Dear Pet Parent,
The Damp Season is upon us!
We have officially crossed over into the Earth's element. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, the Earth element's season begins mid-July and ends in September.
This is a transition season, yang is moving inward and the body will soon be preparing for Autumn.
A typical earth element pet is one that loves to play but is just fine with taking the day off to relax. The Earth element pet loves spending time with their people, they are very loyal and easy going. These pets tend to be a little more on the rotund side because they LOVE food!
Typical Earth Element pets
are:
- Labradors, Golden Retrievers
- Maine Coon and Tabby cats
In TCM the Earth element comprises the Stomach and Spleen/Pancreas. This element centers all others in the body. If the digestive energy is weak, then proper absorption of vitamins/minerals will be inhibited and the body will be weak. If this element is balanced, then absorption is great and the body is
strong.
Unfortunately, most of the patients we see are dealing with weak digestive energy such as intestinal malabsorption, aka leaky gut syndrome and a damp spleen/pancreas.
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
This is an extremely common imbalance that most of us and our pets deal with to some degree. I have been studying Leaky Gut
Syndrome for over 25 years. Why? Because this was my primary imbalance. I had to learn the hard way what gluten, sugar and dairy can do to a person's health. While I had very few antibiotics in my lifetime, the ones I did have, destroyed my healthy gut bacteria. The Rabies vaccine I was required to have in vet school nearly killed me and then I contracted a parasite that I was told would never clear! These are just a few of the reasons I am so passionate about holistic health and
most importantly GUT HEALTH!
- Leaky Gut as well as all other digestive imbalances tends to be more pronounced in early and late summer since these are the season's for both the small intestine and stomach/spleen/pancreas. This condition occurs in response to inflammatory precursors causes the lining of the digestive tract to become inflamed. This inflammation loosens the tight junctions in the gut allowing small particles of food, bacteria and toxins to
pass through into the bloodstream where they do NOT belong. In a healthy gut, these junctions are tight and prevent the passing of undigested material directly into the bloodstream.
What causes this inflammation in the gut lining?
- Genetics - some breeds, especially those of the Earth Element have very sensitive digestive
tracts.
- Diet - processed foods containing grains or starches and/or food additives, preservatives and coloring.
- We are detecting many of these preservatives on our patient's bioscans!
- Processed dairy, especially cheese, all GMO ingredients and even whole grains such as rice and spelt.
- Dogs were not created to process grains. We are detecting many enzyme deficiencies in our patients that affect their ability to process
grains and starches.
- Antibiotics - one course of antibiotics can destroy the gut's healthy bacteria for 5-10 years. In our pet's that can mean a lifetime!
- So remember, try to save the antibiotics for the life threatening events
- Steroids - steroids can suppress the gut's immune system allowing the bad bacteria or yeast to overgrow.
- Vaccinations- since 70% of the body's immune
system lives in the gut, vaccines wreak havoc on gut health. They stimulate the immune system, cause liver heat, blood heat and direct intestinal inflammation.
- we have found on our bioscans that over 95% of our patients are dealing with residual vaccine toxins
- Chemical dewormers, flea and tick treatments - these chemicals cause liver heat, blood heat and intestinal inflammation.
- while we know that some of these are necessary
during our summers here, we recommend our clients use these treatments sparingly
- Parasites - these cause irritation and inflammation of the gut lining and worsen damp conditions while also weakening the immune system.
- while most of our clients use monthly chemical treatments we are still finding parasites on the bisocans, this may be do to resistance and/or a weakened immune system from the chemicals. We are working on some natural deworming
protocols for our patients.
- Stress and Worry - from the environment and/or underlying sickness or imbalance weakens the gut health and can contribute to leaky gut and damp spleen.
Symptoms of Leaky Gut:
- Digestive disease: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Diseases affecting the Liver, Gallbladder or Pancreas, Bladder disease, Nutritional
deficiencies
- Behavior Issues : Thyroid disease, Separation Anxiety, Sudden Rage or Startle Barking, Self Mutilation
- Joint Disease: Arthritis, weak tendons/ligaments resulting in injuries, intermittent lameness
- Allergy Issues: Skin disease, Chronic ear infections, Anal Gland issues, Yeast, Itching
- Autoimmune diseases
- Cancer
Treatment:
- Diet is KEY!
- We recommend first and foremost a grain free diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugars.
- NO PROCESSED DAIRY, ESPECIALLY CHEESE
- Answer's Pet food is now making Goat Cheese Curds that are Raw and are loaded with beneficial probiotics needed for a healthy gut flora
- Preferred diet of fresh, home-cooked, RAW or Freeze dried
foods
- Raw isn't for everyone, so we recommend a consult prior to changing to a RAW diet
- Do not use antibiotics as a first line of defense.
- We have so many herbs that are equally as powerful as antibiotics but without the harmful side effects
- Choose titer testing instead of annual vaccinations
- Limit your use of chemical flea/tick treatments
- Never use heartworm,
flea/tick oral combinations preventatives
- alternate the dosing regimen of the heartworm and flea/tick by at least 2 weeks to allow the liver and immune system time to rest
- try to use only in the summer months and/or alternate or substitute with holistic treatments
- Try to limit your use of pharmaceuticals
The guidelines we have listed above is a great place to start for gut health. However, we are working to put some
healthy gut protocols into place for our patients and can discuss those with you at your next appointment. We are seeing many trends in our patients since performing these bioscans and we are hoping to correct some of the most common issues we are finding.
