Gwyneth Paltrow: The truth about rectal ozone therapy trends now
Doctors have weighed in on Gwyneth Paltrow's ‘pretty weird’ new wellness trend that involves shooting gas up her rectum.
They warn that there is no robust scientific evidence pointing to the treatment's benefits and warned that it could even be toxic to the body.
Dr Stuart Fischer, an emergency medicine physician in New York told DailyMail.com that the evidence backing up rectal ozone therapy was 'controversial at best' and 'the mode and the route are extremely questionable.'
The unproven and clinically untested therapy consists of chemically generating ozone (O3) with the help of an oxygen tank and a small generator that will set you back about $1,500.
Ms Paltrow acknowledges that rectal ozone therapy sounds outlandish but added that it has been ‘very helpful’ without saying for what
A series of IV ozone treatments in a flashy Southern California or New York City clinic might set you back about $1,200. While people can go to a clinic for rectal ozone therapy, many choose to do them at home because after the initial costs of procuring a generator, tubing, and an oxygen tank, each treatment is cheap to free.
The generated ozone collects in a bag that attaches to silicone tubing which, when fixed with a catheter and inserted about three inches into the rectum, shoots ozone into the body.
Even Ms Paltrow, who is no stranger to wacky wellness trends, acknowledges that it sounds outlandish but added that it has been ‘very helpful’ - without saying for what.
Adherents claim the therapy reduces inflammation and bacteria, encourages cell regeneration and promotes anti-aging, improves the immune system, and even wards off heart attacks.
But the evidence to support its efficacy and safety is ‘limited’ and ‘low-quality’, according to the Cleveland Clinic and medical experts are far from convinced.
When approached for comment, doctors at Johns Hopkins Medicine were unwilling to comment, as was Ms Paltrow’s own doctor, Dr Will Cole.
Worth it? Benefits of rectal ozone therapy are said to be reduced pain/inflammation, increased energy, improved metabolism/circulation, stimulated immune system, detoxification, anti-aging, and fighting bacterial/viral infections. The science does not conclusively back that up
Ozone is a highly unstable substance that can damage the lungs when inhaled. It’s part of what forms the low-lying smog that blankets some major cities.
The Food and Drug Administration, the arbiter of safe medical devices, calls ozone a ‘toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy.’
Dr Stuart Fischer, who has studied alternative medicines including ozone therapy, told DailyMail.com that instead of
