Goop is at it again.
In an email newsletter sent out Thursday, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand released its annual detox guide, which recommends ditching certain foods for the year ahead, in order to cleanse your body of all the toxins.
In conjunction with its general “detox” recommendations, Goop also put together a Beauty and Wellness Detox Guide, complete with everything from a $4,099 two-person cedar sauna to a metaphysical colonic and plenty of facial serums, oils, masks and potions to fill one’s beauty cabinet.
The one thing that really caught our attention, though, was something called the Implant O’Rama system for an at-home coffee enema. What is a coffee enema, you ask? Well, according to HealthLine, it’s a type of colon cleanse used in alternative medicine that involves inserting brewed coffee and water into the colon through the rectum. And in the case of this Implant O’Rama system, you’d be doing all that by yourself.
Coffee enemas are a component of Gerson Therapy, a dietary regimen developed by American physician Dr. Max Gerson back in the 1920s. Other aspects of the treatment include eating a vegetarian diet and drinking raw juices to help heal “the body as a whole.” Supporters of the system claim that it treats everything from cancer, arthritis and heart disease, according to the Gerson Institute’s website.
Proponents of coffee enemas believe the procedure can help drain toxic bile from the gut and help the liver’s filtering system, but there isn’t much evidence supporting the benefits or healing abilities of coffee enemas, or colon-cleansing procedures in general.
According to a letter published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, there have been at least three cases of proctocolitis (a gastrointestinal syndrome) occurring in relation to coffee enemas. There have also been multiple deaths related to coffee enemas, and at least one individual suffered rectal burns because the water used was too hot. Overusing enemas can alter the body’s natural chemistry, interfering with normal functioning of the heart and other vital organs, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In Goop’s defense, the site does warn (in tiny font) that the treatment is for “those who know what they’re doing.” Still, an at-home enema kit seems a little unrealistic, and potentially unsafe, for the average person.
But we suppose being realistic isn’t really Goop’s strong suit.
Related
Before You Go
