At Lifetime Pet Wellness Center, we like to have options for your pet family members that go beyond conventional, or allopathic, medicine. The use of nutritional supplements, Chinese herbal products, acupuncture, Spinal adjusting, laser, and more can be very beneficial in improving the quality of life of our patients.
Starting Off Right
Dr. Jim Carlson, DVM, CVA, CVSMT
We are often presented with some tough cases like intense allergies, cancers, and more. The conditions in the body that created these problems likely started well before they were apparent. Once present, they can provide a challenge to correct. Hence, the reason why allopathic medicine has created a plethora of strong and intense medications.
But for ideal health, good habits should be started from the earliest age possible. Doing this does not ensure that bad things will not happen, but it does often decrease the chance or the extent of the issues. Starting while pets are young is the ideal situation. I almost always recommend four pillars to clients to keep their pets running along the path of ideal health. (There are more things, of course, but these are the main items to create a good foundation.)
The first is diet. Using a diet that is the least processed is always best. More “natural” diets provide less inflammatory contents and often less preservatives that can have deleterious effects on the body long term. These can include raw food, homemade foods, and some of the newer foods like The Farmer’s Dog (and others). Canned food and dry food are very processed. There is now scientific evidence that less-processed foods are less inflammatory. Preventing chronic inflammation is imperative to decreasing the inevitable development of chronic illness.
Next would be omega-3 fatty acids. These are also proven to help decrease inflammation as well as improve the function of organs down at the cellular level. They help the skin, joints, kidneys, nervous system, endocrine system, and more. My animals always get a good quality fish oil. (I will say that in my experience, small white fish oil, cod liver oils, and algal oils are better than salmon oil.).
Probiotics come next on the list. The gastrointestinal tract is basically a very long tube from the mouth to the anus, and what is contained in that tube (proper bacteria and yeast versus bad bacteria and yeast, called the microbiome) is essential for the health of the body as a whole. Many things can create a poor microbiome in the gut. Pesticides like glyphosate (Round Up and others) are one of many poisons that are in most foods that can alter the healthy gut microbiome. Diets high in starches, like kibble, can also create an altered microbiome by providing sugars that feed these bad invaders. An abundance of research shows that altered microbiomes in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to chronic issues in many areas of the body, such as the gastrointestinal tract, skin and anal glands, and liver. It has even been connected to seizures and nerve issues. More and more research is being done on how a poor microbiome can cause different disease conditions.
Lastly, are digestive enzymes. Enzymes help with not only the digestion of the food that we have put into this very long tube, but they can also be absorbed systemically to help decrease inflammation in the body. There is a condition that has been recognized for decades in integrative medicine called leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut allows food items to be absorbed before they are naturally digested into particles small enough not to create an immune response in the gut. When this occurs, it leads to the creation of food intolerances as well as decreased health. Giving enzymes assists the digestion of the food and can decrease the effects of leaky gut. If you have a pet who has multiple food issues, leaky gut is likely the culprit. My animals always get a probiotic and enzyme combination with each meal.
To summarize, I believe that the four pillars of optimal health should start as early as possible are: the most natural diet you are able to provide, omega-3 essential fatty acids, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. There are many products out there, with some being very good and some being of poor quality. We can help provide some good options for your pet and possibly help discuss other products out there. We do restrict our advice to products with which we have experience, as looking at a list of ingredients that may look good does not equate to a good supplement. There are many variables that can affect how good a product is, such as the quality of the ingredients and how those ingredients are processed. We value our patients’ health, as well as your peace of mind, and we look forward to helping you start your pet out on the best path possible.