Gwyneth Paltrow’s Brand Goop Under Fire For Selling Potentially Harmful Products To Pregnant Women

On Oct. 28, Gwyneth Paltrow‘s modern lifestyle brand, Goop, made British headlines… for all the wrong reasons. The Sunday Times revealed that a vitamin supplement product marketed toward pregnant women called The Mother Load has been “reported to British regulators [for] over 113 alleged breaches of UK advertising law.” Yikes.

The product in question, while intended for pregnant women or women looking to become pregnant, contains a high amount of vitamin A. According to BabyCenter.com, “During pregnancy, it’s important not to get too much preformed vitamin A, which can cause birth defects and liver toxicity in high doses.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkLirYOHiRO/?taken-by=gwynethpaltrow

That said, a spokesperson for Goop insisted that The Mother Load is perfectly safe. “When used as recommended, Goop’s The Mother Load supplements are safe during pregnancy,” they explained to Us Weekly in a statement. “The Mother Load contains a very moderate 450 mcg (1500 IU) of vitamin A (preformed vitamin A as retinyl palmitate), which is less than the recommended daily intake of 600 mcg per day (per NHS).”

“The 4000 IU beta-carotene included in Mother Load is only converted in the body to vitamin A as needed, and there is no safety concern for eating this, as there would be no safety concern for eating a large number of carrots containing beta-carotene,” they continued. “The Mother Load package contains a warning that pregnant women should not consume more than 10,000 IU vitamin A daily due to risk of birth defects.”

The spokesperson ultimately concluded that “moderation is the best policy” as far as vitamin A consumption is concerned. However, the Times reported a charity called Good Thinking Society has accused Gwyneth directly “of presiding over a company that issues ‘potentially dangerous’ advice related to ‘unproven’ health products.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpGZb44H_mv/?taken-by=gwynethpaltrow

Additionally, just last month Goop was “forced to pay a $145,000 fine to regulatory authorities in California” due to “unproven health claims.” At this time, the actress has yet to personally comment on the matter. In addition, The Mother Load is still available for purchase on the Goop website.