Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress-turned-lifestyle guru, has become the target of media criticism for a new gluten-free, sugar-free cookbook, It’s All Good.
The book’s description begins with Paltrow recounting a time when she felt light-headed and feared she was “having a stroke,” according to Business Insider. The episode, which the New York Post suspected was just a migraine and panic attack, led the actress to start an “elimination diet” at the recommendation of her doctor.
Paltrow cut out coffee, alcohol, dairy, eggs, sugar, shellfish, deep-water fish, wheat, meat, soy and processed foods. However, the actress was concerned that mealtime would be boring because of so many restrictions, and as a result, together with food writer Julia Turshen, she compiled a collection of 185 recipes that followed her doctor’s guidelines.
(MORE: How to Write Like a Top Chef: Get a Ghostwriter)
Not everyone has been impressed so far, particularly the New York Post, which described Paltrow’s cookbook as reading “like the manifesto to some sort of creepy healthy-girl sorority with members who use beet juice rather than permanent marker to circle the ‘problem areas’ on each other’s bodies.”
“It’s All Good seems to take laughable Hollywood neuroticism about eating to the next level,” the Atlantic Wire noted.
Paltrow, an Academy Award-winning actress, has gotten a lot of flak in recent years for her roles away from the big screen as a foodie and lifestyle guru. She took a culinary tour of Spain with Mario Batali — where she declined to eat the ham for which the country is famous, according to the New York Post. She also launched a high-end lifestyle website, Goop, which earned sarcasm over its recommended cleanses and $750 sneakers.
However, Paltrow’s last cookbook, My Father’s Daughter, “wasn’t totally lambasted by the press,” according to the Atlantic Wire. And NPR said: “Gwyneth Paltrow may be an unlikely domestic goddess, but her cookbook mostly delivers on the promise of its subtitle: delicious, easy recipes celebrating family and togetherness.” Business Insider pointed out that it was “a critical and commercial success.” And as one Guardian food writer noted, maybe the haters are just gonna hate: “Casting Paltrow in the role of the neurotic celeb, selfishly inflicting her own faddy and dangerous eating habits on her poor starved offspring, has undeniable appeal,” Joanna Blythman wrote in defense of the dietary restrictions in It’s All Good. “But Paltrow has a point.”
Maybe it’s just time to decide for yourself. If you’re looking to get your hands on Paltrow’s latest project – and finding out more about the low-carb, gluten-free diet she’s put her two kids on – you’ll have to wait until the book’s April 2 release date.