杏吧原创

Popular culture assigns guru status to those who are famous for being famous, yet why does entertainment expertise grant celebrities wisdom in matters of health and beauty?

It鈥檚 an odd phenomenon, and in Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta in Canada takes this fallacy of expertise, and our delusional hunger for fame, to task.

As he ransacks star-studded endorsements for any shred of scientific validity, dissecting celebrity health and beauty claims as he goes, Caulfield also subjects himself to celebrity-endorsed 鈥渢reatments鈥� and reflects on his own failed ambition to be a rock star. The result is both funny and fascinating.

鈥淐elebrity culture has emerged as one of the most significant and influential sources of pseudoscientific baloney,鈥� says Caulfield, whose personal journey included a year-long reading of People magazine, signing on with a modelling agency, embarking on a Gwyneth Paltrow-endorsed 鈥渄etoxifying鈥� cleanse, getting a ruby rub facial and adopting a multi-step anti-ageing skin-care regimen.

Science-free zone

What does he discover along the way? That 鈥渄etoxification鈥� is bunkum, cleanses are more likely to harm than help and most beauty regimens, no matter how expensive, are quackery, he says. 鈥淏eauty advice is a science-free zone,鈥� says Caulfield.

The 鈥淐aulfield Cleanse鈥�, he mockingly advises, consists of cleansing your system of pseudoscientific babble, supplementing with scepticism, detoxifying your system with scientific evidence and adhering to a diet replete with fruits and vegetables.

Caulfield also peers analytically into the lives of celebrities, celebrity wannabes and the thriving spin-off industries that prey on our delusions. Is fame really within our grasp if we just dream big enough, invest in our training and never give up? Nope.

The dream-crushing Caulfield shares insights from psychologists, anthropologists, unemployment statistics, struggling actors, underemployed musicians and his own talent agency exploitation, letting us in on the cold harsh reality that becoming a 鈥渟tar鈥� is less probable than being hit by an asteroid.

Genes rule

鈥淎 modeling class鈥� cannot teach you to be tall, beautiful, photogenic and rail thin,鈥� says Caulfield. 鈥淭hat requires, in descending order of importance, genetics, genetics, genetics and, if genetics don鈥檛 do it, a diet of water and lettuce.鈥�

So is Gwyneth Paltrow really wrong about everything? When it comes to the science of health and beauty, the answer, according to Caulfield, is yes.

If there鈥檚 one weakness to Caulfield鈥檚 entertaining tale, it鈥檚 that he falls into the same trap he tells us to avoid. 鈥淎necdotes and personal testimonials 鈥� no matter how compelling and belly-button revealing 鈥� are not good science,鈥� he says. Yet, to my secret delight, this book is full of them.