A Book from the SkeptVet
Please follow & like us :)
0
Set Youtube Channel ID
Category Archives: Herbs and Supplements
Intravenous Vitamin C for Cancer Treatment in Pets
Introduction Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid) is a micronutrient found in many foods. Interestingly, it is essential for primates and guinea pigs, but not for any other mammals since most species can manufacture it from other substances in … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Miscellaneous CAVM
51 Comments
The Myth of Antioxidants?
I have written often about the popular notion that vitamins, dietary supplements, herbs, and other things which can be identified as “antioxidants” based on in vitro laboratory studies must automatically be good for our pets. This sort of simplistic reasoning … Continue reading
Supraglan Replaced By Adrenal Harmony Gold: Different Ingredients, Same Empty Promises
Note. Updated with correction Jan. 30, 2013 (see below) One of the most widely read, and controversial, reviews I have written was for an herbal combination product called Supraglan which was marketed to treat hyperadrenocorticism, also known as Cushing’s Disease … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
59 Comments
Health & Human Services Inspector General Finds Dietary Supplement Companies Make Misleading, Unsupported Claims and Ignore FDA Regulations
I have discussed the bizarre and ineffectual regulatory scheme for dietary supplements in detail previously. The stunningly misnamed Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) basically exempts any product called a “supplement” from any meaningful regulation to ensure safety or … Continue reading
HopeScience Vet’s EFAC for Periodontal Disease and Arthritis
My attention was recently drawn to another dietary supplement product with pretty dramatic claims, this time for treating both oral disease (gingivitis and periodontal disease) and joint disease (osteoarthritis). As usual, the company web site and promotional materials are unequivocal … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
24 Comments
Cranberry Products for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections: An Update of the Evidence
I have written previously about the rationale and evidence concerning the use of cranberry products to prevent or treat urinary tract infections. In my summary, I concluded: There is weak theoretical justification for using cranberry products for urinary tract infections … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
Leave a comment
Zoopharmacognosy–Do Animals Self-Medicate?
Before becoming a veterinarian, I did a master’s degree in animal behavior, working primarily with chimpanzees. These are fascinating creatures, with many of the cognitive abilities of a young human child (and with a similar emotional temperament as well, which … Continue reading
Posted in General, Herbs and Supplements
11 Comments
Magic Mushrooms–Can a mushroom-derived compound slow the progression of cancer in dogs?
There is a recent study out which looks at the potential for a chemical derived from mushrooms to slow the progression of one type of cancer in dogs. It has both strengths and weaknesses, and it is a nice example … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
7 Comments
Herbs and Supplements for Pets: What Is a Vet to do?
I’ve written extensively about herbal remedies and dietary supplements both because these seem among the most likely to be useful of CAM therapies and also because they are widely used despite the lack of good evidence that they are safe … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
4 Comments
From SBM: Alternative Medicine Claims to “Individualize” Therapy, but Does It?
Posted today on the Science-Based Medicine Blog Testing the “Individualization” of CAM Treatments One of the common claims of alternative medicine practitioners is that they individualize their treatment while conventional medicine treats all patients the same. This is nonsense … Continue reading
Posted in General, Herbs and Supplements
Leave a comment
