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Originally Posted by pstinard  I've read the chunks of Dr. Dodds' writings quoted earlier in this thread by mimimono ( https://my.imatrixbase.com/clients/1...ce_Testing.pdf). Dr. Dodds doesn't cite any specific sources for her information. It's pure speculation on her part. And the references that ARE cited at the end of the document are not used to support any particular point that Dr. Dodds is making--most have to do with antibodies to bacterial infections. Mixing fact, fiction, and speculation is the WORST kind of pseudoscience that can be practiced. Dr. Dodds is selling a commercial product. It has no scientific support that has been published to date. The only mitigating factors are that the test is harmless, and the only tangible loss is peoples' money. HOWEVER, people might be duped into ignoring treatments that DO work. I'm almost afraid to mention it, but Dr. Dodds recently published a book titled "Canine Nutrigenomics." It is a speculative work that has just enough real facts thrown in to deceive the less discerning reader. And of course it promotes the Nutriscan test. I read about 84 pages of the book for free in Google Books online, and all it did was make me furious. Among her scholarly discussions of DNA, epigenetics, and the immune system, she throws in unproven dietary recommendations such as bee pollen and royal jelly. Here is what WebMD has to say about bee pollen ( http://www.webmd.com/balance/bee-pol...side-effects):
You may also hear recommendations for using bee pollen for alcoholism, asthma, allergies, health maintenance, or stomach problems, but there is no proof that it helps with these conditions. Before you take any natural product for a health condition, check with your doctor. Bee pollen is also recommended by some herbalists to enhance athletic performance, reduce side effects of chemotherapy, and improve allergies and asthma. At this point, medical research has not shown that bee pollen is effective for any of these health concerns.
Until Dr. Dodds publishes her results on saliva testing in a reputable refereed journal--and even then, the results will have to be replicated by others--I cannot take her recommendations seriously. |
I'm glad you brought up the book because I actually paid $9.99 for the kindle version. I am not a vet, not a veterinary nutritionist, and don't even work in the veterinary industry but I DO interact with MANY veterinary specialists and have been getting sound dietary recommendations for my animals from a veterinary nutritionist for nearly 7 years now. As a lay person, though, I find that the book espouses unbalanced and impracticable diets for dogs and makes some really strange suggestions.
For example, an apple should be fed to my senior dog with heart disease....really??? How come his boarded vet cardiologist hasn't mentioned the curative apples? Before someone comes along and says the cardiologist is invested in "drugs" and "money" please know that this particular hospital is a CHARITABLE HOSPITAL, a nonprofit, with veterinarians earning far less than they could get in the private sector. I'm quite sure if they thought an apple could help my 15 year old dog's genetic mitral valve disease and subsequent remodeled heart, they'd buy me a bag of granny smiths!!!
I have a problem also with some of the suggestions about epileptic dogs. Since I happen to have an epileptic yorkie who is under the care of three board certified specialists (neurology, internal medicine, nutrition), I have to laugh at the items in the book --
1. Don't feed high glycemic carbohydrates. Teddy likes carbs and his recommendations are to eat white potato, pasta, white rice. He happens to eat peas instead, but those were his recommendations and all of those are high glycemic carbs. They do not trigger seizures!!! I should also add here that the dog has a BCS of 4.5/9 and is slightly too lean! TOO LEAN. Not FAT, not CHUBBY, not even a little love handle.
2. Don't feed beef. What is this woman saying now????? TEDDY LOVES BEEF. Haven't seen him fall over into a grand mal seizure from eating beef in the last 6.5 years of his life.
3. Teddy should eat plenty of gelatin. There is no citation to a source that is reputable, but rather, a citation to a lay person epileptic dog website. There is a recipe in here for dog gummies and I admit, I might try it because I can gel up some chicken broth that Teddy might like.
4. Vets don't know how to test for thyroid disease. What is this woman talking about!!! My vets know how to run thyroid tests!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel I wasted $9.99. The only good thing that came out of this purchase (other than to feed the magic apples to cure my dog's heart and the special gummies for Teddy) is that a portion of the sale is donated to my favorite charity by Amazon.