Update: In an interview with Yahoo Beauty on Monday, Paltrow spoke to her eating habits, hoping to clear the air: "I really don't have any rules. I really believe in delicious food and enjoying life and not saying no to anything."
Gwyneth Paltrow recently announced her 2016 detox plan in a post on Goop, her personal online Eden. Amid the predictable chia pudding recipes and infrared sauna endorsements, one rule of her new diet stood out to us — the hyper-healthy actress has sworn off corn, of all things. It was nestled among other supposed evils (gluten, dairy, soy, caffeine, alcohol, added sugar, red meat, shellfish, white rice, and nightshades) that won't pass Paltrow's lips, all in the name of "resetting the palate" for the new year.
This eating plan is, to put it lightly, a bit of a change from the diet Paltrow claimed to follow last summer, when she appeared in Women's Health 's June issue. "My food philosophy is: Nothing should be ruled out," she said then, adding, "I don’t believe in saying, 'You’re not allowed that.'" We're way more in favor of that forgiving approach to eating, partly because taking the more restrictive, allegedly "detoxifying" route implies that these foods have absolutely nothing to offer in terms of nutrition.
While added sugar has been soundly found to have little to no health benefits, shellfish can be an asset to a balanced eating routine, and gluten isn't the root of all evil that so many believe it to be. And then there's corn — its starchy reputation and processed by-products have given it a bad name, but it's actually more nutritious than many would believe, and its insoluble fiber even fosters good gut bacteria.
Beyond that, casting certain food as "unclean" and spreading the idea that your body needs your help in ridding itself of "toxins" just contributes to an extreme, unhealthy societal relationship with food. It's all about balance, right?
We understand that Paltrow has a reputation to maintain, specifically one of unofficial-healthy-clean-body-expert, but this feels a little extreme. If you need us, we'll be over here perusing some craft popcorn options for our upcoming Oscar party.
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