Clean meals, moon juice, and the potential for dry heaving. Honestly, we'd expect nothing less from actress Gwyneth Paltrow's annual goop detox. The New York Daily News reported this year’s menu, a collaborated effort between her and the Ayurveda spa called Surya, includes all that (and more) in exchange for gluten, dairy, corn, soy, caffeine, alcohol, added sugar, red meat, shellfish, white rice, and nightshades, which include tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes.

Paltrow assures her readers the week-long detox isn’t about starvation, but rather it’s a simple and clean way to reset their palate and give their gut a break. She admits it is "rough," but the urge to puke subsides after those first few days without caffeine. And ultimately, she believes a "great sweat is [the] key for detoxification."

With ingredients like moon juice — an umbrella term Paltrow uses for the various $55 powders available through her site to boost everything from stamina, to brain and sexual health — one can anticipate making these recipes will become expensive. But will they actually benefit a person’s health?

It's complicated.

On the one hand, the scientific community equates detox diets with fad diets, finding little proof they're effective. This is especially true when detoxes incorporate nothing but liquids for seven days. They're not only miserable, but completely unfounded, Women’s Health reported; organs, like your liver, kidneys, and intestines already promote detoxification on their own.

And yet, when you click on some of Paltrow's recipes, you see a lot of the choices she and Surya have made are meant to reduce inflammation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines inflammation as "a typically short-term response to infection and injury, aimed at removing the infective stimulus and allowing repair of the damaged tissue"; it's essentially how the body protects itself. But when inflammation persists, it "sets the stage for heart attacks, most strokes, peripheral artery disease, and even vascular dementia, a common cause of memory loss," Harvard Health Publications reported.

Taking measures to reduce the chances of this happening is believed to be part of a healthy diet. While some of the foods Paltrow restricts have been associated with an increased risk in inflammation — namely white bread, white rice, French fries, and sugar, according to Harvard — Rania Batayneh, author of the best-seller The One One One Diet: The Simple 1:1:1 Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, disagrees with Paltrow's idea that "inflammation comes from all different food groups."

"There's some truth to decreasing inflammation to start to heal your body and to feel better," she told Medical Daily in an email. "[But] to her it doesn’t matter if it is a grain, comes from a cow, or even a vegetable. Nightshades are discouraged in those individuals who have issues with their thyroid, so I think she just wanted to bring that into the mix."

That there's no clarification or specific mention of this, which is why Abby Langer, of Abby Langer Nutrition in Toronto, thinks Paltrow is playing more "on the fear of inflammation."

"I think [it is] very well-intentioned, but frequently overblown," she told Medical Daily in an email. "Nothing about grains, especially for non-celiac [disease patients], is that inflammatory. The other 'inflammatory' foods that she eliminates — fresh corn, shellfish, tomatoes, and dairy — aren't particularly inflammatory. There's absolutely no reason to cut those out."

What else do Langer and Batayneh call into question?

Brown rice removes toxins

Paltrow writes white rice isn't as efficient at removing toxins as brown rice, but Langer "wasn't aware that brown rice removed toxins and would love to see some scientific evidence on that." She does mention, however, that Paltrow could be talking about the higher fiber content in brown rice; Batayneh thinks this is likely the case.

Fiber-rich foods can aid the body's natural detoxification process provided they work to "flush you out," as Men’s Fitness put it. There are two types of fiber — soluble and insoluble — and the latter type is what helps move things along and "increase stool bulk," which the Mayo Clinic says is not only easier to pass, but also decreases the chance of constipation while maintaining bowel health.

Red meat slows the digestive system

Red meat is a controversial food, for sure, and outside of Paltrow's detox diet many experts, like Batayneh, recommend limiting intake to a couple times each week. But for the most part, both Batayneh and Langer disagree that red meat slows down digestibility.

"Digestibility refers to how much of a food can be broken down into necessary nutrients used by the body," Batayneh said. "We have the enzymes to break it down and digest it. Our body knows what to do. It's when we remove items and get all crazy that it can get disrupted."

It's not realistic

For one, Paltrow worked with a spa to curate this detox plan, Batayneh points out — not a doctor or health expert. There's also no follow-up plan or steps to shift off the low-calorie diet.

That's what it is, really, Langer said, "a low-calorie diet, plain and simple." In this case, since it only lasts a week, it's not harmful. Still, "going for a week eating virtually nothing is going to be painful and unnecessary," she said. "Cleanses and detoxes are all BS."

Keep in mind, too, Paltrow's experience will not necessarily be the one you have, Batayneh added.

"Cortisol, stress, poor diets, lack of exercise, and sleep can cause our body to get out of whack," she said. "So, why not work on bringing these behaviors into practice and be more proactive about them?"