Gwyneth Paltrow dubbed an ‘almond mom’: The viral TikTok term and its negative connotation explained

Hollywood actor Gwyneth Paltrow has become the latest celebrity to fall from netizens’ grace. Her interview where she is describing her “daily wellness routine” has evoked fury among netizens who have dubbed her the “mother of all almond moms.” What are the origins of the term and why was the Iron Man actor called an “almond mom”? How does the behaviour affect health? Let’s take a closer look. What is an “almond mom”?

Almond parents, typically mothers, are weight-obsessed people who instill negative notions about food in their children.

“It’s basically moms that grew up stuck in diet culture and yoyo diets in the 80s/90s and can survive now on two almonds a day and make you feel bad for being hungry or ever ordering a full meal out instead of lemon water and side salad,” explained a TikToker, as per Indy100. [caption id=“attachment_12310932” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The term ‘almond mom’ has gone viral on TikTok. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] Reports say the term originates from the 2013 footage of the popular American reality show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. A clip from the show featuring Yolanda Hadid and her then-teenage daughter (now supermodel) Gigi Hadid went viral last October that sparked a debate online about toxic diet culture. The viral video shows Yolanda talking to Gigi on phone, where her daughter tells her that she is not feeling well and had “like, half an almond”. To this, Yolanda says: “Have a couple of almonds, and chew them really well”. This created a huge backlash on social media, with many calling out her parenting. Yolanda later told People magazine that her comments were taken out of context. However, Yolanda was often seen monitoring Gigi’s diet on the show as she tried to become a supermodel like her mother, the magazine added. Yolanda also featured in a TikTok video where she could be seen eating almonds from a huge bowl while strolling, relaxing on a chair or doing other activities. She captioned the video, in an apparent reference to the controversial clip, “#worstmumever,” and “almonds”. ALSO READ: What is disordered eating that one in five children are struggling with worldwide? What did Gwyneth Paltrow say? According to In The Know, Paltrow told the host of the podcast The Art of Being Well about her “wellness routine.” In the 40-second clip that has the internet up in arms, the GOOP founder says she starts her day with intermittent fasting. [caption id=“attachment_12310942” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Gwyneth Paltrow has received backlash over her ‘wellness routine’. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Around noon, she takes soup or bone broth for lunch. She goes on for an hour of “movement”. Her routine also includes dry-brushing and infrared sauna. She ends her day with an early paleo dinner, which mostly comprises “lots of vegetables.” At the end of the clip, the actor says: “It’s really important for me to support my detox”. This clip has angered many on TikTok and Twitter, with some even expressing concerns for her health. One user called her “the final boss of Almond Moms.” “Is starving wellness?” a user questioned.

Dangers of growing under an ‘almond mom’ TikTok is full of videos where users use sarcasm and spoof to relay their experience of growing up with an “almond mom”. The hashtag “almond mom” has over 189 million views on TikTok, noted Teen Vogue. Most of these videos showcase parents “passive-aggressively” asking their children to restrict food, noted Katie Couric Media.

In one of the videos, a woman, pretending to be an “almond mom”, says, “Are you really hungry or are you just bored”.

Tyler Bender, 20, is one of the digital creators going viral for “almond mom” videos. In one video, posing as an almond mom, she asks her child if she’s “really hungry or just bored.” As per The Daily Dot, though this term has emerged now, eating almonds to prevent dizziness and exhaustion was quite common during the 1990s when the so-called “heroin chic” was in trend. With many mainstream magazines promoting the “ideal” slim figure, several people, mostly women, internalised the idea of becoming thin for themselves as well as their daughters. “The Special K diet and ‘heroin chic’ aesthetic and fad diets. Some of our mothers were on speed diet pills in the 90s,” Bender, who has more than 1,43,000 followers on TikTok, told Teen Vogue. However, Virginia Sole-Smith, author of the book Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture told ABC News that it is not just mothers, but parents of all genders, who “influence their kids’ relationships with food and body”. Such parents, along with social media culture and trends, foster fatphobia in children and make them obsessed with food in harmful ways, say experts. Speaking to Katie Couric Media, Cara Bohon, a licensed clinical psychologist and eating disorder expert, said that “‘almond people’ often are the product of environments rife with toxic diet culture that can lead to disordered eating.” Another expert explained how being raised in diet culture enhances the possibility of developing disordered eating later in life. Jess Sprengle, LPC, a therapist who specialises in eating disorders, told Teen Vogue, “You may struggle to understand your body’s natural cues — for food, rest, exercise, etc.— and ultimately, learn that your body isn’t a trustworthy resource”. On how to deal with such parents, Dr Bohon recommends a balance approached, such as “acknowledging that while they may be triggering to be around, they most often don’t mean to be harmful or hurtful, and are usually coming from a place of ignorance and naivete". She also advised against denoting moral values to food and categorising them as “good” or “bad”, reported Katie Couric Media.  With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .