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Toxic Food
© 2007, Lisa S. Newman, N.D.,
Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Spring was a scary time for all: contaminated pet food ingredients from
China caused kidney failure in our dogs and cats. Pet owners rushed to
buy natural brands, assuming would be better. Sadly, several of those were
shown to be contaminated as well. What a statement this made on the quality
of ingredients chosen for pet food! But it also showed us something...
When
a poison is used in the grain chosen for the food, the immediate correlation
between the pet food fed and the failure of the metabolizing organs is
easily seen. But what about the thousands of other cases of kidney
failure/disease in general? Could regular pet food be the culprit? The most
common diseases and conditions (i.e. obesity, diabetes, allergies, FUS,
arthritis, cancer) all share the same path from wellness to symptom.
Regardless of the diagnosis, each is created the same way. It starts with
diet! What you feed your pet is crucial to your pet’s long and healthy life.
Poor
quality pet foods may cost less at the register but cost more in long term
veterinary care. The Animal Protection Institute, of Washington, D.C.,
reported that the average dog lives twelve years, costing $13,000 in care.
Only $3000 goes to the food bill! The rest is spent mostly on medical costs
for easily preventable diseases. When a poor quality pet food is fed, the
result is always the same; you create a toxic pet. A toxic pet becomes a
prematurely aging, diseased pet. Food is the difference between life
and death, beyond starvation. Without easy-to-digest and assimilate food the
body cannot heal well. It may survive, but won’t thrive.
Less
expensive pet food contains less nutrition to begin with. The pet food
industry is based on the remnants of our food manufacturing industries. What
is considered not fit for human consumption is ferried to the pet food mills
for further processing. This includes 4-D animals (dead, dying, disabled or
diseased), moldy grains, rotten vegetables, milling by-products and even
recycled leather (for protein) or cardboard (used as fiber).
This way the human food companies can make money from their waste and the
pet food manufacturers have inexpensive ingredients to use. Even restaurants
recycle their cooking grease, used as ‘tallow’ in pet food. These practices
and other questionable ingredients are all sanctioned by AAFCO (American
Association of Feed Control Officials). These ingredients, being far from
wholesome and healthy, are not easily digested.
Food
is the fuel the body needs to conduct its many functions such as weight
maintenance, hormone production, fighting allergens or building skin tissue.
Just like a car burning gas and creating exhaust, the body digests food and
produces waste. The most common waste we think of is the stool. However, it
goes deeper than that: Metabolism is the process of taking in food,
converting it to use and eliminating the resulting waste on a cellular
level. Therefore, the cleaner the food - the easier it is to burn - the less
waste circulating in the blood.
These wastes, known as toxins, are processed through the eliminatory organs
(skin, liver and kidneys). When overloaded they become burdened, malfunction
and symptoms appear. Pimples, hot spots, constipation/diarrhea, vomiting,
gas, stone formation, pancreatitis and even behavioral issues are common
initial symptoms a pet suffers. The simple explanation: after the
eliminatory organs become burdened the built-up toxins begin to affect the
other systems such as the skeletal (creating inflammation in joints) or
nervous systems (affecting the brain and mood). The more toxic build-up, the
harder it is for the cells to take in nutrients and eliminate the wastes.
The cells prematurely age and weaken, causing malfunction of that organ
system. This is the root of all symptoms.
Most
importantly, toxins negatively affect the immune system’s function, stopping
production of healthy cells to fight aging and disease. It’s a vicious cycle
when toxic built-up overburdens organs, thus interfering with specific
processes such as digestion! Poor quality foods always compromise pet
health: The pet begins to lack in vital nutrients, causing the eliminatory
system to weaken, become overburdened, causing the immune system to
malfunction. This results in the eliminatory organs becoming further
weakened and overburdened; so the cycle continues until the body displays
the result: symptoms.
When
the immune system is burdened the whole body suffers. It is the primary
defense system, protecting healthy cells from invading organisms (i.e.viruses,
bacteria, parasites). The immune system works especially hard to rid the
body of dying or mutant cells to maintain and build health. Without a
properly functioning immune system these invaders attack the healthy cells
of other systems resulting in the aforementioned symptoms. The immune system
needs healthy and vibrant cells, which means well-fed cells, to function.
The
quality of the cell’s “food” depends on the quality of the body’s food
intake and its optimal digestion. The easier the food is to digest, the more
thoroughly nutrients, vitamins and minerals will be assimilated into the
blood stream, nourishing individual cells of the various organ systems. The
cleaner the pet’s diet (no by-products, rancid meats or fats, chemicals,
white rice, etc.) the easier to digest and metabolize. When a food is
difficult to metabolize, not only is it robbing the body of vital nutrients,
it is robbing the body of energy as well. Energy is wasted when the body
works harder to digest food, assimilate nutrients and eliminate toxins. This
is the energy needed to prevent or reverse all symptoms as well as run the
immune system.
Toxic build-up poisons the body bit by bit, taking years to show. This is
why pet owners often exclaim that their pet’s condition “suddenly” appeared
around age’s five to seven and why the importance of diet is so often
overlooked: The connection is not made. The first few years the body runs on
its youthfulness, dealing with the poor quality diet’s toxic effects until
it’s overwhelmed and the body’s natural defenses start to weaken with age.
The reality is most disease is years in the making!
A
good quality diet can help prevent health conditions by providing the body
with the clean fuel needed to thrive. Easy to digest pet foods are made with
the highest human-grade ingredients, free of by-products, sugar, salt,
yeast, chemicals, artificial flavors or colors. These diets provide animal
protein as the first ingredient, whole ground grains, fresh fruits and
vegetables. They include superior supplementation, such as proteinated
minerals, and barrier packaging to maintain the food’s freshness. Avoid
plastic-lined, paper bags because rancid pet food is difficult to digest.
Pet food loses its nutritional value as it ages in opened bags; never buy
more food than you can feed within a month’s time.
In
my research, I have noted that the majority of pets do not get enough
nutrients from the pet food that they eat. This problem is not always one of
poor quality ingredients or digestibility, but always one of a general lack
of nutrients available in the ingredient itself. This is especially true of
vitamins and minerals, vital to all biological functions. I have found that
today’s fruit, vegetables, grains and even meats are not raised to their
fullest nutritional potential and additional supplementation has been most
beneficial when asking the body to recover and stay well.
However the pet food is marketed, in reality based on today’s industry
standards, it cannot optimally support each and every individual animal’s
own specific needs. The food would be too expensive for the general market.
Therefore, it is helpful to add a quality daily vitamin mineral multiple
supplement - even to the very best of diets. This assures a more complete
combination of potent nutrients (premium fuel) is made available to the
body, especially the immune system.
Regardless how old or sick your pet is, whether or not he or she seems
healthy to you now, all pets will benefit from a change to a better brand of
food. Highly digestible, human-grade quality food is assimilated more
thoroughly, rendering greater nutritional support for needs such as symptom
reversal, while producing less waste in the blood to hurt healthy cells. The
more obvious results can be seen within six weeks as old, worn out skin and
coat cells are replaced with much healthier cells.
Become an educated label reader; call the manufacturer and ask about their
nutritional philosophies and quality control; invest time in choosing your
pet’s diet; it is time and money well spent. Even if your pet needs herbs,
homeopathic remedies or medications, good nutrition is always needed.
Switching to a better food will help prevent, manage or even reverse most
health conditions.
About
the Author
Dr.
Newman holds doctorate degrees in Naturopathy and Holistic Nutrition and has
spent the last twenty-five years applying what she has researched to pets.
She is the author of nine books including, Three Simple Steps to Healthy
Pets: The Holistic Animal Care LifeStyle. Dr. Newman is also the
formulator of award-winning Azmira® holistic pet foods and
supplements. Her comments are meant as a support to, not in lieu of, proper
veterinary care. For more information contact www.azmira.com or
1-800-497-5665.
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