Geniuses of the Week + New Recipes
Sharing some of the best comments from the last few posts
When you start talking to a lot of professionals, it becomes clear that there are good and bad in every profession. As part of our work we talk with a lot of scientists, vets, doctors and more. Most professionals, especially the scientists, approach their opinions with a lot of humility. Some others, however, opine on subjects they have never studied, and get things flat wrong. This installment’s top comment comes from a doctor…but not just any doctor a semi well-known plastic surgeon from Turkey. Before that here are our newest recipes.
“MSG is bad”
First, we serve DSG (eggshell powder) to the dogs not MSG. They don’t need any flavor enhancers to love their food.
The idea that MSG is harmful for people likely originated from a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 titled “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” where one doctor claimed to feel numb and weak after eating Chinese food (some journalists claim the letter was actually a hoax). The author speculated that his illness was due to monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the food. Despite no scientific evidence, the media fueled public hysteria. “No MSG” labels (especially at Chinese restaurants) became widespread as news stories blamed MSG for everything from headaches to heart palpitations.
But it wasn’t true. MSG was already a flavor component in many American foods and snacks by the 70s and 80s, from KFC to Doritos to Ranch dressing. Yet there was no “American Food Syndrome” hysteria. The mistaken belief that MSG causes harm is still rampant today despite countless double-blinded controlled trials showing the contrary— there is no link between MSG and any adverse health conditions in healthy people. (Less than 1% of people are thought to have true MSG sensitivity.) So doctor, stick to the face and skin :)
"Normal food is better!”
It’s really interesting what people think is NORMAL FOOD these days. If fresh proteins, eggs and rice noodles are not normal food, we can only assume that the commenter means normal food is dog food. The most common food for dogs today is kibble. It makes up about 80-90% of the dog food sold today. Unfortunately, it’s not an ideal diet for dogs. Most kibble is 40% or greater carbohydrates which, as we shared before, puts stress on their endocrine system (pancreas, thyroid, kidneys, etc.), especially if they are overweight.
Can dogs live on kibble? Yes, if they are lean and get a lot of exercise they can live for a long time. But there is evidence that tooth decay is on the rise and one study in Japan showed that stray dogs have far fewer cavities and oral infections than pets. So even when lean, the carbohydrates in kibble still lead to poor oral health and long-term suffering.
“You are a r*tard”
This genius is confused about what causes diabetes. Confusion is common as even many doctors are mistaken about the causes of conditions and ailments (see first genius). Though there is literature connecting meat consumption to diabetes, especially processed meats like hotdogs and bacon (probably confounded because hotdogs are usually eaten with buns and lots of ketchup), lobster is typically regarded as a lean, healthy protein.
Diabetes and chronic disease is more closely associated with eating processed foods that are high in refined carbohydrates and seed oils—foods like kibble. The reason is that refined carbohydrates spike blood sugar while seed oils (especially when oxidized) cause inflammation. This combination drives insulin resistance while disrupting gut health and hunger regulation. The result is weight gain, chronic inflammation and elevated blood sugar which damages vital organs.
“Chicken bone gave my dog pancreatitis”
There is a whole generation of people who think every illness a dog gets is pancreatitis. There are a few reasons for this. First many dogs have subclinical pancreatitis. In one study of dogs who died of other causes, researchers identified pancreatitis in more than 35% of them. Furthermore, the pancreas lipase test used to diagnose pancreatitis has up to a 40% false-positive rate. The reason is that many conditions have similar symptoms as pancreatitis AND cause the pancreas to increase lipase production (the thing that pancreatitis tests test for). Pancreatitis is actually very difficult to accurately diagnose. It’s so difficult that researchers typically confirm a diagnosis with imaging like CT scans or MRI. Even then, most cases of pancreatitis are regarded to be idiopathic, or without identifiable cause.
But most importantly dear genius, please keep the cooked bones away from your dogs. Though they have nothing to do with pancreatitis, gastric obstructions and perforations are very serious.
Thats all for this week!
All the best,
Joelle and The Precious Creatures Team