Gwyneth Paltrow called out over octopus claims

Gwenyth is "out of her depth" when it comes to octopus facts. Photo / Getty

Her knowledge of bizarre beauty treatments and health trends seemingly knows no bounds.

But when it comes to sea life it seems Gwyneth Paltrow is a little out of her depth.

The actress-turned-lifestyle guru was criticised over her reasons for not eating octopus after holes were found in her theories.

During a discussion with work colleagues, the 44-year-old declared that octopuses are "too smart to be food".

She said: 'They have more neurons in their brains than we do.

"I had to stop eating them because I was so freaked out by it. They can escape from sea world and s*** by unscrewing drains and going out to sea."

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Gwyneth was later corrected. While octopuses have more genes than humans, they actually have far fewer neurons - 500million compared to our 100billion.

And her reference to an octopus being able to work its way out of SeaWorld was also found to be inaccurate. An octopus did escape to the sea last year, not from SeaWorld but from the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

It did not unscrew a drain but slid down a pipe.

The mum-of-two was discussing her food concerns with staff from her lifestyle blog Goop. Pictures of the conversation were shared on Instagram. "I'm with you GP,' one worker responded, while another noted: "Wow. Ya learn something new every day."

But an article on US lifestyle website Refinery29 read: "Paltrow's claims aren't quite scientifically accurate. Octopuses have 500million neurons - not exactly 'more' than our 100billion. Still, we can agree that they are majestic, powerful creatures that you do not mess with."

However, Gwyneth has no problem with eating squid, another animal classed as a cephalopod.

When a colleague asked if she needed to "stop eating calamari", Gwyneth replied: "No. Squid is the dumb cousin, apparently."

Octopus Facts

•Octopuses have been known to escape their tanks, eat fish in another tank and then return.

• All are venomous but only the blue-ringed species can paralyse humans.

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•Some have eaten their arms in non-stimulating environments.

•They only live for a few years and some die after just six months.

•At a New Zealand aquarium, octopuses repeatedly blew an object into a jet of water in what was called the aquatic version of bouncing a ball.

•Tests have shown they can tell people apart and can unscrew lids to get prey from a jar.