Demi Moore says she does “leech detoxification therapy”


Demi Moore was on David Letterman last night and she joked around about receiving leech therapy treatment in Austria. She was cracking up about it, but she actually sounded like she believed in it and thinks it works. She also tried to get Dave to try it. Here’s a rough transcript. Dave’s comments are in bold.

You were in Austria?
I’m always…looking for the cutting edge on things that are for optimizing health and healing.

Just a week ago I was in Austria doing a cleanse and part of the treatments was leech therapy.

These aren’t just like swamp leeches, we’re talking about highly trained medical leeches… [laughing]

I know thousands of years ago they were common
Bleeding was a very common thing… it detoxifies your blood and they have a little enzyme that when they’re biting down gets released into your blood, and generally you bleed for quite a bit, and your health is optimized. It detoxifies the blood. I’m feeling very detoxified right now.

Is it the enzyme is that what’s critical?
They start in a spot for me that is a horrible spot, which is my belly button. They test it out. They are in a little jar with water and glass and they pull it out and they have to stick it in my belly button.

Where does this take place? At a hotel? At a clinic?
In this woman’s house and I’m laying on a bed.

And she says “we’re going to apply the leeches?”
Yes they do the little sampler first which is in the belly button and it crawls in. And you feel it bite down on you and you want to go “you bastard!” and then you relax and work on your lamaze breathing, and you watch it swell up and get fatter and fatter. And then when it’s super drunk on your blood it just kind of rolls over like it’s stumbling out of the bar.

Are you sure it’s not menopause?
No, but I was going to recommend this for your tic.

You have to do a turpentine bath first.

Did you feel better after the leech deal?
You first feel worse, then you feel better.

You’re not going back?
I am going back, because I only got 4 leeches and I feel a little cheated.

Clinically speaking how can we prove that you are more healthy after the leeches?
By a blood test. They can see the levels in your blood, if you’re anemic… they release in their enzyme heparin, which is a natural blood thinner.

[Transcribed from Demi Moore’s appearance on The Late Show, 3/24/08]

I’ve done acupuncture, colonics, moxibustion, which was when my Chinese doctor applied heat to the acupuncture, and hypnotherapy. About once a month I go to these awesome saunas they have here in Germany. They have the most amazing spas with saunas of different temperatures, some with music, relaxing lights, and scented oil. Now that’s relaxing and detoxifying. It’s also very affordable compared to a traditional spa treatment. I’ve haven’t heard of leech therapy specifically for detoxification, and there’s no way I would ever put leeches on any part of my body without being convinced to do for medical reasons by a qualified physician.

The way Moore tells this story about getting leeches put on in some woman’s house brings out the cynic in me. It also sounds gross. Maybe there’s something to it, though.

Medicinal leeches are making a comeback and I remember hearing a story about it a couple of years ago. The leech does have legitimate medical applications. Leeches can help with circulation and are useful in certain surgeries as they can improve blood flow to a specific site, such as when a finger or limb is lost and needs to be reattached. Leeches have one specific modern day application that Moore may have found beneficial. According to Wikipedia, leeches can “relieve venous pressure from pooling blood, especially after plastic surgery.”

Moore was promoting her new heist film Flawless with Michael Caine, with whom she starred in Blame it On Rio. She said that at 75 Caine is still on top of his game, but that all he wants to do is get his work done so he can go out to the best restaurants afterwards.

Here’s a clip of Moore explaining about the leeches:

And Moore’s full interview (there are slight spoilers in the second half)
Demi Moore on The Late Show, 3/24/08, Part 1
Demi Moore on The Late Show, 3/24/08, Part 2

Demi Moore, her 14 year-old daughter, Tallulah, and her ex husband Bruce Willis and his girlfriend are shown at a screening of Flawless last night, thanks to WENN.

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39 Responses to “Demi Moore says she does “leech detoxification therapy””

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  1. Syko says:

    EW EW EW! I would have to be unconscious before I could let someone put one of those nasty things on me!

  2. headache says:

    So does she feel better than before she had the leeches put on or better than the worse she felt after they were taken off?

    Oh well. The search for the fountain of youth have made bigger fools than this.

  3. summertime921 says:

    I swear, that woman will try anything not to age. Whatever happened to aging gracefully?

  4. Carrie says:

    Why do I have the feeling Ashton Kutcher is behind this story?

  5. GirlyGirl says:

    Carrie, I immediately had the same thought. I call “Pop Fiction” on this story!

  6. bender says:

    THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DETOXIFYING! I am medically trained and it is simply not possible – your liver, kidneys and skin do all the detoxing and all that other stuff is money- making lies. The only people I have ever met that needed to detox have advanced kidney or liver disease. Save your money! (But yes, we do use leeches to encourage blood flow to specific areas. The heparin would almost certainly not show up in the blood and if it does it could cause CVA (stroke) so only pursue this under medical expertise)

    I feel better now, thanks. Better than any detox!

  7. geronimo says:

    Bender – couldn’t agree more! Having a good old rant is probably far more beneficial to one’s well-being than any number of comedy remedies thought up by enterprising individuals with gullible age-fearing celebs in mind. It increases the heartbeat, brings the blood rushing to the surface (good for the skin) and leaves you feeling far more satisfied, I’d guess, than any encounter with leeches. And it’s free!

  8. geronimo says:

    ps. And, it gets all the bile out.

  9. Bodhi says:

    I’m always…looking for the cutting edge on things that are for optimizing health and healing.

    Like $500,000 on plastic surgery? The only thing Demi had going for her was her looks & she is clearly terrified of aging. She had her freaking KNEES lifted!

    I’ll take my advice from Jamie Lee Curtis, thankyouverymuch!

  10. Toubrouk says:

    A quack cure based on leeches… kinky.

  11. lulu says:

    she is looking really old. her and ashton make such a ridiculous-looking couple!

  12. cc says:

    This has to be a joke.

  13. Daisy says:

    she’s punking you

  14. celebitchy says:

    She said this on Regis and Kelly too, so if it’s a joke she’s sticking to her story. If it’s for that spamming show “pop fiction,” I fail to understand how celebrities lying to the press is somehow a decent prank.

  15. Bodhi says:

    Even if it is for Ashton’s show, I think its something she would do in a heartbeat. Which is pathetic

  16. geronimo says:

    Agree, bodhi, I think she’s perfectly capable all on her own of buying into something so moronic.

  17. Carrie says:

    Call me crazy, but I think this is the celebrities way of giving the gossip sites the big F.U.

    The celebs know whatever they say or do is going to get picked up by hundreds of sites, subsequently making these sites look less than reliable and in turn no one will believe what they print anymore.

    Seriously. Leech Detoxification Therapy?

  18. mollination says:

    the thing about that dumb show is that not everyone watches it. So some mom who only has time to read her occasional US Weekly while her kid is napping may only hear the story and never hear that it’s a joke. So therefore it ruins that celeb’s image.

    And secondly, doing things that are (pathetically) in the realm of believability for that particular celeb ISN’T a good joke!

    That damn show is so self-indulgent of the celebs involved, those stupid morons that nobody likes anyway (eva longoria, paris, mario lopez, avril lavigne) think it’s so funny to expand on rumors that are already out there and think we’re all going to go mad for it!

    WE DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU! Sorry you thought we did. Your story about dating Mario Lopez on the side, or being a vapid heirhead are believable enough without you taking it to new heights.

  19. mollination says:

    whoa… guess a rant DOES feel good, geronimo.

    sorry that was so long.

  20. Ceenitall says:

    Leech, isn’t that Ashton’s pet name for Demi?

  21. bex says:

    that is so insanely discusting, i would NEVER have someone do that to me. i mean “medical leeches” cmon. i think its very unhealthy and like a new say to stay skinny like not eating or drinking orange juice for a week. stuff that hurts the body and doesn’t work.

  22. Scott F says:

    I agree that if it’s true then it’s pretty nasty, but it’s not like this is something strange. I assume by the comments that we don’t have any boxers that visit this site, because they’d be the first to tell you.

    Anyone who doesn’t believe this can feel free to verify it, but there are literally a medical line of leaches known as ‘sterile leaches’ that are used in hospitals all over the U.S. to great effect. They are most often used to stimulate blood flow to reattached digits and such to get the blood flowing into them. They also secrete a blood thinner that makes it harder for clots to form.

    When I was boxing in the service I had them used a few times to reduce swelling around the eye that can (if left untreated) cause loss of vision. Ugly little buggers, but they do a great job.

  23. Diane Lame says:

    This must be a Pop Fiction prank. C’mon Ashton, bring out the cameras.

  24. anonymous says:

    umm no lulu she does not look ‘really old’. I don’t care what she has or hasn’t had done – she looks fucking amazing and very beautiful. If she’s had all the surgery people accuse her of then she’s done it very subtly and prudently. I don’t put it past her to go overboard at some stage but that couldn’t be said of her at the moment.

    And why pray tell are they a ridiculous couple? Sexism and ageism from another woman gets up my nose.

  25. Cindy Kennedy says:

    I think Demi Moore would do ANYTHING to preserve her waning youth and beauty.

    She is a has-been in Hollywood, her day has come and gone – back in the 80s.

  26. lea says:

    well, she WAS here in austria a couple of days ago, together wth donna karan & some floral designer or gardener? no idea what they were up to, noone really knows, the newspapers here just reported that she went from salzburg to vienna..

  27. gridlocked says:

    …allegedly she stayed in this hotel in the Tyrolian Alps in Kitzbühel:
    http://www.a-rosa.de/resorts/kitzbuehel.html
    and enjoyed some traditional Tyrolian blood-suckers!
    🙂

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