Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest health guru is a “functional medicine practitioner” who advocates coffee enemas and cuddling, The Post can reveal.
The Oscar-winner — currently in civil court in Utah where she is being sued over a ski crash — sparked claims this month she was promoting disordered eating by boasting about her diet of intermittent fasting, bone-broth lunches and paleo dinners.
Paltrow used an Instagram story to claim the regimen was based on “my medical results and extensive testing I’ve done over time” then credited her doctor Will Cole with creating the diet.
Paltrow said Cole had worked with her on “inflammation” and the affects of her long Covid, adding: “So I’ve been working with Dr. Cole to really focus on foods that aren’t inflammatory. So lots of vegetables, cooked vegetables, all kinds of protein, healthy carbs to really lower inflammation and it’s been working really well.”
But Dr. Cole is not a medical doctor. Instead he is a a doctor of natural medicine and a doctor of chiropractic who calls himself a “functional medicine” practitioner.
Cole has criticized conventional medicine as “superficial” and “profit driven.”
He also offers keto meal plans online, sells $197-a-bottle “gut” supplements with ingredients including licorice, aloe vera and prune powder, and hawks $724 “toxin” tests for the home.
The actress’s advisor extols the virtues of coffee enemas, writing that “sometimes these more ‘extreme’ tools can actually help people with chronic autoimmune issues or other health problems.” And he says that hormones and neurotransmitters both play a role in the health benefits of cuddling.
Now Cole is coming under fire from one of Paltrow’s fiercest medical critics. Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN in San Francisco, previously attacked the Goop.com founder’s notorious jade “yoni eggs” — meant to be inserted into the vagina to “balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles, prevent uterine prolapse, and increase bladder control.”
In 2018, Goop agreed to pay $145,000 in a civil settlement over these “unsubstantiated” claims. The $66 eggs are still available on the site, albeit with the health claims removed.
(“This settlement does not indicate any liability on Goop’s part,” Heather Wilson, a Goop spokeswoman, said at the time.)
Dr. Gunter decried coffee enemas as a “scam,” criticized Dr. Cole for charging thousands for treatments while attacking conventional medicine for profiteering — and told The Post that the doctor’s public close ties to Paltrow raise ethical concerns.
Paltrow has featured Cole on “The Goop Podcast,” published articles from him on the Goop.com site, and next month will host a $35-a-head virtual event to discuss his new book, “Gut Feelings,” which is also being promoted on Goop.
It is published by Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, which is the publishing partner for Goop Press.
On Cole’s own podcast, “The Art of Being Well.” Paltrow said last week she had tried rectal oxygen therapy, which the FDA warns is dangerous.
But Dr. Gunter, author of “The Vagina Bible,” told The Post: “Will Cole is not an expert in medicine or health care. In fact, he says so on his website. So I am not exactly sure what he does.
“He claims to interpret lab tests and prescribe supplements, but how does he interpret those tests if he is not able to make a diagnosis? Also, Will Cole seems to think coffee enemas might be helpful. Spoiler alert, they are a scam.”
Dr. Gunter also said she thinks it’s “unethical for a provider to have a patient they are actively treating on their podcast. “Whether Cole is actively treating Paltrow or not, I don’t know. The implication is there, but whether it’s true or not I can’t say. “
She added: “I would recommend that anyone with concerns about food or nutrition see a registered dietician, who are the actual experts. If you have stomach concerns, then your primary care doctor and a gastroenterologist are who you should contact.
“You don’t want to see someone who can’t diagnose a medical condition because obviously they might miss conditions.”
A Goop spokesperson was unavailable for comment.
Cole, 39, obtained his doctorate from Southern California University of Health Sciences. He now practices from Pittsburgh, Penn., offering webcam consultations worldwide.
When The Post reached out to Cole for comment, we were told in a statement: “He is actually a Functional Medicine Practitioner (IFMCP) and Doctor of Natural Medicine (DNM) as well with extensive training in diet and nutrition.”
“We aim to make functional medicine as accessible as possible to as many people as possible by offering a wide-variety of options including books, website resources, video courses, group options, and more, all the way up to concierge care,” a spokesperson said.
Cole is not the first health guru in Paltrow’s circle to attract controversy.
In 2017, she hosted a doctor, Kelly Brogan, at a Goop health summit who had previously said the idea that HIV is the cause of AIDS is a “meme” and once wrote: “Drug toxicity associated with AIDS treatment may very well be what accounts for the majority of deaths.”
Dr. Brogan, an MD and “holistic psychiatrist,” also called antibiotics a “sacrament of the patriarchy” and in March 2020 said there was “potentially no such thing as the coronavirus.”
Paltrow has been at the forefront of natural medicine trends dating back to when she turned up at the premiere of “Anchorman” in 2004 with cupping marks on her back. The ancient Asian technique uses suction cups to help with pain, back problems and other aches and has been used by Olympians including Michael Phelps.
Since then she has promoted “vaginal steaming” as “so great” and the site has circulated debunked claims about bras causing cancer.
Goop also sold “bio-frequency stickers” that targeted the body’s energy imbalances with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits. But NASA called BS, stating that they don’t use that material in its equipment.
Paltrow and Goop also marketed a $75 “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle in 2020, calling it “a feminist statement around accepting who we are and our femininity.”
Dr. Gunter remains an unabashed critic of Paltrow and told The Post: “Any person who elevates an AIDS denialist should, in my opinion, be shunned by society. She has elevated other conspiracy theories, such as bras cause breast cancer. She is a terrible person.”
