People, I kid you not.
Sales for her $90 t-shirt must have inspired the Oscar winning actress to branch out into medicinal therapies, of course.
Now, I knew about her vegan lifestyle and how Hollywood is obsessed with cleanses. But the V-steamer? Was not prepared. The premise is this: You sit on something that sends steam up through the vagina and purportedly (read: does not) travels up through the cervix and into the uterus.
I'm not going to go on about how ridiculous this is in practice. - Russell Saunders does a great job of that here. - But I will ask the question, Why will people trust Gwyneth Paltrow over their OB/Gyne who has completed medical school and a rigorous training in residency? Because I'll tell you right now, no MD/DO would sign-off on this.
The obvious answer is celebrity status trumps all. But does it also have to do with this notion that those with expendable incomes have access to the "real" or "actual" cures for disease? Take Magic Johnson, for example. Many people believe he did so well with HIV because he could afford the magic bullet that is kept hidden from mere commoners. Is there any truth to that? Who knows?
What we do know is that wealthy folks like Gwyneth Paltrow can afford to visit health spas regularly and buy organic. That just seems so cleansing and holistic. And we like those words. We like them a lot. But is there evidence to support this notion that money can buy health? For starters we know that being poor is linked to more time spent feeling unwell and higher infant mortality (source). But that's not what I'm getting at. I'm looking squarely at therapeutic options rich people have that others don't.
In my own life, I've come to understand that if you get sacked with an autoimmune disease it's best not to be poor. For real. I was fortunate to have good health insurance through my husband's employer, without it I'd be paying four THOUSAND dollars a month for Humira. Even that conventional drug wasn't enough so I looked into other options. I began meeting with a naturopath who took cash only and I shelled out hundreds of dollars more. And while I can't say that she cured me, I did get valuable information from tests not normally ordered by allopathic doctors. Hoping that the internet would be the great equalizer, I looked to see if others could get access to alternative medicine professionals through online consulting and the answer is yes, but at an even heftier price. Egads.
So do we say phooey? "I don't need no stinkin' organic kale and crystal healing anyway." I wish that were entirely true. Some studies show that parents who can afford to purchase "clean" and organic products for their children can significantly decrease or prevent harmful chemicals in their blood compared to children who use conventional household items and eat regular diets [1-2]. Likewise, those who have the time and money to hire a nanny while s/he attends a yoga retreat can in fact lower their inflammation (source).
Yes, what I'm saying is that -- coochie-cleansers and detox diets aside -- there are helpful tools in disease prevention and management that can be prohibitive due to cost. And if you know anything about me, you know Dr. D is all about social justice. I cannot stand health disparities like this. What am I gonna do about it? I have some ideas, actually...
I, a board certified physician, will share evidenced-based products or techniques that actually help people obtain better health. I will find and share these thing in the most economical way possible. And you know what? Being raised in the inner-city of Chicago taught me a thing or two about getting more for less. I can and will deliver on this promise.
But if you have money and vagina(s) to burn, then this just isn't for you.
*Otherwise known as that post where Monique talks about the socio-economic aspects of modern healthcare.
[1] Curl CL, et al. Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool children
with organic and
conventional diets. Env Health Perspect. 2003;111:377-82
[2] Duty SM, et al. Personal care product use predicts urinary concentrations of some phthalate monoesters. Environ
Health Perspect. 2005 Nov;113(11):1530-5
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