Fast Facts:
- Gwyneth Paltrow is under heat for touting “rectal ozone therapy” on her podcast
- Rectal ozone therapy involves blowing ozone gas up your rear to (allegedly) prevent and treat everything from indigestion to cancer
- There’s no solid evidence that rectal ozone therapy has health benefits
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re used to blasting gas out of your butt. However, actress Gwyneth Paltrow appears to be a fan of blasting gas up her butt.
The gassy gimmick in question is rectal ozone therapy: a sketchy treatment where you
shoot ozone gas up your rectum. It’s supposed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, but doctors say the technique is controversial at best.
On Paltrow’s podcast, The Art of Being Well, she admitted that blowing ozone gas up her butt is “pretty weird” but also claims it’s been very helpful. So, is the Goop guru onto something? Or is the buzz about rectal ozone therapy just a bunch of hot air? (Pun totally intended).
Read on to learn how rectal ozone therapy works, the potential benefits and why doctors are begging people not to try it.
What Is Rectal Ozone Therapy?
Rectal ozone therapy is the process of blasting medical-grade ozone gas up your butt using a catheter. It’s an alternative medicine treatment that some people tout as a way to fight diseases, reduce chronic inflammation, boost the immune system, and much more. However, there’s little-to-no evidence to support those claims.
“Ozone therapy functions like an antioxidant or anti-inflammatory,” says pulmonologist Vickram Tejwani, MD. “It could potentially be used for any type of inflammation, whether in a wound or related to conditions such as diabetes or arthritis.”
Ozone is a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms. Most people associate it with earth’s ozone layer, which blocks ultraviolet rays. However, it can also be manufactured with an ozone generator for medical purposes—including rectal insufflation therapy.
In addition to being blown up your butt, there are several ways to introduce ozone into your body, including:
- Exposing it to your skin under a protective covering (AKA an “ozone sauna”)
- Mixing it with your blood using a process called autohemotherapy
- Ingesting it orally by consuming small amounts of ozone gas dissolved in water or oil
- Injecting it into your muscle with a syringe
What Are the Benefits of Rectal Ozone Therapy?
The goal of rectal ozone therapy is to increase oxygen levels throughout your body, which (in theory) could help with healing, boost your immune system, and improve digestive health. However, some healthcare pros say it’s a scam that can cause more problems than it solves.
According to a 2011 clinical review, ozone therapy can offer several health benefits, including:
- Immune system support
- Improved blood circulation
- Fight bacteria, viruses, and fungi
- Protection from free radicals
Research is also underway to determine see weather ozone therapy has potential treat chronic medical conditions like:
- Breathing disorders, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Liver cirrhosis
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Fibromyalgia
- Immune disorders such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Musculoskeletal disorders like disk herniation or carpal tunnel syndrome
However, Cleveland Clinic says the current research into rectal ozone therapy is “low quality.”
Is Rectal Ozone Therapy Safe?
The jury’s still out on whether rectal ozone therapy is safe, but most medical professionals say it’s not worth your time (or money) to shoot supercharged oxygen up your rectum. Shocker, right?
In 2019, the FDA issued a warning saying that “ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy.”
The main risk of rectal ozone therapy is that the gas has to be highly concentrated, making it dangerous for the mucous lining of the colon. It can also jack up your gut microbiome. Toxicity aside, potential side effects of ozone therapy include bloating, fatigue, stomach pain, and rectal discomfort (no surprise there).
Ozone therapy became a popular treatment for COVID-19 during the pandemic. But in 2020, a federal court in Texas banned a health and wellness center from promoting ozone therapy to treat COVID-19, calling it “fraudulent promotion of supposed COVID-19 treatments that do no good and that could be harmful.”
“There may potentially be a role for ozone therapy someday, but right now it hasn’t been studied enough,” says Dr. Tejwani. ”We need more data on the potential side effects, which could be severe, before we start offering it as a mainstream therapy or treatment.”
Ozone Doesn’t Belong In Your Butt
We’ve entered a bizarre age of butt stuff. From coffee enemas to taint sunning to rectal ozone therapy, people have their minds (and buttholes) open to anything that can hack their health.
However, as DUDES whose job it is to keep butts out of harm’s way, we’re gonna have to take a hard stance against Gwyneth’s gassy gimmick.
Speaking of things that shouldn’t go near your butt, it’s time to retire your dry toilet paper and treat your third pit to DUDE Wipes. From Mint Chill to Medicated to Shea Butter Smooth, we guarantee we’ll leave your ass fresher than we found it.
