there, and if you are such a rabid feminist then you should have encountered it. There is no demonization, especially not in that one comment, but there is honest discussion which means sometimes the tone won’t please you.
None of that changes the fact you jumped all over grabby for saying ‘white feminists who voted trump’ with your #notallwhitefeminists.
As a “rabid feminist,” I see the vast majority of white feminists who recognize the need for intersectionality in the movement’s actions, as I believe I already said. But do continue to demonize – no doubt the movement will be stronger for it.
I agree gwyneth is an idiot but do we honestly know who she voted for? Sheesh. I’m really tired of how any ‘bad’ person somehow relates back to 45. Yes he is an idiot and yes she is too but the leaps are getting a little crazy.
I know some idiots that voted for 45, HRC, Johnson, and idiots that didn’t vote. There are many garden varieties of idiots.
Goop is such an obnoxious tw*t. Can’t even deal with her. She must be scared if she had to do a takedown of one doctor. Esp since many have criticized her BS
Jade egg for $66? Kegel exercises are free
I know right?
As a historian of ideas it drives me insane that she uses the argument that women’s health being constantly underresearched and minimized -entirely true- to bolster her selling vitamins and steam pots. It’s amazing how far we still have to go for typically “feminine” ailments to be taken seriously. Migraines, eating disorders and chronic exhaustion in working mothers are still seen as hysteria. Doctors are often dismissive and sometimes cruel to women. But charlatanism IS NOT A FAVOUR DONE TO US. it only contributes to marginalize women more.
“Charlatanism is a not a favor done to us” … Perfectly said. Bravo!
Man, I thought GOOP was harmless, but she seems to be willing to defend her business at any cost, including sacrificing rigorous debate and women’s health.
Serious question — can the FDA get involved in her nonsense?
Vitamins and minerals, and jade eggs, are not regulated by the FDA. So probably not, unless she starts adverting rx drugs for alternative (nonlabel) uses or doesn’t mention side effects she’s not under their juristiction.
Unless I’m mistaken, the FDA has approved diet pills (the ones that increase your heart rate) and aspartame. And hasn’t stopped doctors from overnedicating children. Not to mention the state of junk food/obesity. not to mention pesticides in our food and hormones in animal products. I haven’t purchased any of her items but they all seem harmless. The only one that i remember being criticized for harm potential is vaginal steaming. (Steam kills good bacteria that keeps a vagina healthy.) that is not her invention though it’s Korean and apparently was already popular enough to be in LA. (Should the FDA go after them?) jade egg? weights for kegels were already a product sold in the USA. Expensive vitamins or celeb endorsed vitamins? Hardly new. What would be scandalous is if her vitamins were poorly produced or didn’t have the contents advertised. Plenty of people have been obsessed with vitamins and supplements for ages. Almost every mall has a vitamin store. grounding? Standing on your own grass won’t hurt you. You don’t have to buy her grounding machine to do grounding. You could just go to the park if you don’t have grass. I have no idea what danger the FDA should stop her from inflicting on the public. I like her recipes and how she challenges the status quo. I don’t mind the dr calling her out on specific errors of course
The difference between the jade egg and weights for kegels is the material. Weights for kegels are usually made from medical grade silicone which a non-porous material, most menstrual cups are also made from medical grade silicone. Jade is porous and can harbor bacteria.
I see. Silicone is amazing. well i guess the FDA could advise against vaginal devices made of stone. Maybe it can be sanitized in boiling water? I just think she’s one of the least harmful ´things’ that the FDA has failed to stop. I don’t think they have any intention of stopping business that rip people off with less /not useful products.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: watch the “Who do you think you are?” ep featuring none other than our Goopiest Goopy Goop and it tells you everything you need to know about our old mate.
Watch as she finds out she is descended from a whole bunch of rabbis and she is everything you ever imagined and more: egocentric, gleeful, narcissistic and shallow AF. Girlfriend is such a fraud. She is the ultimate fauxminist.
I love that show but had to skip that episode because her voice is like nails on a chalkboard.
I don’t love her voice in intervoews either. I swear she had a nice voice when she was a dramatic actress. (Not sure about the marvel movies she’s in)
Has Gwyneth been this defensive of Goop before? or are sales at Goop falling because of all the criticism from medical experts and she has decided to fight back?
I always thought of Gwyneth as not really caring what people thought of her or Goop. Just as long as the money was coming in.
I have a question. People peddle pseudo science all the time. The papers still carry astrology readings all the time, people sell books about that sh*t. From colon cleansing to reflexology, this stuff is often treated like respectable Medicine. And more importantly people make money off it. So why so much attention on Gwyneth for merely joining this large bs party?
I genuinely think that people need to make up their minds. Either we reject all pseudoscience and that means everyone just finally stop telling us how perfectly suited they are to their Capricon husband because they are Pisces or we just embrace that most people are irrational idiots and so who cares that a Hollywood actress is one too. As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted anyway. I hate to say it but I do agree with Goop that there’s a witch hunt out against her specifically for reasons beyond her pseudo science sell.
Isn’t the problem that Paltrow couches her pseudoscience as a form of feminism and reclaiming of one’s health in the context of a for profit company? If you read Dr. Gunther and her blog, she discusses many other aspects of pseudoscience and doesn’t focus on Goop specifically. That’s what makes the attack on her so random.
All or at least much of pseudo science has an emotional sales pitch. Invoking feminism doesn’t make it more dangerous though it nay make more or different people feel offended. OOOH this is the right spot to share: check out john olivers episode (via YouTube) on pyramid schemes, Herbalife is discussed. There is no way goop is more harmful than Herbalife.
Last I checked, reading your horoscope in the morning paper wasn’t likely to give you toxic shock syndrome.
GOOP is hardly the first enterprise to be criticized for peddling snake oil, and the scrutiny should be appropriately scaled based on potential harm. Selling things that offer no real benefit is one thing, advocating and profiting from methods or merchandise that can actually cause great illness or injury is another.
Many people let their major decisions be dictated by that horoscope stupidity. I know someone who lost a lot of money in a scam because her reading told her that her stars had aligned and risks would pay off in that quadrant or whatever lingo they use. I have no doubt people have quit medical treatment based on a reading. Dont we all know someone who entered a relationship because his moon was aligned with hers or some such. Horoscopes are no more harmless than whatever Goop peddles.
Just to split hairs, you’ll notice I said ‘read’ not ‘make critical life choices based on’. That was deliberate. The horoscope itself is harmless, it’s what you decide to do after reading it that has the real consequences.
I do not believe life choices should be made off astrological signs, my mind is very made up.
I try to keep some of my thoughts to myself though, because believing in ghosts or god or gods or horoscopes or previous lives, these are all beliefs some people hold dear. If they don’t hurt others, then carry on.
Many scientists are no quiet about this though, and I think it adds to the concepts that the educated are giant twats.
She is a problem because her status makes it seem that her claims are more valid. People will assume she has done research and has access to more information since she sells herself as such. There was someone peddling lies like her and cancer patients died as a result. She isn’t harmless.
The problem is that people cherry-pick their snake oil.
I love that she went from being a Carolyn Bessette /Grace Kelly wannabe to just another fool selling MLM products.
Not MLM at this point!
Seriously, how did this happen? I can’t honestly believe she would rather peddle this nonsense than have Cate Blanchett or Naomi Watts’ careers. Exactly no one would have predicted this (downfall?) back in 1999.
I could never stomach Paltrow because she is such a snob so I never read her goopy junk. I love Dr. Gunter’ response. We need more people out there to take down all these pseudoscience nutjobs that are bringing down this society.
Goop is trying to sell sand in your front bottom now?
The juvenile in me cackles heartily at the abbreviation of Journal of the International Society of Microbiota.
Especially also in relations to where a self-satisfied mansplainer publishes his… ahem… claim to fame.
I am SO GLAD I am not the only one who had that reaction. Juvenile? Yes. But SO satisfying.
Pun intended.
I outright giggled and I’m not sorry.
+1. That was priceless.
Gwenny is just disgusting. Good for this doctor for taking her to task.
I have the newest and best treatment for a problem you never knew you even had, and it can be yours for only $100…
… every sales, I mean, medical pitch on goop.
Wow, this doctor is a bada$$! Loved reading her GOOP takedown.
I’ve been reading Dr. Gunter for several months. She’s got me on the All Bran buds and it’s been great.
I believe she lost one of her twin sons as a baby; she writes so thoughtfully of horrible experiences from the patient’s perspective.
I have never been to her site. But she is selling mess and fools are buying it. This is the problem with humans. We will buy anything if it is marketed the right way. People buy rocks that they can on the road free. We are the society that buys bottled water for God’s sake. WATER that we in this world can get from turning a tap. So not surprised that she is selling smoke and people are going. OH GOD..look Smoke.. I never saw smoke like that before. How much..
Bottled water is not a scam. You are paying for the filtering, quality control, bottling, and distribution so if you can’t stand the unfiltered stuff coming out of your tap – you have an option. Let me tell you my sad tale, so you can see why bottled water is such a boon to all humankind and better than sliced bread.
I suffered for years because I couldn’t get good water out of my tap. It smelled and tasted awful. I tried chilling it and letting it stand long enough for volatiles to escape and particulates to settle. Worked in one area to produce acceptable though not great water, but not where I live now. The only bottled water back then was distilled water for irons, which also tasted weird, or awful stuff sold for mixed drinks. Finally Perrier showed up, but I don’t like carbonation that much. There is also only so much fruit juice or soda I can drink also…. Soda has been the go-to in countries with unsanitary water, by the way – Coca Cola was sold in plastic bags in poor areas of Nicaragua, for example, they processed their water and so even though it rotted people’s teeth, it was a safer choice than the local water. Boiling doesn’t fix everything about bad water…
I even tried getting a small distiller, but of course that concentrated the volatiles. The guy who sold it to me also sold industrial water purification units to industry and governments. He said way back then that it was getting so difficult to filter out all the undesirable stuff, we would need to take the European approach and have two taps (potable and not for drinking). I experimented with running it through charcoal and an ion exchange filter sold for irons. Small charcoal filters had begun to be sold on the market as sink attachments, but it still wasn’t enough. My Rube Goldberg device gave me proof of concept but was not suitable for fixing large amounts of my tap water
Finally I ordered regular delivery of a huge water cooler bottle, and that was good water. If I had had a proper water cooler (I didn’t), I would have been set… Used it for drinking and cooking. I imagine it simply came from a place where the tap water actually does taste good (those wonderful places exist, I am told. You must live in one).
Finally I was able to get a home filtering unit with three different filters: particulate filter, charcoal filter, and reverse osmosis filter. In my case, the RO filter was the crucial part since charcoal alone didn’t do it for me. So for the past few decades, I’ve been able to actually drink all the water I want without gagging.
Later, various filtered but not carbonated or necessarily “mineral waters” (not tasty to me) bottled water started to show up in the grocery store. Aquafina is a good alternative to home filtering for me when away from home or waiting for a needed part for my filtering unit: yes, it starts out as tap water (in a much better area than mine) but then is run through both charcoal filters and reverse osmosis. They probably also filter out particulates first but I don’t remember seeing that on the label. It tastes almost as good as my own filtered water. Any other brand I’ve tried has to have both charcoal and RO filtering to taste good to me. When Aquafina is on sale, it costs about the same as my home filtered water. The local grocery store has a cheaper house brand, also charcoal and RO filtered, which is acceptable but not as good tasting as Aquafina and of course it’s not a national brand. So if I’m far away from home, I pay for the Aquafina.
By the way, in my youth sports teams used to travel with their own local tap water. Turns out that people get used to whatever stuff is in their own local water (especially the microorganisms) but can get diarrhea from tap water in other localities. My uncle had that problem. Nowadays, good bottled water can be found most places, solving that problem.
I’ve tried those machines in grocery stores that let you fill up your own jugs with allegedly filtered water. The quality control is very spotty. Sometimes it tastes fine, other times gag-worthy. Don’t know if they are getting the water from a scamster source or the machines are simply not maintained properly. Not reliable for my purposes, but you may have a different experience in your area.
Anyway – unless you are lucky enough to have good tap water, the current bottled water options are wonderful and make water worth drinking again. Of course it starts out as tap water. Why wouldn’t it? But it costs money to filter tap water properly, at home or in a bottling plant, and quality control costs money also for commercial products. That’s why bottled water is not free. Neither is tap water, you’re paying the local water company for it. But the water company is not trying to make the water taste good, just keep it from outright killing you.
I’ve experienced the same, although certainly not to the degree you have. The area I grew up in had amazing water, brought in by pipeline from a remote and pristine mountain reservoir. When I moved down the road a few miles to a town that used groundwater from industrial wells for its supply I realized just how much I took good water for granted. Yes, this water is drinkable, and probably 99.999% better than what is available in developing countries, but it just tastes off – even after a decade of living here. By far the worst tap water I’ve ever tasted was in Las Vegas, that stuff is truly nasty.
It’s always amusing to me when people kick up such a fuss about fluoride being added to the drinking supply – fluoride is the least of it. There is some serious chemistry going on. A good case can be made that it is all necessary – the Flint water crisis happened because they decided to leave a chemical out of the water, not because of one they put in, but it is still a daunting list.
The Nordstrom at So. Coast Plaza has a goopy pop-up mini store beside the escalator. It is R*I*D*I*C*U*L*O*U*S. AND it’s in a very annoying spot to the SO. Coast elite (not me) which makes me laugh. This mall with Harry Winston, Cartier, Tiffany, Bulgaria, Chopard, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Hermes, and oh so much more…I watch while the rich ladies look at goopy’s offering under the escalator with contempt and are annoyed by having to step around it like a pile of poop.
hahahahaah.
The perfect commentary.
Dissed by the rich. Goop is sideswiped.
Ugh, why can’t she sell houseware or something. Like Martha? You can still turn a buck without the pseudo science.
She was always pretentious. I remember there was an article about her and how sometimes her parents even thought she was too up in her a$$. Blythe Danner even commented on it. Just can’t believe she’s Blythe’s daughter. Blythe sounds super laid back in interviews.
Amazing response from a really smart woman – not someone who pretends to be smart. Goop is junk.
I read all of this and really hope GOOP doesn’t follow some kind of legal threat to Dr. Gunter. We can cheer her up for debunking GOOP’s insanity and irresponsibility but it must be at least a bit scary to know how much power they have. Being a clear target can’t be easy even if you are right and the general public is on your side.
The best part is getting a MAN to try the take down. What a fraud she is, Not that this is surprising in the least!
Hey, that’s how they always did it in the Middle Ages. And wasn’t *that* a great time to be female! (or even to be, for that matter….)
That no-nonsense slap-back from Dr Gunter is all-round delicious!
I’d love to have been a fly on the wall round Paltrow’s when she read it.
Sounds to me like the conventional mainstream medical doctors are threatened by Goops ability to get people to think outside of the “box”. I say bravo to her and Dr. Gundry – who in my opinion wrote an excellent piece about his methods for helping people’s bodies heal themselves!
Ha! Sarcasm, surely? Please say it’s so!
The idea than anyone – least of all the bullshit-free and formidably informed Dr Gunter – of any intelligence could be threatened by Goop’s self-serving bullshit is beyond hilarious!
lol. Did you read even her response? She eviscerated that old boot Dr. Gundry, and beat him at his own game. while also pointing out who’s really on the receiving end of big pharma’s $$$ (hint for those who didn’t read…It’s not who you think…)
Hmmm who to trust…….?
No harm in “thinking outside the box” (uh….) but when it comes to health I’m not going to listen to a college dropout who is trying to stay relevant.
Ahaha, oh man, you are supporting this huckster? Lets do a little thought experiment.
Why would medical doctors care? She is not taking their clientele, she is not impacting their bottom line, the only reason left is that they care because shes harming people.
Why does Gwynnie care? Because doctors spreading knowledge takes money from her business. Don’t get it twisted. She does not care for people’s health, she cares for making money. Otherwise this would be a philanthropic pursuit, not a commercial one.
Hi, Gwyneth!!!!
Team Dr. Gunter all the way
Goopy is starting to look like Caitlin Jenner….I wonder if they share the same plastic surgeon
I’m so glad you’re covering this! I recently started following Dr. Gunter and she writes with the perfect blend of snark and authority. It’s worth spending time to read some of the other articles on her blog.
I’ve been following her for a while and I’m loving that her authoritative voice on so many issues is currently getting the wider attention it deserves.
And that it’s because of, and at the expense of, the deeply ignorant, uneducated, self-serving, bollocks-shilling Paltrow is such a lovely bonus!
I’ve always chuckled at gwyneth and her bs. I erroneously viewed it as ridiculous but mostly harmless (like horoscopes). Not any more. This is serious Tom Cruise type territory she’s crossing in to. If she’s even a tiny bit savvy she will back the f away from this and quickly. Not a good look at all.
Love this. Her arrogance needs a good beating and I am here to watch. With glee.
She really *is* insufferably, unapologetically arrogant, isn’t she? And has SO little experience of the world outside of her own little cocoon of elitism and self absorption, that her lack of education and insight and awareness really isn’t that surprising. What IS surprising to me is just *how* awful she’s become, how greedy, how immoral, how endangering to the very lives of the women who read her pseud-science, and take it seriously. Surely, it seems, she must somehow be even just borderline aware that she is peddling medical supplements/cures to people when she has no degree and so absolutely no right to, meaning that she is potentially committing great harm. But I think she genuinely doesn’t care about her readers–just doesn’t want to be called out on this or caught. I’ve always disliked her, for her smugness, her oblivion, her fake “realness”,her relentless self obsession—but this reveals her to be even worse: it means she’s ruthless. A truly terrifying, terrible person all around.
These are Dr. GUNTER’S QUALIFICATIONS:
I was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada and graduated from The University of Manitoba School of Medicine in 1990 at the age of 23 (I started young). In 1995 I completed my OB/GYN training at the University of Western Ontario and moved to the United States to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Kansas. After completing my fellowship I continued my studies in pain medicine. I am board certified in OB/GYN in both Canada and the United States. I am also board certified in pain medicine by the American Board of Pain Medicine and by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. That’s why I have so many letters after my name.
Jennifer Gunter MD, FRCS(C), FACOG, DABPM
G.P. is just humiliating herself.