http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/16/gwyneth-paltrow-laughable-diet-genius

 

It's easy to make fun of Gwyneth Paltrow's nonsense about exercise, food, and inner journeys, but she's laughing all the way to the bank

 

 

You might think that early April had been all about one particular towering if divisive figure, one who polarised nations with her extraordinary pronouncements. Love her or hate her, you have to admit, that woman made an impact and that woman is, of course, Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

Paltrow's latest contribution to ameliorating the terrible malnutrition suffered by swaths of the world's population – everyone but Paltrow, in fact – has just been published in the UK under the title It's All Good. And indeed it is, if your approach to food is completely crackpot served up with a hefty side of overprivilege. In short, if you thought Pippa Middleton's book Celebrate read more like an internet parody than an actual book written by an actual person for which publishers paid actual money, you ain't seen nothing until you've read La Paltrow's contribution to the genre.

 

While ostensibly a cookbook, It's All Good is a cookbook characterised by a complete fear of food. Paltrow explains in the beginning how she was inspired to write the book when she nearly died after eating too many french fries (I am not exaggerating here) and so went to a doctor, submitted herself to more medical tests than a sufferer of Munchausen's syndrome and came up with the diagnosis that her body was in crisis. A doctor duly decreed that she is allergic to pretty much everything, including peppers, corn and aubergine, and should eat next to nothing. Except quinoa. And maybe some pomegranate on special occasions.

 

Gwyneth, with the kind of self-centred self-righteousness that only Hollywood A-listers can master, decided that if she needs to follow this medically dubious "elimination" diet (a diet one doctor has already described as "at best non-evidence-based hope, and at worst plain old malpractice"), then so does everyone else in the world. Hence It's All Good, a cookbook that is food-phobic, a treatise on nutrition that contains about as much actual science as a Gillian McKeith book. In short, Paltrow's concept of nutrition casts extreme doubt on the efficacy of the private schools system in Manhattan that educated her so expensively.

 

The food and literary establishments have described It's All Good as "laughable Hollywood neuroticism about eating taken to the next level" and "quack science". Yahoo gleefully pointed out that to eat as Paltrow suggests would cost $300 (about £200) a day, which I actually think is quite a bargain considering Paltrow once recommended a detox costing £275 for 21 days, and that involved nearly no food at all. In any case, it feels like a bit of a wasted jab on Yahoo's part to say that Gwyneth's $300 diet smacks of Marie Antoinette-esque privilege: did they not read the section in which she blithely notes how she has so many apples to spare thanks to the orchard around her massive house in the Hamptons?

 

It's easy to make fun of Paltrow – I've just done it for 450 words without breaking a sweat – but I've begun to think that, actually, she might be a genius. True, genius is not really a word that one associates with a 40-year-old who has a penchant for boasting that she has "the butt of a 22-year-old stripper", or announcing "I would rather die than let my kids eat Cup-a-Soup." But it has become increasingly clear to me that Paltrow is brilliantly trolling the world.

 

Just as some youngsters today do not know who Margaret Thatcher is, so there must be a whole generation that doesn't know Paltrow was once a talented actor as opposed to a cheerleader for tofu. However, during the past decade Paltrow appears to have decided to jettison her career and become a full-time spouter of nonsense about food, exercise and her own inner journey, all detailed on her website, Goop. This now seems to give her so much more pleasure than acting, and considering her next role is in Iron Man 3, that's understandable. But because I refuse to believe that anyone can be as bizarre as Paltrow presents herself, I suspect she is engaging in a giant satire on the world, creating a self-image that is as much a parody of the modern-day celebrity as William Boot was of the 20th-century journalist.

 

Consider: 1. An obsession with food, dieting, exercise and crackpot theories thereof; 2. A stonkingly myopic sense of overprivilege; 3. Giving one's children extraordinary names; 4. An unfortunate tendency to dabble in embarrassing hip-hop moves and parlance.

 

These are the cliched characteristics of a celebrity today and Paltrow embodies them all to an extraordinarily overblown degree. The net result is that she now gets far more press for being this parody of a celebrity than she ever got for being an actual celebrity. Sure, a lot of the attention might be negative, but at least it's attention, and, as some female columnists have also learned, making oneself into a laughable figure can be a very lucrative sideline.

 

Mail Online is so enthralled with pronouncements about Gwyneth's butt and her gluten intolerance that they basically have a whole section dedicated to her. This is because the media itself is as fond of spreading misinformation about food, female body shape and exercise as Paltrow and, as a result, her nonsensical book has currently garnered twice as many Google hits as Iron Man 3.

 

Paltrow seems to have realised at just the right point that the difference between being a 20th- and 21st-century celebrity is that the former required some talent and the latter requires only self-exposure, and if that means becoming a laughing stock along the way, she can laugh herself all the way to the bank. Gwyneth Paltrow: modern-day genius or embodiment of modern day ills? Whatever, it's all good.

 

Anybody have any thoughts?

I think people spend an awful lot of time writing rants about a freakin book of recipes. If you think she's that crazy and stupid, and a bad example for everybody, then don't write articles about her ffs.

But when others are writing articles about her and praising it then why not write up a different opinion about it?

I recommend the bangers and mash on pg34 followed by bread and butter pudding with double cream on pg 97.

I recommend the bangers and mash on pg34 followed by bread and butter pudding with double cream on pg 97.

 

Thanks, now I'm hungry again! :p

But when others are writing articles about her and praising it then why not write up a different opinion about it?

What I've heard so far during the promotion of the book, apart from the shows she's appeared on, is that she's currently the most hated celebrities and then I've heard and read lots and lots of media saying how crazy she is. I think this is well balanced.

 

My point was: the more you speak about it, whether it's in bad or in good, the more the sales will increase, it's true for pretty much everything, so if someone really hates that book then they simply shouldn't speak about it, and maybe discretely encourage their comrades to act the same.

 

If she doesn't deserve attention, then don't give it to her (or at least don't give her more opportunities).

She's got enough money anyway. I don't care if she gets more. Worse people have more. Better people has less. I don't care how much she sells if i'm honest. But according to nutritional experts what she has said is not good at all, so that needs highlighting. This thing is already going to be a best seller because of who she is, so it's wise to face up to the book and review it honestly. Some of it will be harsh but there has been a very good reason why plenty of it has been negative.

I will just continue eating fruits, vegetables and some meat for the rest of my life and a little bit of candyunhealthy stuff inbetween.

I actually thought the article was a bit amusing

 

Can't speak much on the nutritional part, I eat horribly with lots of junk food and am only skinny through what seems to be my ridiculous metabolism. It's gonna bite me in the ass eventually.

She's got enough money anyway. I don't care if she gets more. Worse people have more. Better people has less. I don't care how much she sells if i'm honest. But according to nutritional experts what she has said is not good at all, so that needs highlighting. This thing is already going to be a best seller because of who she is, so it's wise to face up to the book and review it honestly. Some of it will be harsh but there has been a very good reason why plenty of it has been negative.

 

In France, we had this great big campaign inviting people to eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day. For some people, it is a pretty good idea, but for others, it is absolutely the worst thing to do.

How can people judge someone's eating habits when they do not have the same metabolism, the same history and the same doctors ? We're all different regarding food. She's not saying everyone should eat like her, she's just saying that if you'd like to eat less gluten for instance, you can follow her recipes.

I felt like posting because I have health problems and what I eat directly affects the way I feel, so I've done a lot of research on food.

I feel best and most energized when I eat lots of fruit & veg, lean meat, not too many carbs (at night), not too much saturated fat, no added sugar and no additives. Looks like Gwyneth's on a diet like that, and as far as I'm concerned it's healthy and well-balanced. Not 'crackpot' at all. Definitely a lot better than what the majority of people eat.

 

I get that you want to write about what you hate. Feels good. It's why we gossip and stuff. Everyone does it.

People seem to have a problem with her telling others what (not) to eat. I don't think she does, though. She just wants to show some options: if you want to eat like this, you can try that and that and that. Like Céline said.

Plus, you don't have to buy her book and if you do, you don't need to eat like that 24/7.

Of course, she makes money with it and therefore it's a smart business move, but I believe she wants to help people too. Call me ignorant. I'd rather be ignorant than someone who thinks the worst of people they don't actually know at all.

 

The one thing I have a problem with is, it's very easy to get lost in being healthy. Her diet seems 'clean'. No factory stuff. I like that, but it can become an obsession. There's nothing wrong with eating at McDonald's every once and a while. I hope she realizes that. The most important thing is to enjoy food and to listen to your body. If you hate tofu, don't eat tofu. If you crave chocolate, have chocolate.

 

What I can't stand is people calling her crazy. What could possibly be crazy about a person who makes conscious decisions about what they eat, instead of just eating whatever's within reach? And in the meantime she works out A LOT, she flies all over the world, she looks fantastic, her husband is able to move around like a mad man on stage. No one can convince me she's on a bad diet.

On the other hand - Keith Richards is still alive...

The only problem I have is that these kinds of books although say "researched" usually aren't actual scientific fact or really very reliable and people think it must be true because it's in a book about food.

Gluten allergies are becoming more common these days and those who suffer from them have a problem(I've heard :blank:)It's a real problem for some. I'm not making fun. Why some person had to tell me this, I have no idea. :angry: A problem when eating gluten. Two words, AL. It's an acronym for something gross, anal leakage. This is awkward to say. Might be important for someone. :blank: