Anthony William, Medical Intuitive

Actress and lifestyle blogger, Gwyneth Paltrow, is coming under fire for relying on the advice of a “medical medium” who makes dangerous health recommendations on her controversial blog.

The Daily Mail is reporting on the latest dust-up concerning Paltrow’s blog, Goop, which recently posted an article full of erroneous information about the role of iodine in the body that was given to her by a medical medium named Anthony William.

“William famously gets to the bottom of his patients’ misunderstood illnesses and helps them heal using wisdom passed on to him from a divine voice he calls Spirit,” the blog reports.

William claimed he “was born with the unique ability to converse with a high-level spirit who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information that's often far ahead of its time.”

Unfortunately, his advice is not only incorrect, it can also be deadly.

This is the case concerning a recent blog in which he exaggerates the importance of iodine in a way that could encourage people to begin taking supplements which could prove dangerous to their health.

Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN and pain medicine physician commented on the Goop blog on her website after consulting with a board-certified endocrinologist, Dr. Elena Christofides.

The first outlandish claim she confronts is William's assertion that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpes virus, causes 95 percent of all thyroid conditions including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, as well as thyroid nodules, tumors and cysts. The other five percent is due to radiation exposure.

Impossible, Dr. Gunter says. “There is no possible way a single virus could cause all of these conditions and guess what, there are no studies supporting this assertion. My son has congenital hypothyroidism and it wasn't caused by EBV or x-ray exposure so where does he fit in this rubric? To blame 95 percent of thyroid conditions on EBV and the rest on radiation is to have no understanding of modern medicine beyond evil humors.”

Williams reasoning for why iodine is so important, because the immune system relies upon this mineral to function, is also ill-founded.

Instead, the body needs iodine because “without it, you can’t make thyroid hormone, which could kill you,” Dr. Gunter says, adding that the thyroid gland is the only tissue that takes up and holds onto iodine.

However, the body actually needs very little iodine because it’s a micronutrient. Adults need less than half a teaspoon a day of iodized salt to fulfill the requirement, with dairy foods, egg, fish and meat also good sources.

William also claims that many people are iodine deficient although Dr. Christofides reportedly saw just one case of iodine deficiency in 19 years of practice.

What’s concerning to both doctors is that William's misguided emphasis on the nutrient could inspire people to go out and buy supplements in which they will imbibe more iodine than they need – which can be dangerous.

According to Dr Christofides, taking excessive iodine with a normal thyroid “blunts the thyroid and actually causes hypothyroidism.” In fact, she has seen women take so much iodine that they give themselves the condition.

In other words, taking too much iodine can actually cause the very problem William claims it will prevent.

“Almost everything in this article is wrong and potentially dangerous,” wrote Dr Gunter. “We need very little iodine, that little bit is important but if you eat a healthy diet and have a little iodised salt here and there you will be just fine.”

However, “If you take iodine supplements when you do not need them you could actually cause hypothyroidism, develop an autoimmune condition, or even get cancer.”

These facts leave little wonder about the identity of the spirit who has been whispering in William's ear – certainly not one who is interested in healing! This is the perfect example of why the Bible teaches us to discern the spirits!