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Food

Nutritionists Say Gwyneth Paltrow's $185 Breakfast Smoothie Could Have Nasty Side Effects

Like with most things you ingest, moderation seems to be the key, no matter how beneficial the product claims to be.
Photo via Flickr user eLENA tUBARO

Gwyneth Paltrow has already left an indelible mark on the world of food.

From telling her loyal readers that bad vibes can influence the chemical structure of water to her "restorative diet" cookbook to becoming the international ambassadress of kale, Gwyneth's Goop is a juggernaut food brand.

The most recent in her long line of New Age dietary advice may also be her most generous. In a recent post on Goop, Gwyneth shared the recipe for her daily smoothie called "GP's Morning 'Smoothie,'" which boasts of many restorative benefits, from boosted sex drive to "extrasensory perception."

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READ: It's Too Easy to Mock Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop

"Gwyneth drinks one of these every morning, whether or not she's detoxing," the site claims. "Choose your Moon Juice moon dust depending on what the day ahead holds… brain before a long day at the office, sex dust before a date, etc."

This short description is followed by one simple recipe step: "1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz to combine." And presto, you will be getting advice from rocks in no time, just like Gwyneth! The more complicated step to this recipe, which isn't mentioned on the site, is acquiring the dozen or so ingredients required to make it.

The breakfast smoothie calls for two tablespoons of vanilla mushroom protein powder and a teaspoon each of maca, ashwagandha, ho shou wu, and cordyceps, all of which, conveniently, can be found at Moon Juice, a holistic food shop which allows consumers to "thrive cosmically."

Goop also suggests using a range of different Moon Juice "dusts" which can supposedly soothe overworked muscles, combat mental fogginess, increase sex drive, or just "get that extrasensory perception going," depending on what kind of day you have planned.

But thriving cosmically can also put a serious damper on one's ability to thrive financially. GP's daily smoothie could cost as much as $185 to make, according to some estimates. But does it even work?

We asked Angela Lemond, RDN, CSP, LD, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to break down the ingredients in Gwyn's morning shake and see if it was worth all of the requisite time and money.

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Despite the exotic names and origins of many of these ingredients, most of them are fairly common among those seeking plant-based remedies, and many like Ashwagandha, Cordycep, and Maca can yield substantial health benefits, according to Lemond.

But "natural" and "plant-based" don't alwys mean risk-free, she warned, especially when concentrations are high, like in GP's recipe.

"What people need to know is that many herbs, including some here, have pharmaceutical effects on the body. Just because they are naturally occurring in nature does not mean that they cannot have adverse effects, especially when they are concentrated," she told MUNCHIES. Lemond also added that specific groups of people should probably avoid most herbs altogether.

"I tell people that have pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and heart disease to be especially careful when taking herbs as they may interact with their current medications or treatments, if a woman is pregnant or nursing to avoid most herbs. And lastly, if you are about to undergo any kind of surgery, stop taking herbs at least two weeks prior as many of them may affect the body's ability to clot blood."

The same goes for the Moon Juice dusts. "GP's dust products that she suggests adding are a variety of herbs and the same rule of thumb as explained above applies."

Like with most things you ingest, moderation seems to be the key, no matter how beneficial the product.