Liver doctor rips Zoho CEO for pseudoscientific claims about walking barefoot: ‘Baby boomer uncle is health illiterate’

Renowned liver specialist Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, better known as The liver doctortakes no prisoners in his criticism of Sridhar Vembuthe executive director of Zoho Corporation, for perpetuating pseudoscientific claims about the health benefits of walk barefoota practice often touted as “grounding.”

Vembu, an advocate of natural health practices, took to social media to claim that connecting with the Earth’s natural energy through the soles of one’s feet could improve overall health and wellbeing. However, Dr Philips, an advocate of evidence-based medicine, was quick to dismiss the Zoho boss’s claims.

In a scathing rebuttal, he argued that there is no scientific evidence to support the claims made about walking barefoot. The Liver Doc stressed the importance of relying on rigorous research and clinical trials when evaluating health-related claims.

‘Grounding (through walking barefoot) is a pseudoscientific practice. It has no clinically relevant benefits. There are many absolutely absurd and wasteful studies on this topic that have [sic] “contaminated the published literature,” Dr Philips’ tweet reads, including a screenshot of Vembu’s post.

The liver doctor continued: “The biggest challenge for Indian healthcare is not in teaching people critical thinking skills, but in educating and empowering ordinary people to avoid health-illiterate baby-boomer uncles like Mr. Vembu.”

The exchange quickly escalated with both sides hurling personal attacks and accusations at each other.

“The best doctors I know are all equally humble because they know how extremely complex the human body is and how much the body and mind are intertwined. They also know that accepted medical wisdom is constantly changing, so they keep an open mind. And great doctors don’t foolishly insult people they don’t know,” Vembu wrote.

Dr. Philips insisted, suggesting that “we let doctors and health care workers do what they need to do, including debunking misinformation from scientific illiterates like you.”

The Kerala-based herpetologist is a vocal critic of unconvincing claims based on anecdotal evidence and personal experiences, especially when they have the potential to influence health beliefs on a large scale.

Although many people find anecdotal evidence compelling, it is often unreliable and can lead to false conclusions. Science, on the other hand, despite conservative accusations of being “dogmatic,” is based on empirical data collected through double-blind studies.

Critical thinking and the need to approach health claims with skepticism until they are supported by scientific evidence are at the heart of Dr. Philips’ philosophy.