Remember when Tom Cruise went on to The Today Show to promote a movie, but instead, he ended up dismissing postpartum depression, medication, and psychiatry? Why wouldn't he discuss mental health on national television? Tom Cruise is one of the leading medical experts of our time, correct? Wrong. Celebrities talk a lot and they get asked all kinds of questions a celebrity is in no position to answer. So is it any wonder that sometimes an actor, actress, musician, supermodel, or CEO shares medical diagnoses and beliefs even though they have no credentials whatsoever? This list has some of the worst advice or practices celebrities have ever publicly shared about health. Whether it's a detoxifying beauty treatment based on leeching, a belief that sunscreen is poison, or a shady weight loss pill endorsement, all of these medical and health beliefs shared by famous people on this list are far-fetched, to say the least. They're unfounded, unstudied, and sometimes blatantly wrong. But it's up to to decide just which celebrity medical advice is the least helpful and least scientific. Vote up the worst health and medical advice from celebrities. That's the only way we'll settle once and for all just which celebrity is least qualified to be a doctor. Vote away and remember, the next time you start listening to Dr. Paltrow when it comes to skin cancer or take Mark Cuban, MD's advice on blood tests, you might want to go see your actual doctor instead. Jenny McCarthy's Anti-Vaccine Activism Jenny McCarthy has long been a leading voice in the campaign against vaccines, saying that the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine led to her son's autism. She has also claimed to have "repaired" his autism through vitamins. There's no scientific basis to these claims, and parents opting against vaccinations for their children lower herd immunity, which is dangerous to everyone's health, especially the young and elderly. Tom Cruise Goes Anti-Psychiatry and Anti-Glibness In 2005, Cruise took a lot of flak for the Today Show appearance in which he called Matt Lauer "glib" for questioning his anti-psychiatry convictions. As a Scientologist, Cruise does not believe in antidepressant drugs or the benefits of psychiatry. In dismissing the use of drugs to treat postpartum depression, Cruise claimed to know the history of psychiatry, but he is not, in fact, a medical professional, and the benefits of the psychiatry and psychiatric drugs in treating a wide spectrum of mental illnesses are well-documented. Gwyneth Paltrow Doesn't Understand Melanoma It's possible Gwyneth Paltrow has no idea how skin cancer works. In an interview, Paltrow disagreed with doctors who warn patients against tanning saying, "We’re human beings and the sun is the sun - how can it be bad for you? I think we should all get sun and fresh air. I don’t think anything that is natural can be bad for you." Gwyneth Paltrow, meet melanoma. Suzanne Somers Might Not Actually Be a Hormone Therapy Expert Actress Suzanne Somers wrote an entire book on hormone therapy, but unfortunately, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormonesallegedly doesn't contain much actual truth about bioidentical hormones. Many menopausal women reportedly stopped taking these therapies after well-conducted studies revealed that they led to an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Even some of the doctors she wrote about in her book signed a public letter declaring much of Somers's information "scientifically unproven and dangerous." Gisele Bundchen Thinks Sunscreen Is "Poison" Cancer experts took issue when Gisele Bundchen described sunscreen as "poison." The supermodel revealed that she avoids sunblock and only exposes herself to the sun before 8 am. In reality, sunscreen protects skin from UVA and UVB light, helping prevent skin cancer. And sunscreens are always tested before sold and are not "poisonous" to the skin. Shailene Woodley Wants You to Eat Clay Divergent actress Shailene Woodley has said that eating clay is a good idea because it helps rid your body of "heavy metals." While ingesting a little clay every now and again isn't likely to hurt your health substantially, it can cause constipation. And it's unnecessary, as we have much better ways of gaining minerals and vitamins. As for clearing out heavy metals, the average person is very unlikely to have enough heavy metal toxins to need any additional help getting rid of them. Dr. Oz's Green Coffee Bean Extract False "Benefits" This celebrity is even a doctor and even his information and advice appears to be unfounded and false sometimes. Mehmet Oz promoted green coffee bean extract as helps people lose weight without diet or exercise citing a study. Not only was the study he cited scientifically debunked, but Oz had to testify at a Senate hearing. The company behind the green coffee bean study, meanwhile, had to pay $3.5 million dollars in a settlement. Snooki Rubs Kitty Litter On Her Face Apparently Snooki from Jersey Shore uses kitty litter as an exfoliant. On her skin. Not only did she say so on Conan, she also advised other people to do so in her book Confessions of a Guidette. To be fair to Nicole Polizzi, she was talking about unused cat litter that she waters down, but it's still not the best idea. For one thing, inhaling dust from some clumping cat litters could pose health risks. And scrubbing your face with kitty litter is just undignified. Katie Couric's HPV Vaccine Episode A 2013 episode of Katie focused on the HPV vaccine proved controversial for its anti-vaccine, anti-science stance. Katie Couric, the show's host, backtracked afterwards, apologizing for the show's anti-vaccine leanings after seeing the facts that the vaccine has helped many people against battling the disease and cancer. The episode simply went for a human interest story about rare reactions to the vaccine, which is, in fact, an overall benefit to public health. Demi Moore's Horrifying Medieval Beauty Tip Demi Moore has professed to letting leeches suck her blood as part of a beauty treatment. Speaking with David Letterman on The Late Show, she said, "These aren't just swamp leeches though - we are talking about highly trained medical leeches." Though leeches can be used to coagulate blood during surgeries, there's no proof that they can help "detoxify" blood. On top of that, there are some risks of using leeches, including bleeding, allergic reactions, foreign body reactions, ulceration, and infection. Plus, they're leeches. 2 people just voted onEvangeline Lily's Depression Cure Evangeline Lilly has claimed she not only battled with depression, but she found the cure. In described her experience, the actress advocated not using medicines or treatment but simply eating primarily organic food. Unfortunately, if it were that easy, many people wouldn't be suffering from debilitating chemical imbalances. While staying away from processed food is probably a good idea, medical advice from Middle Earth isn't necessary one size fits-all. 2 people just voted onAlicia Silverstone Thinks Tampons Make You Infertile Photo: via Pinterest In her book The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning, actress Alicia Silverstone claimed that tampons have a detrimental effect, saying, "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.” Beyonce and Jay-Z Put Their Stamp on "Veganuary" Cleanses Many celebrities advocate using cleanses to rid yourself of toxins and fats. Beyonce and Jay-Z, for example, went on a vegan cleanse and avoided all animal products for a month. But doctors actually advise against the temporary lifestyle change, saying that it is simply advocating the detox myth and will not help your body if you only do it temporarily. Roger Moore: Foie Gras Gives You Alzheimer's Former James Bond Roger Moore has declared that eating foie gras can lead to Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, calling the duck delicacy, "a tasty way of getting terminally ill." While the ethics of foie gras are certainly up for debate, scientists and doctors say there is absolutely no proof that it can be claimed to cause such diseases. Megan Fox's Vinegar-Sipping Weight Loss Secret Megan Fox has claimed that swallowing vinegar will help you lose weight. "It 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," the Transformers star said. Doctors counter that the body is, in fact, "a well-oiled detoxing machine, which will not be improved by vinegar, whether it be organic, apple cider, unfiltered, or your bog-standard malt vinegar." Mark Cuban and the Plethora of Blood Tests Shark Tank star and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who has invested in four health care companies, tweeted (in tweets subsequently deleted) that people should get their blood tested four times a year if they can. Health experts pointed out the flaws in Cuban's quarterly testing idea, saying that the more blood tests you receive, the greater the possibility of false reports, misdiagnosis, and false positives, not to mention the fact that many people simply can't afford it. Source
