DEAR FRIEND
- Although there is much that can
be learned about animal health from advances in human medicine and nutrition, there is
much also that should be ignored or unlearned. This is not to say there are not
significant parallels between the biology of companion animals and humans. In fact
there is very little difference between the two, and what benefits your health will also
likely benefit your pets.
- What has to be differentiated,
however, is marketing from substance. Rather than really
instruct animal owners how they can optimize pet health through restoring the diet to its
more natural character, pet food manufacturers and their simplistic slogans try to capture
the naive marketplace already duped by similar propaganda in the human food industry.
For example, “100% complete and balanced” diets is just such a
nonsensical slogan. Or, how about attempting to get people to believe their pets
need pasta, gravy, high or low protein, or foods that have been “proven”
in feeding trials or which have achieved certain magic percentages by analysis.
- The real hoopla right now
concerns the fads of fiber and fat. Increase your fiber and decrease your fat is the
supposed panacea for all human woes. Neither is true. Fiber is not needed;
more whole natural foods are needed which contain not only fiber but the whole spectrum of
important nutritional elements.
- Fat is another thing.
Everybody is afraid of it. Fat provides an egregious example of how you can
be misled in feeding your pets by following the lead of human food and fads. Some
pet food manufacturers are following the lead of the human food processing industry
and considering the use of synthetic fats such as Olestra to create special dietary
formulas. They have bought into the simplistic notion that obesity is just a matter
of calorie counting. If this were the case, then Olestra would indeed be a godsend
since fat could be virtually removed from the diet, and the calories contributed by fat
(the most dense source of calories in food) could be eliminated.
- Although this new synthetic fat
technology is being promoted by some nutritionists, it totally neglects the
important value of lipids (fats and oils) and their quality in the animal diet. This
is discussed at some length in my book, Lipid Nutrition–Understanding Fats and
Oils in Health and Disease. Animals need a variety of unaltered, unoxidized
fatty acids in the diet belonging to the omega-3, -6 and -9 classes. Additionally,
there are fat soluble vitamins such as A, D and K as well as carotenoids and other unknown
fat soluble nutrients which would be lost by eliminating or severely restricting real fats
in the diet.
- In the case of Olestra, a
variety of problems have already occurred in humans. Olestra not only replaces many of the
fat soluble nutrients mentioned above, but also will cause those that are consumed to be
carried out of the digestive tract unassimilated. Olestra also can cause flatulence,
diarrhea and anal leakage. Hardly what you need happening to your pet in the house.
- Synthetic fats such as Olestra
and hydrogenated oils with their trans-fatty acids are among the most serious scourges in
modern foods. Yet they are becoming ubiquitous in the human food supply, and now
animal food producers are following suit.
- Watch labels, read company
literature and be sure the feeding program you are using for your pet is not based on the
notion that synthetics are as good as the real, natural thing, or that nutritionists can
provide for you a truly “100% complete and balanced” pet food which you should
feed exclusively, day in and day out to your pet.
- Reference:
- Wysong
Health Letter, (WHL Vol 10-7: 7)
-
- CAUSES OF ALLERGY
- The cause of a food allergy is
not a particular ingredient in a food, it is a malfunctioning immune system in your
pet.
- Allergy, or I should say
allergies since most people and animals are multiple-allergic, are simply one of the many
chronic degenerative diseases plaguing today's society as it has been extracted from its
natural environmental roots. Foods turned toxic by processing and toxic
chemicals added to our food, water and air supplies can lie at the root of allergies.
- Even the routine administration
of vaccines may disrupt the immune system in such a way as to trigger allergies.
Drugs and antibiotics may disrupt the natural microflora in the digestive tract, or
otherwise cause digestive dysfunction. This can permit the growth of disease-causing
organisms that adversely affect the immune system, or permit the passage of large
undigested antigenic molecules into the blood.
- Refined flours found in many
commercial pet foods, sugars and high fructose corn syrup can react in food processing,
such as in the Maillard reaction, to create sugar-protein compounds that are allergenic.
In this regard, all processing in one way or another changes and distorts the basic
label ingredients, perhaps rendering them potentially allergenic.
- This alteration of the
ingredients by processing is one reason why common so-called allergy laboratory tests are
highly misleading. The "chicken," "corn," "soybean,"
"wheat" and so forth that is tested in a laboratory is not the same
antigenically as these same ingredients mixed together in a processed food and heated
under high pressure. Therefore, the
only way to really know if an animal is allergic to a processed food is to feed the food
itself – regardless of what its ingredients are, since the laboratory test does
not test for the complex antigenic matrix of a finished food, but only tests for
singular ingredients.
- People attempting to find foods
not containing certain ingredients because of laboratory allergy testing are beginning a
never-ending futile plight. If they were to find a food their pet was not allergic
to, and then feed it exclusively as a so-called "100% complete and balanced"
diet, the pet would likely soon develop an allergy to that food as well. Then on the
search would go again. The basic cause of the allergy is not being addressed.
It’s like continuing to turn off the fire alarm while letting the fire smolder
in the closet.
- Think of allergy as a sick
immune system. Try to restore the pet's entire environment to its more natural
state, as I discuss repeatedly in the Companion
Animal Health Letter. Be sure to cycle through the various Wysong Diets and
supplement a variety of fresh, whole, natural foods. Supplementing EFA With Fish
Oil, Pet Inoculant and Biotics is extremely important since these supplements help
maintain a healthy digestive tract, assist in the more complete digestion of food, and
provide important fatty acids and other nutrients necessary for a healthy immune system.
- An absolute cure is not always
possible, but control of allergies often is. By addressing the true cause –
your pet's immune system – you will not be required to have repeated laboratory
testing performed, give dangerous medications, or search for weird (e.g. something like an
antelope and barley formula) "100% complete and balanced" processed diets
in an attempt to solve the problem. These bandaids will certainly never cure the
problem, and are only stopgap measures fraught with a variety of side effects that may
actually leave your pet in far worse health.
-
- EAR PROBLEMS
- Many ear problems in pets can
result in an excessive accumulation of ear wax, exudate, hair and debris in the ears.
The ear canal in cats and dogs does not enter straight horizontally to the ear drum
as in humans. Instead, it is shaped somewhat like a tuba or saxophone (See drawing.)
In order to reach the ear drum you first go in horizontally, then you must go down
vertically, make a 90 degree turn, and go horizontally again before you reach the ear
drum.
- This configuration can result
in accumulations down deep within the canal that are not easily removed. (See Drawing #1)
Infection from bacteria, molds and parasites can sometimes cause an incredible
amount of pus and ear wax production in the canal. This can be extremely resistant
to treatment because it is very difficult to get medication down in this inaccessible ear
canal, through this material to the ear tissue.
- To assist in the removal of
such material and the restoration of the ear canal tissues to health, increase the amount
of Wysong EFA With Fish Oil in the diet. This will decrease the viscosity of the ear
exudate and facilitate its removal, as well as provide a powerful anti-inflammatory
effect. Additionally, Wysong has two ear products which can be used to apply to the
ear to help restore health. One is an oil soluble droplet called Otisol-O which
should be used when the ears are plugging. The other is called Otisol and is water
soluble, and can be used for routine ear cleaning. If excessive hair plugs the ear
this can be pulled out with Wysong blunt tipped nylon forceps.
- When putting Otisol in the
ears, hold the tip of the ear and pull it up vertically to allow the ear drops to run down
into the vertical part of the ear canal. While still holding the ear flap
vertically, grab the funnel shaped cartilage you can feel through the skin underneath the
ear opening and massage it to allow the medication to work down into the ear canal.
(See above drawing) If you don't do this, but rather
simply throw a few drops at the surface of the ear canal and run, the animal will quickly
shake its head and the centrifugal force will force the drops out. They will never
reach deep in the canal where needed, but it makes a nice pattern on your walls and
ceiling.
- An additional treatment that
will help with ear problems is to apply moist heat to the outside of the ears for 5 to 15
minutes, or as long as your pet will allow, a couple of times a day. Simply moisten
a wash cloth with water as hot as your skin can tolerate it and then apply this to the
outside of the animal's ear canal, massaging the canal and whispering sweet nothings to
try and get him to hold still and allow you to do this as long as possible. To
prolong the heat use instant hot packs available from Wysong.
- Occasionally, ear conditions
are refractory and will need medical examination and treatment. A quick course of
topical antibiotic treatment may be needed in some instances. If your veterinarian
prescribes oral antibiotics as well, be sure to increase the dose of Pet Inoculant at the
same time, since oral antibiotics will disrupt the healthy microflora in the digestive
tract of your pet.
-
- INCREASING FERTILITY
- There is evidence that
fertility in both modern humans and their companion animals is on the wane. This is
most likely a result of the general ebbing of health from extracting ourselves further and
further from our natural environmental roots. Additionally, a host of toxic elements
is being introduced into our environment which also take their toll.
- Here are some suggestions,
however, to reverse this trend.
- 1. First off, be sure you
are following the entire Wysong Feeding-For-Health Program. Building the general
health of your companion animal will spill over into health of the reproductive system.
Don't overlook the need for regular exercise and daily exposure to fresh air and
sunshine.
- 2. There are a variety of
estrogen-like compounds that have been introduced into our environment and our food
supply. These estrogen-like compounds can disrupt the delicate balances within the
reproductive hormonal system and lead to fertility problems. Everything from
pesticides to household chemicals to compounds that gas off from packaging materials can
be estrogenic. Herbicides and pesticides used on the lawns, shampoos, flea products,
and the like all may cause an estrogenic fertility sapping effect. Clean up the
environment of your pet.
- 3. I'm not going to
suggest a specific dosage on these supplements, but I will tell you what has worked with
humans and you can adjust as you see fit for your specific pet: A) zinc 120 mg twice
a day for 2 to 3 months, B) arginine, an amino acid, 4 grams per day for three months, C)
ginseng, the dosage recommended for humans is on the labels, D) antioxidants beta
carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E - and here I will recommend Wysong Food ACE as the best
natural form of these supplemental antioxidant vitamins, E) coenzyme Q-10, 60 mg daily, F)
glutathione 600 mg a day for two months.
-
- DRUG DANGERS
- An estimated million and a half
people per year suffer an adverse reaction to drugs administered to them in hospitals.
About 20% of all disabling adverse events due to medical care are a result of
reactions to drugs, and 45% of these were clearly due to human error. Injuries due
to drugs are in fact the most frequent cause of procedure-related malpractice claims.
- Although I know of no such
statistics for use of pharmaceuticals in animals, there is no reason to believe the
results are not similar. There is probably, on a whole, less impact on the companion
animal population because people are less inclined to spend the money for veterinary care
because they do not have the blank check provided by insurance carriers.
Additionally, the dangers decrease because animals live shorter lives and thus are
less likely to experience decades of drug use like that to which humans subject
themselves.
- If medication is ever necessary
for you or your pets, do all you can to find out everything possible about the drug, and
why it is being used, and what its potential adverse effects are. If possible,
obtain the drug insert from your veterinarian so you can read what the contraindications
are. Pharmaceutical companies are required by law to reveal adverse effects they
have discovered in their research. If you cannot get the drug insert, then go to
your local library and get a Physician's Desk Reference and look the drug up there to
learn about it.
- The question to ask is
whether the potential benefits from the drug are worth the risks.
- And remember, health and
healing will not ultimately come from a pill, but rather result from the lifestyle you
create for your companion animal.
- Reference:
- JAMA,
July 5, 1995: 35- (WHL Vol 9-10: 3)
-
- VITAMIN C FOR RESPIRATORY AND SINUS
DISEASE
- Although dogs and cats are
capable of synthesizing their own vitamin C, there is evidence that this ability may be
compromised in pets fed modern processed foods and subjected to the variety of oxidants
and toxins in our modern environment. Many veterinarians have experimented with the
use of vitamin C in therapy including intravenous vitamin C, and have reported favorable
results.
- For upper respiratory
conditions, particularly that are related to allergies, high doses of vitamin C have
an antihistamine and antioxidant effect. The way large doses of vitamin C are given
is to slowly increase the amount by 250 to 500 mg per day until loose stools result.
Then the dose is backed off slightly until stools normalize. This high dosage
is then maintained to give a therapeutic effect and then should be slowly tapered off over
a period of several weeks, rather than stopped abruptly.
- If large doses of vitamin C are
given and then stopped abruptly, the body may be thrown into imbalance and be unable
to adequately catch up in producing adequate vitamin C, and thus a withdrawl
susceptability to more illness may actually be created.
- Reference:
- Health
Revelations, June 1995: 8 (WHL 9-11: 7)
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