Liver doc calls Zoho CEO Vembu 'health illiterate boomer uncle', slams over benefits of walking barefoot

New Delhi: A Kerala-based hepatologist, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as 'The Liver Doctor' clashed with Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu on social media over the health benefits of "grounding" — walking barefoot.

The Kerala-based doctor criticized Vembu, referring to him as a "health illiterate boomer uncle" and accused him of promoting "pseudoscience" to his large list of followers.

Cloud software major Zoho's CEO Sridhar Vembu on Sunday slammed 'The Liver Doctor' on social media platforms, saying the best health tip he can give to anyone is to “stay away from arrogant doctors''.

Vembu first posted on X that he has been walking bare foot in the farm for close to a year now, and talked about the health benefits of "grounding" — walking barefoot.

“It is easy to do, doesn't cost anything and isn't harmful - our rural people have been doing it for ages. So I reasoned why not try it and I got so used to it by now I don't even think about it. Try it,” said the Zoho Co-founder, news agency IANS reported.

“Indian healthcare's biggest challenge lies not in teaching people critical-thinking skills, but in educating and training the common person how to avoid health-illiterate boomer uncles like Mr Vembu,” the Kerala-based doctor posted on X.

Vembu hit back, saying one needs to stay away from arrogant doctors.

According to an IANS report, Vembu argued “The best doctors I know are all uniformly humble because they know just how extremely complex the human body is and how much the body and mind are intertwined. They also know accepted medical wisdom keeps changing so they keep an open mind”.

“And great doctors don't do stupid name calling about people they don't know,” he added.  

Barefoot locomotion has evoked an increasing scientific interest with a controversial debate about benefits and limitations of barefoot and simulated barefoot walking and running.

While most current knowledge comes from cross-sectional laboratory studies, the evolutionary perspective suggests the importance of investigating the long-term effects.