Bad Science from Dr Esselstyn by The Skeptical Cardiologist
 

Just discovered The Skeptical Cardiologist (based in St Louis if anyone is interested) through a Twitter repost of his second post on the topic of:

MORE INCREDIBLY BAD SCIENCE FROM DR. ESSELSTYN’S PLANT-BASED (VEGAN) DIET STUDY

https://theskepticalcardiologist.co...gan-diet-study/

Many, many heart health topics (CAC, calcium, aspirin, and of course statins) covered at:
https://theskepticalcardiologist.com

Looks like an information feast. Thanks again, Janet!

What a brilliant little saying he wrote down, looks like he's using it as a quote or aphorism: "The Plural of Anecdote Is Not Data"

Gawd I love that line!

Too true!!

Reading a few articles. So far they all directly contradict advice given by Dr. Davis in his new book, "Undoctored", such as calling functional or integrative medicine as " bogus" and "quakery", saying fish oil (which Dr. Davis highly recommends) is useless, etc.

I noticed this too. He strikes me as one of those people who's put his toe in the water, maybe even occasionally waded up to his knees, but still afraid to dive into the waves. He says very low carb is unsustainable for most people and a Mediterranean diet with healthy whole grains is the way to go.

Jean

Ok, thanks for checking that. I lhad ooked at his articles about the CAC, etc and thought he was aligned with current thought on its value, cholesterol, etc.

Fish oil has become very controversial. Chris Kresser has an article updated this year with some more research against its use. https://chriskresser.com/should-you...aking-fish-oil/
And funny observation...Dr Davis has Chris Kresser as an Unbiased Resource in the appendix..so chose which one to believe.

So when Dr Davis recommends some 3600 EPA/DHA in UnDoctored...not so sure I should believe him either. That's a lot of pills! Way OTT for some with low trigs. I look at so many sources that give conflicting advice, at least in the details, I tend to waver between them, or reach some middle ground...until the next article ;)

Same with Dr Davis's fertilizing the gut with raw potato, etc. Others say a good variety of Low net carb vegetables will give prebiotics ...and way more tasty.

I agree that it is a clever line but sometimes the weight of anecdotes reveals a truth that gets hidden in the so-called data.

So, although the plural of anecdote may not be data, the synonym of data may not be truth. Data can be poorly collected, poorly interpreted or even suppressed.

Also the synonym of anecdote is not falsehood. It implies untested but not necessarily untrue.

Jean

Oh Jean, that is a wise statement. Although I agree that the plural of anecdote may not be data, I do believe that carefully assessed unique observations (anecdotes) may be rolled up to serve as data. But then, I'm an anthropologist, and thats what we do.

True I'm not sure what I think about fish oil, which I actually don't take, though occasionally eat sardines. In fact, while I love Dr. Davis's writing style, I was actually somewhat disappointed in his book. I need to go through it again to find the points that concerned me. But I'm still more in line with him than the Skeptical Cardiologist who, in general, seems to toe the mainstream medical line, and mostly seems to regard anything alternative as quackery - at least in the few posts I read so far.

Both can be used inappropriately to beat another over the head, neither are true or false, they just are. :)

Thats right and that is the message: both can be used inappropriately, so lets not!!! Thanks Merpig!!!