Category Archives: Nutrition

I’ve written quite a bit about the problematic relationship between advocates of alternative medicine and scientific research. While I’m all for appropriate, high-quality research into any therapy with reasonable plausibility, which would include many alternative treatments, I object to the … Continue reading →

Central to the nutritional and general healthcare philosophy of most alternative practitioners is that anything we eat is either good or bad. They often quote that cutting edge physician Hippocrates saying “Let food be thy medicine” (though they less commonly … Continue reading →

Healthcare and nutrition fads are an unfortunate fact of life. People are always looking for miracle cures and for clear, defined villains they can blame for illness and try to avoid. The media contributes to the process of fads coming … Continue reading →

I try to keep track of new research on the subject of raw food for pets. So far, the research only allows us to conclude: There is no evidence to support claims that raw diets are healthier than cooked commercial … Continue reading →

Most everyone knows that dogs are descended from wolves. Anyone who has ever seen a dog and a wolf also knows that more than 10,000 years of active and passive selection by humans has had a dramatic transformative impact on … Continue reading →

I have written about the issue of homemade pet diets here several times (1, 2, 3, 4). They are appealing to some owners because they appear more “natural” than commercial dry or canned diets, which is supposed to imply they … Continue reading →

There is, as we all know, a tremendous amount of misinformation on the internet concenring virtually any subject. Yet the internet is an unqeustionably powerful information resources, likely indispensible for anyone seeking to be an informed consumer. For pet owners, … Continue reading →

A nice new review of the evidence concerning raw meat-based diets appears in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Freeman LM, Chandler ML, Hamper BA, Weeth LP. Current knowledge about the risks and … Continue reading →

Numerous studies have demonstrated that raw diets are likely to be contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, E. coli, and others that can cause serious disease. (1, 2) Though cases of illness have been documented caused by these organisms … Continue reading →