Celebrities are constantly in the public eye, and their fame gives them a certain platform upon which they stand. That means when they put forth a positive message or take a stand on an important issue, they’re likely helping tons of people around the world who look up to them. However, their platform can be as harmful as it is helpful – because if the average person hears their favourite celebrity giving advice, they may be tempted to follow or believe that advice, regardless of whether it’s true. When it comes to health-related advice, the celebrity affect can be incredibly dangerous. Celebrities have the money to constantly experiment with things, and are frequently monitored by their team to make sure they’re in peak physical condition – something that the average person doesn’t have. The average person may decide to follow some dangerous advice from a celebrity and end up seriously damaging their health.

Now, we’re all for celebrities using their platform to promote doctor-approved practices, such as the simple concepts of being more active, eating less processed foods, etc. However, there are some pieces of advice celebrities have given over the years that doctors say either do absolutely nothing for you – or may actually jeopardise your health.

Here are 15 awful pieces of health advice that celebrities have given.

15 Drink straight vinegar

Mega-bombshell Megan Fox swears by one health trick – drinking shots of straight apple cider vinegar. “Vinegar just cleanses out your system entirely. It will get rid of, for women who retain water weight from your menstrual cycle and all that, it gets rid of it really fast,” says Fox. Is it true? Well, it’s true that apple cider vinegar itself can be a healthy addition to one’s diet, and it’s a fantastic ingredient to create a simple vinaigrette dressing out of. However, there’s not really any proof that drinking it straight will do much to reduce bloating – that’s often a more complicated issue than a simple shot can fix. It’s certainly not the miracle cure that Fox portrays it as. And, while vinegar that has been dissolved in something like a salad dressing is fine, drinking straight vinegar may also have a negative impact on your teeth – so would you rather have a bit of bloat, or eroded tooth enamel?

14 Avoid sunscreen

Everyone knows that supermodel Gisele Bundchen has a rigorous diet – after all, when your body is essentially your job and the source of your income, you need to make sure every single muscle and limb is toned. However, as much as she’s nourishing her body from the inside by consuming tons of healthy foods, Bundchen gave one absolutely horrendous piece of advice – to avoid sunscreen. Bundchen allegedly never, ever wears sunscreen, saying that “I cannot put this poison on my skin” and “I do not use anything synthetic.” Okay, can we just say one thing – Bundchen obviously has never known someone who went through a struggle with melanoma. There are many cancers that emerge seemingly out of nowhere, totally out of the sufferer’s control, but a huge portion of melanoma cases are directly linked to UVR exposure thanks to the sun and sunbeds. Just wear sunscreen. Do not listen to Gisele on this one.

13 Don’t take your antidepressants

Okay, everyone knows that Tom Cruise has been on the descent to the crazy side for quite awhile, but this piece of advice is horrendous. After Brooke Shields shared her story and revealed she used anti-depressants to help deal with her post-partum depression, Cruise commented that “she doesn’t know what these drugs are and for her to promote it is irresponsible.” So, how does Cruise advocate that someone struggling with depression cope? Vitamins and exercise. Obviously, those in the medical field who actually understand depression basically said that Cruise was a moron. Yes, things like exercise can definitely help boost your mood if you’re feeling a bit down – endorphins are a fantastic thing. However, for someone truly struggling with depression, that’s just not going to be enough. Cruise has said a lot of crazy things over the years, but his condemnation of anti-depressants was one of the most ridiculous ever.

12 Go gluten free

Okay, for individuals actually suffering from celiac disease (a very small percentage of the population), going gluten free is obviously the key to having a healthy body. However, for the average individual, going gluten free is useless – many gluten-free foods just add more calories and fat to someone’s diet while cutting out something that will have no effect on a non-celiac. Eating gluten free has become somewhat of a trend in Hollywood, but Miley Cyrus was one of the celebs who took it to a new level, telling all her followers (many of whom are young and impressionable) that “everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, physical and mental health is amazing!” If you’re a celiac, then you should definitely take her advice, and you’ll likely see the benefits very quickly. IF you’re someone who actually has no problem with gluten, though, you’re just cutting something out of your diet and making your life a lot harder than it needs to be.

11 Eat clay

Shailene Woodley became a household name starring in a blockbuster film franchise, the Divergent series, but her overall lifestyle choices are far more granola than the average actress. When it comes to her diet, she believes in consuming only whole, clean foods, which is fantastic, but there’s one particular thing she eats that would leave many confused – clay. In an interview featured on Into The Gloss, Woodley spilled that she consumes clay regularly because it “helps clean heavy metals out of your body.” Are you wondering if there’s any truth to her claim? Well, according to medical professionals, there 100% isn’t. Many celebrities get frantic about detoxing and cleansing their bodies, but quite honestly, our bodies do a pretty good job of that themselves – you don’t need to be eating clay. So, perhaps ignore Shailene’s advice and save the clay for craft time rather than breakfast – unless you’re using it to make a bowl to put regular human food like cereal in.

10 Cure depression with organic food

Though she’s been in big films like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and was a long-time cast member of the hit show Lost, Evangeline Lilly keeps a fairly low profile. She’s rarely in the tabloids and she’s really only on the talk show circuits when she has a new film to promote. So, it’s kind of surprising to find her making a list of crazy celebrity advice – but here she is. In an interview she had with Digital Spy, she talked about her battle with depression, a mental illness that countless individuals struggle with. However, her cure had nothing to do with medication or therapy – according to Lilly, she cured herself with an all organic diet. “After about a year or two years, I started to feel something physically lift out of my brain, and I believe it was all the chemicals I was probably ingesting before,” said Lilly. Now, there’s no question that a healthy diet can have a positive impact on your body, and may even help control and manage things like depression. However, there’s really no evidence that switching to an organic diet will completely cure depression, and Lilly’s sharing that it may could be very discouraging to those struggling with depression who think she found an easy fix.

9 Don’t vaccinate your children

Oh, Jenny McCarthy. This piece of bad advice isn’t just one unfortunate moment in one interview, as is the case for many celebrities. Jenny McCarthy has been one of the most vocal and well-known individuals in the anti-vaccination movement, and for years claimed that a vaccine gave her child autism. Countless studies have been done, and a lot of the data in the anti-vaccination world comes from a study that the medical community has since discredited. Modern medicine is an incredible thing, and vaccines have helped eradicate countless life-threatening illnesses that ravaged previous generations, such as polio and smallpox. McCarthy has claimed a few times that she’s not anti-vaccine, but in this case, there have been so many quotes and sound bites from her that fall into the anti-vaccine camp that it’s a little tough to deny. If you’re a parent, do yourself a favour and listen to doctors, not Jenny McCarthy.

8 Take every vitamin and supplement you can get your hands on

In some cases, a doctor may prescribe some kind of vitamin or supplement to address a deficiency – perhaps an iron supplement for someone suffering from anemia, or a calcium supplement for someone who is having trouble getting enough of the nutrient. However, in general, the consensus on vitamins and supplements is that they’re a bit of a waste of money. And, a recent study even found that improperly using dietary supplements leads to over 20,000 emergency room visits per year – since the majority of them are over the counter and can be purchased by anyone without interference from a doctor, people don’t always exercise caution. So, when Katy Perry shared a picture in 2013 that showed she takes approximately 26 vitamins and supplements per day, all the medical community could do was shake their heads. Particularly if you begin to take a large volume of different supplements and vitamins, you never really know how your body is going to react or what is actually necessary unless you’re a trained doctor.

7 Don’t use products in bed 

Okay, admittedly, we never thought that Ronda Rousey would be a source of bedroom related advice, but she was outspoken in an issue of Maxim magazine – and, unfortunately, her advice wasn’t exactly great. When asked about intimacy, Rousey said that “you should never need lube in your life. If you need lube, then you’re being lazy…and you’re not taking your time.” Okay, we sort of get where she was going with this one – for the average woman, you definitely need to make sure that she’s adequately warmed up before attempting to get it on. Most women definitely need a few minutes of foreplay, and you absolutely need to take your time. However, the statement that you should never need lube is ridiculous and potentially harmful. No matter how much you take your time, some women have trouble producing sufficient lubrication on their own, and the simple addition can make everything way more enjoyable for everyone involved. Take your time, yes – but it’s totally fine to have some lube tucked away for when you might need it.

6 Steam your lady bits

Oh, Gwyneth, Gwyneth, Gwyneth. Since she founded her lifestyle brand, GOOP, Gwyneth Paltrow has been one of the main sources of ridiculous, harmful celebrity health advice – and this one is no different. Paltrow commented that steaming your lady bits “is an energetic release – not just a steam douche – that balances female hormone levels.” While Gwyneth recommends it, most gynecologists would disagree with her. The majority of gynecologists recommend that, essentially, you don’t create a problem out of nothing – your body is a pretty incredible thing and your lady bits do a good job maintaining things on their own without your interference. If you recognize there’s a problem going on, absolutely consult your gynecologist. However, don’t start douching – most gynecologists view that as a potentially dangerous thing to do, particularly if steam is involved. I mean, we can only imagine the amount of women that took Gwyneth’s advice and ended up with some pretty nasty burns.

5 Do shots shots shots (of oxygen)

Simon Cowell is used to judging aspiring musicians and singers from the judge’s chair on a variety of reality television shows, but he’s certainly not the most qualified when it comes to judging what is and is not medically sound – which is why we’re not loving his health tip. Apparently, Cowell says that maintaining a youthful appearance all comes down to taking oxygen shots – he even carries around a small tank of oxygen with himself and takes shots from it throughout the day. We breathe oxygen naturally all the time, so how could this be bad? Well, according to Scientific American, the practice of huffing straight up oxygen like that can actually be incredibly dangerous – and even deadly. Cowell’s dangerous tip proves that even the most innocuous sounding health advice from celebrities could potentially be very dangerous – so always make sure that, even if something comes from a celebrity, that it is endorsed by some type of medical professional.

4 Use leeches to remove toxins

Back in a time before modern medicine, blood-sucking leeches were a great resource for the medical community – they were able to help with certain conditions without having to cut patients open. However, we’ve come a long way since then, so Demi Moore advocating that leeches can be used to remove toxins is ridiculous. First of all, things within your body like, you know, your liver, are fully capable of weeding out all the toxins that need to be eliminated – you don’t need blood-thirsty creatures to do that for you. Second, while it’s always great to find alternative medical treatments, as every patient is different and has different needs, modern doctors practicing modern medicine haven’t yet come to a conclusion regarding leeches – while they may be used in certain monitored situations when the alternative options are not viable, you shouldn’t be using them simply to eliminate toxins because Demi Moore said it was a good idea.

3 Exfoliate with kitty litter

I mean, we’re hoping that no one is foolish enough to follow Snooki’s advice on this one, but who knows? Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, who you may know from her time on reality television show Jersey Shore, shared a lot of information in her book Confessions of a Guidette – including a certain beauty tip that she swears by. What exactly is it that keeps Polizzi’s skin so gorgeous and glowing? Kitty litter. She shared both in her book and live on Conan that she keeps her skin looking great by watering down unused cat litter and scrubbing her face with it. First of all, it’s been fairly well established that exfoliating with rough things, even things like microbeads, can be damaging to your skin – particularly the delicate skin on your face and around your eys. Second, you don’t really know what’s in kitty litter – it’s designed to be a surface that cats can use as a bathroom, not something you’re supposed to be putting on your face.

2 Stay youthful with bioidentical hormones

Once upon a time, Suzanne Somers was just another beautiful blonde actress on television. In recent years, she’s become a bit of a self-taught ‘expert’ on hormone therapy – she even penned a book, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones – on the subject. However, doctors aren’t exactly looking to hand her an honorary MD for her work – quite the opposite. While Somers claims that she’s managed to stay looking youthful with hormone therapy, many studies revealed that the same type of treatments she was promoting actually lead to an increased risk of everything from heart attacks to strokes, cardiovascular disease and even breast cancer. In fact, some of the doctors she mentioned in her book actually went public with their disapproval, saying that a lot of the information Somers included in her book was “scientifically unproven and dangerous.” Perhaps it’s best to leave the medicine to the experts, Suzanne – there are plenty of other ways to keep yourself looking and feeling youthful that don’t involve questionable treatments.

1 Stop using tampons or you’ll end up infertile

Once upon a time, Alicia Silverstone was just the young hilarious Cher in the iconic film Clueless, but as she’s grown up, Silverstone has drifted further and further towards the health-conscious, hippie-like way of being. While some of her advice can be beneficial, there’s one piece of advice in particular that’s a little bit farfetched – her fear of tampons. In the book she wrote, The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning, Silverstone alleged that “feminine-care manufacturers aren’t required to tell you what’s in their products, which means that no one’s talking about the potential pesticide residues from non-organic cotton and the ‘fragrances’ containing hormone-upsetting, fertility knocking phthalates that are snuggling up to your hoo-ha.” Okay. There is one danger involved with tampons – Toxic Shock Syndrome, which is a bacterial infection that can be caused by leaving your tampon in for too long. However, that’s a very rare occurrence. Ultimately, the decision to use tampons, pads, or something like a diva cup should be entirely up to what a woman prefers.

Sources: everydayhealth.comranker.com

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