Dr. EBM and “The Nature Article”

In a previous post I mentioned my encounter with a veterinarian (Dr. EBM) who argued with me all though a presentation on holistic medicine I gave at a veterinary conference. He loudly found fault with just about everything I said.

For instance, as a case example of the tendency of veterinarians to over-vaccinate our patients, I presented my own dog, “Katy.” Her last Distemper-Parvo vaccine was when she was 12 weeks old. I also gave her only ½ the dose since she was so small. Yearly titers have shown that she has had protective immunity for 11 years and counting.

Well, Dr. EBM was upset by my suggestion that small dogs do not need the same dose of vaccine as large dogs. He argued that it was not the ½ dose of vaccine that imparted 11 years of immunity to my dog. Apparently he thinks that the immunity from her mother has lasted that long. Talk about an unscientific assertion!

In my nutrition lecture, I compare the nutritional needs of dogs to those of wolves since they are so closely related and anatomically similar. To this Dr. EBM brought up the notorious Nature study.

In 2013, the journal Nature published a study done by a group of evolutionary geneticists that compared the DNA of dogs to that of wolves. They concluded that there are genetic mutations in dogs that appeared to indicate they had a better ability than wolves to digest and absorb carbohydrates. I have voiced my evaluation of this study here and here.

When Dr. EBM brought up this research, I was ready. I had carefully read and analyzed the study so spoke knowledgeably about it, which took Dr. EBM by surprise. My final argument to him was that even if dogs have the capacity to process carbs, that does not mean that starch is a healthy nutrient for them.

I pointed out that I can digest ethanol and sucrose but that does not mean I am likely to be healthy consuming a diet high in Twinkies and tequila. Believe it or not, I actually got Dr. EBM to say that an equivalent diet would be just fine for dogs. It is amazing to what extremes of ridiculousness people will go to defend their warped point of view.

Who wants to join me in self-experimentation with the Twinkies and Tequila (TnT) diet?