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Author Archives: skeptvet
Vitamin Supplements- Do they prevent cancer?
Few purported medical interventions have such wide appeal or such an entrenched reputation for being benign and beneficial as vitamin supplements. Vitamins are chemicals (yes, they are, though you can call them “compounds” or even “essential nutrients” if it sounds … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
9 Comments
Another Acupuncture Study Shows It’s a Placebo
Acupuncture is one of the CAM modalities most widely accepted as scientifically proven to be effective, at least for pain and maybe nausea. Even providers skeptical of the mystical roots and language of the practice will often suggest that it … Continue reading
Posted in Acupuncture
13 Comments
CAM and Advance Healthcare Directives
Disclaimer: This topic strays outside my area of professional expertise, so I offer these personal musings as food for thought, not in any way as official recommendations in my role as a veterinarian. It has become quite common these days … Continue reading
Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics
3 Comments
Consumer Reports–The Dangers of Supplements
There is an article in the upcoming issue of Consumer Reports discussing the sorry state of regulatory oversight for dietary supplements, herbs, and vitamins, and some of the concrete harm that has come to consumers as a result. It is … Continue reading
Posted in General
2 Comments
Special Challenges of Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
The following is a post I contributed to the Science-Based Medicine blog. On this site there have been several thoughtful posts (e.g. by Dr. Atwood and by Dr. Novella), and subsequently much heated commentary, on the distinction between Evidence-Based Medicine … Continue reading
Posted in General, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
21 Comments
Double Helix Water: More Magic Water Quackery
The beauty of pseudoscience as a marketing tool is that it is, for those not trained in the particular branch of real science being mimicked, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Of course, many of the warning signs of quackery … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellaneous CAVM
146 Comments
Supraglan: Empty Promises, Not Medicine
I came across an especially egregious example of veterinary quackery recently which I wanted to warn people about. Petwellbeing.com, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Natural Wellbeing Distribution sells a product call Supraglan, which it advertises as a treatment for … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
164 Comments
The History of Veterinary Acupuncture: It’s Not What You Think
One of the most common arguments made in support of using acupuncture on animals is that veterinary acupuncture is an ancient art practiced and refined in China for thousands of years. On one website providing referrals for acupuncturists, the claim … Continue reading
Posted in Acupuncture
9 Comments
A New Tool for Evaluating the Effects of Arthritis Treatments in Dogs
There is an excellent article in the current issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association which I wanted to draw attention to, both for its conttent and the design of the study. Brown,D.C.; Boston,R.C.; Farrar,J.T. Use of … Continue reading
Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
3 Comments
Raw Pet Diet and “Natural” Pet Product Recalls
One of the comments often made in defense of raw diets and challenging the safety of conventional commercial pet foods is, “If those foods are so safe, why are they always being recalled?” The implication, of course, is that a … Continue reading
Posted in Nutrition
5 Comments