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Author Archives: skeptvet
SkeptVet Gets Hate Mail: Update 2015
As regular readers will know, I don’t allow abusive comments or personal rants on the site. Primarily, this is because such nonsense contributes nothing productive, and I am under no obligation to provide angry or crazy people with a forum … Continue reading
Posted in General
37 Comments
Everything We Eat Cures Cancer! (or Causes it?)
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
Posted in Nutrition
9 Comments
Dr. Karen Becker Offers Some Classic Veterinary Detox Quackery
Yesterday, I wrote about some environmental chemicals that may play a role in causing disease. While this sort of environmental risk factor is a real and recognized phenomenon supported by good science, it can easily be cited to lend support … Continue reading
Posted in General
10 Comments
Evidence Update: Flame Retardants (PBDEs) and Hyperthyroidism in Cats
The words “chemical” and “toxin” are among the most popular and misused words in the alternative medicine lexicon. They are often more a vague code for “evil spirits” rather than a specific reference to true environmental health hazards, and they … Continue reading
Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
7 Comments
Vaccine Confidence in the United States: A New Report
Introduction As I have been quite involved in the struggle to reform our vaccination exemption laws here in California, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about childhood vaccination lately. While this is only tangentially related to my usual … Continue reading
Coconut Oil for Pets?
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
Posted in Nutrition
27 Comments
Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine: What is it & Why Does it Matter?
The Equine Veterinary Journal and Equine Veterinary education journal have just launched a new open-access evidence-based medicine resource, including systematic reviews, critically-appraised topic reports (CATs) and editorials. This includes my most recent editorial on the subject, which I can now … Continue reading
SB277- Eliminating Personal Belief Vaccine Exemption in California
I’m stepping outside of my usual territory as a veterinarian to raise a human healthcare issue– vaccination exemptions. In my state of California, it is very easy for misinformed parents with unfounded concerns about the safety and efficacy of vaccinations … Continue reading
Posted in General
4 Comments
John Maddox Prize for Promoting Science & Evidence in the Public Interest
A great science advocacy group from the UK called Sense About Science offers annual prize to recognize individuals who are publically promoting the importance and use of science and evidence. Here is how they describe the award: 2015 John Maddox Prize … Continue reading
Posted in General
3 Comments
Publications
In addition to my work on this blog, I do write for the professional veterinary literature and lay press as well, so I thought I’d list some of those publications for anyone who is interested. Professional Literature McKenzie, BA. Evidence-based … Continue reading
