Life with Chronic Conditions: Celebrities are not health experts

I recently listened to a talk where Dr. Jen Gunter debunked Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP website. She was specifically angered about V Steam, which involves an infrared and mug wort steam cleanse for a woman’s uterus. Gunter, a gynecologist and author of “The Vagina Bible”  pointed out that the vagina and uterus are “self-cleaning ovens,” and steam may actually do more harm than good.

Gunter refers to Paltrow as the “couture’ of snake oil salesman and talks a great deal about how the wellness industry uses pseudoscience to stigmatize and control women in particular.

We don’t go to a celebrity to do our tax returns, seek their advice on plumbing or electrical problem, or to mediate a dispute with our spouse, so why do so many people think they are health experts? Why do their opinions on vaccination, surgeries, diets and treatments matter?

It’s very simple, celebrities have platforms while health care professionals do not. People with platforms command our attention. Further, as fans, we view them as trusted messengers and even friends.

Sometimes the messenger is correct, as in the case of Michael J. Fox who has used his health situation to seek a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. Other times a celebrity can bring awareness to a serious health issue because of their own status, such was the case when Charlie Sheen announced that he was HIV positive. As a result, there was a significant upswing in people being tested. Angelina Jolie made many aware of the genetic link for breast and ovarian cancers.  

However, the celebrity can be way off course and cause considerable damage. Paltrow is but one example, and the list is long including people like Tom Cruise, Jenny McCarthy, Suzanne Somers and even Dr. Oz (Green Coffee Bean extract). A study in the British Medical Journal  that looked at the impact celebrities have on medical advice concluded, The influence of celebrity status is a deeply rooted process that can be harnessed for good or abused for harm. A better understanding of celebrity can empower health professionals to take this phenomenon seriously and use patient encounters to educate the public about sources of health information and their trustworthiness. Public health authorities can use these insights to implement regulations and restrictions on celebrity endorsements and design counter marketing initiatives—perhaps even partnering with celebrities—to discredit bogus medical advice while promoting evidence based practices.

Celebrities write books on health and various aspects of wellness all the time. They run health conferences and sell ideas that are beyond absurd. Unfortunately, paying attention to them can not only cost you money, but it can delay effective treatments and at worse cause serious harm. Keep in mind that even if a celebrity has the same condition you have, chances are good that they have access to medical care that can be well beyond anything you can afford, and very possibly not something you need in the first place.

The bottom line is we all need to be wary of snake oil sales pitches be they delivered by our favorite movie star, sports figure or TV host.

How to find good health information online

• Ask your medical provider about the websites they would recommend for someone with your condition. Think of it like a health information prescription.

• Know the warning signs: If it’s a .com and is selling something, promises a cure, suggests supplements that can fix everything, offers to treat you on-line without seeing you be very wary. They are often filled with ads and sponsors information. If you do go to Web MD, don’t click on anything. Their goal isn’t so much to educate and inform as it is to generate money for those that run the site. Sites to consider with reliable health information include: National Institutes of Health; Medline Plus; Condition specific organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

 • Keep the ABCs in mind as you search:

-       Authority & Accuracy: Is the website up to date? Check the site for the date of the last update. If it’s more than a few years old it can be outdated. Who oversees the site? You can find this is the “about us” section.  Is it a medical professional? Are they an expert in their field? Can you reach the author of the site by e-mail or phone? Do they provide information from the medical literature?

-       Bias: Who pays for the site? DO NOT CLICK ON ADS as this can create a host of problems you don’t need.

-       Can you read and understand the information?