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Supplements for Digestive Problems (Healing Model)
Can you depend 100% on the improved diet you are feeding your dog as the only natural remedy for reversing your dog’s colitis or IBS? I believe that the majority of digestive system diseases can be treated naturally through diet and supplements. If we lived decades ago in an environment where the soil was rich with mineral sediments and as a result the plants were enabled to produce their own nutrient richness from their primary growth medium (soil) then the animals who ate these foods became well nourished.
Dr. Howard Hagglund, former faculty member at the University of Oklahoma, stated that “(the) best way to get both minerals and vitamins is from food. But foods today seldom contain enough essential minerals and vitamins...because (our) farmland has been ruined. It only takes ten years of intensive modern farming methodology to exhaust the minerals in any tract of land.” Agricultural land is typically fertilized with only potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. “Unfortunately, many other essential minerals (including molybdenum, manganese, magnesium and zinc) are not replenished.”
Even organically grown foods may not contain all the minerals that plants need to develop full nutrient richness because the minerals are not put back into the soil along with the organic matter.
A natural healing program for digestive system diseases is to supplement your pet’s diet with nutrient rich foods. In addition to improving your pet’s diet by giving him/her fresh organically grown meats, fruits, vegetables and sea veggies and the supplements I will discuss in this page, you have an unbeatable diet and supplement program to help heal your pet’s digestive system diseases and help him/her regain good health.
Dr. Howard Hagglund, former faculty member at the University of Oklahoma, stated that “(the) best way to get both minerals and vitamins is from food. But foods today seldom contain enough essential minerals and vitamins...because (our) farmland has been ruined. It only takes ten years of intensive modern farming methodology to exhaust the minerals in any tract of land.” Agricultural land is typically fertilized with only potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. “Unfortunately, many other essential minerals (including molybdenum, manganese, magnesium and zinc) are not replenished.”
Even organically grown foods may not contain all the minerals that plants need to develop full nutrient richness because the minerals are not put back into the soil along with the organic matter.
A natural healing program for digestive system diseases is to supplement your pet’s diet with nutrient rich foods. In addition to improving your pet’s diet by giving him/her fresh organically grown meats, fruits, vegetables and sea veggies and the supplements I will discuss in this page, you have an unbeatable diet and supplement program to help heal your pet’s digestive system diseases and help him/her regain good health.
A Health Model That Makes Sense:
Photographer: Suat Eman
As I read holistic books to find answers on how to help digestive system conditions, I read a few books written by medical doctors outlining a new discipline in medicine called Nutritional Medicine. I was very impressed by the logic they presented in these books as to why degenerative conditions occur. I was also impressed by their health model that outlined how to reverse digestive system degenerative conditions with diet and supplements. In these books I found a natural treatment that made a lot of sense.
I worked with many dogs suffering from digestive system conditions and applied this health model to their conditions and as a result many of these pets today live with healthy functioning digestive system. Let me share with you what I learned, because if this makes sense to you, then you’ll be motivated to do what I recommend to help your pet’s colitis condition or IBS.
Nutritional Medicine
The Nutritional Medicine approach includes principles that are of great benefit to the treatment of digestive system diseases in pets. These principles support the following: 1) better digestion and assimilation of foods through the use of probiotics and enzymes; 2) better nutrition through nutrient rich food supplements and; 3) increased protection against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through whole food antioxidants.
Hundreds of pet owners have used this health model to help their pets from many chronic degenerative conditions including digestive system diseases. Additionally, many of the studies and books written by Nutritional Medicine doctors give us the scientific reasons behind why this specific health model and the supplements used have helped with a wide variety of health-related conditions.
Why Does Nutritional Medicine Work?
Nutritional Medical physicians believe that most degenerative conditions have their origin in the malfunction of the digestive tract and the liver’s elimination processes. In other words, illness can be directly related to problems of the digestive and liver detoxification systems and their related influence on immune, nervous and endocrine system functions. Therefore, when the health of the digestive and liver detoxification systems is addressed, the pet’s body is given the opportunity to reverse many degenerative conditions. If the degenerative condition is labeled, colitis, allergies or IBS, etc., a Nutritional Medicine doctor will first recommend addressing the health of the gastrointestinal tract (GI). Once the GI tract is normalized, then the liver detoxification system should be supported and strengthened.
Today, through the efforts of Nutritional Medicine doctors, we have hundreds of clinical studies and scientific research that confirm what many of us have heard so often from folk medicine practitioners: “Stomach problems are the cause of all ills” or “Death begins in the colon.”
Jeffrey Anderson, M.D., wrote an article called “How Problems with Digestion Can Cause Illness Anywhere”, and in this article he explains why you should address the health of the gastrointestinal tract first, no matter what the name of the degenerative condition. He explains that “new information on the dynamics of the body make it clear that conditions in the digestive tract affect the entire system” (Nichols, et al., 1999, p.125). The “...degradation of the gastrointestinal environment is one of the primary points at which health is lost. What we now know is that the same toxins associated with GI dysfunction are frequently absorbed and distributed to other parts of the body. First they place a burden on the liver and the immune system. If liver overload occurs, there will be spill over, and some of the toxins will be passed on to other organs or tissues” (p. 125).
“Often, it’s a weak link in the system that will be hit by the damage - an organ that can be anywhere in the body that is most likely to be vulnerable. The vulnerability may be inherited, caused by physical injury, toxic exposure, or poor diet” (p.125). For example, “if the sensitive system is the lungs, toxins that originate in the gut and circulate in the bloodstream may manifest as allergies” (p.125).
Len Saputo, M.D., in his article, ”Harmful Flora”, also believes that if the gastrointestinal tract goes out of balance and the liver detoxification system breaks down, the pet’s entire immune system can malfunction in three ways. First, it can be weakened and the result called an immune suppression disease (i.e., cancer). Second, it can overreact and become hyper responsive to normal stimuli; this occurs in skin diseases, and food allergies. Third, a malfunctioning immune system can cause auto immune reactions, where antibodies target your pet’s own tissues, as in rheumatoid arthritis (p.60).
Jerry Stine, M.D., in his article, “How Digestion Works”, explains that the gastrointestinal tract is the largest immune organ in our body. Eighty percent of all our protective immune globulins are produced in the digestive tract (p.16). When this large, strategically placed immune system member (the GI tract) isn’t working well, your pet’s defenses are lowered and once their barriers are down, it becomes more difficult to defend against invaders.
Nutritional Medicine Strategies to Reverse Degenerative Conditions, Includes:
Nutritional Medicine doctors including, Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Dr. Len Saputo and Dr. Jerry Stine, believe that cleansing and supporting the GI tract and the liver can and will clear the body of any and most degenerative conditions.
• First you detoxify the GI tract.
• Then get the liver detoxification system working.
• And finally clean up the downstream consequences, which include the toxins in the tissues and cells.
Nutritional Medicine doctors believe that you can’t deal with the downstream conditions (symptoms in the body such as arthritis, skin conditions,..etc.), until you’ve treated the upstream problem(s) in the gut and liver (p.132). When you clean up the upstream issues and the liver, then the downstream consequences tend to go away.
Nutritional Medicine Solution for Most Degenerative Conditions:
The 4Rs Solution:
1) Remove: Abnormal kinds/amounts of intestinal microorganisms (parasites, bacterial pathogens, small intestinal overgrowth such as yeast, and food antigens). This can be done by repairing “leaky” intestinal membranes.
2) Replace: Hydrochloric acid, enzymes, and fiber deficiency can be addressed and replaced with friendly bacteria, digestive enzymes, and fiber supplements.
3) Restore: Symbiotic bacteria and GI bacteria through the use of full spectrum friendly bacteria (L. acidophilus, B. bifidus, L. planetarium, L. salivarius, L. bulgaricus, etc.).
4) Repair: Replace or augment with nutrients necessary to support healing of intestinal lining, plus adequacy of calories, and adequacy of fiber. Support the liver detoxification system through the use of antioxidants and food-based nutritional supplements (pp. 181-182).
The 4 R’s are a great process for the treatment of liver and kidneys diseases.
Nutritional Medicine
The Nutritional Medicine approach includes principles that are of great benefit to the treatment of digestive system diseases in pets. These principles support the following: 1) better digestion and assimilation of foods through the use of probiotics and enzymes; 2) better nutrition through nutrient rich food supplements and; 3) increased protection against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through whole food antioxidants.
Hundreds of pet owners have used this health model to help their pets from many chronic degenerative conditions including digestive system diseases. Additionally, many of the studies and books written by Nutritional Medicine doctors give us the scientific reasons behind why this specific health model and the supplements used have helped with a wide variety of health-related conditions.
Why Does Nutritional Medicine Work?
Nutritional Medical physicians believe that most degenerative conditions have their origin in the malfunction of the digestive tract and the liver’s elimination processes. In other words, illness can be directly related to problems of the digestive and liver detoxification systems and their related influence on immune, nervous and endocrine system functions. Therefore, when the health of the digestive and liver detoxification systems is addressed, the pet’s body is given the opportunity to reverse many degenerative conditions. If the degenerative condition is labeled, colitis, allergies or IBS, etc., a Nutritional Medicine doctor will first recommend addressing the health of the gastrointestinal tract (GI). Once the GI tract is normalized, then the liver detoxification system should be supported and strengthened.
Today, through the efforts of Nutritional Medicine doctors, we have hundreds of clinical studies and scientific research that confirm what many of us have heard so often from folk medicine practitioners: “Stomach problems are the cause of all ills” or “Death begins in the colon.”
Jeffrey Anderson, M.D., wrote an article called “How Problems with Digestion Can Cause Illness Anywhere”, and in this article he explains why you should address the health of the gastrointestinal tract first, no matter what the name of the degenerative condition. He explains that “new information on the dynamics of the body make it clear that conditions in the digestive tract affect the entire system” (Nichols, et al., 1999, p.125). The “...degradation of the gastrointestinal environment is one of the primary points at which health is lost. What we now know is that the same toxins associated with GI dysfunction are frequently absorbed and distributed to other parts of the body. First they place a burden on the liver and the immune system. If liver overload occurs, there will be spill over, and some of the toxins will be passed on to other organs or tissues” (p. 125).
“Often, it’s a weak link in the system that will be hit by the damage - an organ that can be anywhere in the body that is most likely to be vulnerable. The vulnerability may be inherited, caused by physical injury, toxic exposure, or poor diet” (p.125). For example, “if the sensitive system is the lungs, toxins that originate in the gut and circulate in the bloodstream may manifest as allergies” (p.125).
Len Saputo, M.D., in his article, ”Harmful Flora”, also believes that if the gastrointestinal tract goes out of balance and the liver detoxification system breaks down, the pet’s entire immune system can malfunction in three ways. First, it can be weakened and the result called an immune suppression disease (i.e., cancer). Second, it can overreact and become hyper responsive to normal stimuli; this occurs in skin diseases, and food allergies. Third, a malfunctioning immune system can cause auto immune reactions, where antibodies target your pet’s own tissues, as in rheumatoid arthritis (p.60).
Jerry Stine, M.D., in his article, “How Digestion Works”, explains that the gastrointestinal tract is the largest immune organ in our body. Eighty percent of all our protective immune globulins are produced in the digestive tract (p.16). When this large, strategically placed immune system member (the GI tract) isn’t working well, your pet’s defenses are lowered and once their barriers are down, it becomes more difficult to defend against invaders.
Nutritional Medicine Strategies to Reverse Degenerative Conditions, Includes:
Nutritional Medicine doctors including, Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Dr. Len Saputo and Dr. Jerry Stine, believe that cleansing and supporting the GI tract and the liver can and will clear the body of any and most degenerative conditions.
• First you detoxify the GI tract.
• Then get the liver detoxification system working.
• And finally clean up the downstream consequences, which include the toxins in the tissues and cells.
Nutritional Medicine doctors believe that you can’t deal with the downstream conditions (symptoms in the body such as arthritis, skin conditions,..etc.), until you’ve treated the upstream problem(s) in the gut and liver (p.132). When you clean up the upstream issues and the liver, then the downstream consequences tend to go away.
Nutritional Medicine Solution for Most Degenerative Conditions:
The 4Rs Solution:
1) Remove: Abnormal kinds/amounts of intestinal microorganisms (parasites, bacterial pathogens, small intestinal overgrowth such as yeast, and food antigens). This can be done by repairing “leaky” intestinal membranes.
2) Replace: Hydrochloric acid, enzymes, and fiber deficiency can be addressed and replaced with friendly bacteria, digestive enzymes, and fiber supplements.
3) Restore: Symbiotic bacteria and GI bacteria through the use of full spectrum friendly bacteria (L. acidophilus, B. bifidus, L. planetarium, L. salivarius, L. bulgaricus, etc.).
4) Repair: Replace or augment with nutrients necessary to support healing of intestinal lining, plus adequacy of calories, and adequacy of fiber. Support the liver detoxification system through the use of antioxidants and food-based nutritional supplements (pp. 181-182).
The 4 R’s are a great process for the treatment of liver and kidneys diseases.
Photographer: Suat Eman
The Difference is in the Quality of the Nutritional Supplements:
There are a multitude of veterinarians practicing Nutritional Medicine today, and they recommend supporting better digestion, better nutrition, and better protection against oxidative stress. However, when it comes to supplements, most Nutritional Medicine veterinarians recommend standard man-made supplements in their isolated, single, separated or chemically-manufactured form, such as zinc, copper, vitamins B, C, E and beta carotene, to reverse degenerative conditions.
I don’t believe vitamins and minerals should be taken in single and chemically-manufactured forms. For example, vitamins are intricate, interrelated, integrated, and united organic nutritive groups. Nature made them as an indistinguishable part of foods for the benefit of human health. Vitamins are inseparable as working nutrients from trace elements, minerals, proteins, and other elements.
There are a multitude of veterinarians practicing Nutritional Medicine today, and they recommend supporting better digestion, better nutrition, and better protection against oxidative stress. However, when it comes to supplements, most Nutritional Medicine veterinarians recommend standard man-made supplements in their isolated, single, separated or chemically-manufactured form, such as zinc, copper, vitamins B, C, E and beta carotene, to reverse degenerative conditions.
I don’t believe vitamins and minerals should be taken in single and chemically-manufactured forms. For example, vitamins are intricate, interrelated, integrated, and united organic nutritive groups. Nature made them as an indistinguishable part of foods for the benefit of human health. Vitamins are inseparable as working nutrients from trace elements, minerals, proteins, and other elements.
www.freedigitalphotos.net
Chemists have attempted to isolate and identify some of the components of these food complexes, labeling the seemingly “active” elements as vitamins or other nutrients. Yet there is no possible way that even the sum of the parts is equal to the whole. It is only the whole food, intact and unaltered, that works as a nutritional source and therefore is the best liver support. The isolated parts are not recognized by the body as food. In large amounts, these isolated chemicals function more like drugs, which stimulate or suppress biochemical functions, instead of providing nourishment for the cells to carry on their vital activities.
www.freedigitalphotos.net
Natural, food-source vitamins are enzymatically alive. Man-made, synthetic vitamins are dead chemicals. Pets’ health requires “live” biochemicals. It is simply a matter of chemistry versus biochemistry.
Photographer: djcodrin
I think Nutritional Medicine doctors are “right on the money” when it comes to explaining why degenerative conditions occur, but when it comes to the solution which is their supplement program, they are mainly providing the typical man-made and chemically-manufactured supplements. I prefer the use of whole food supplements for treatment of digestive system conditions because it is based on the philosophy that “Food is the best medicine.”
Searching for the Ultimate Whole Food Supplements:
There are certainly better alternatives than man-made supplements; i.e. organic whole food supplements. Whole food supplements are far superior in their quality and effectiveness for reversing digestive system diseases because they are produced in their natural and complex configuration.
Searching for the Ultimate Whole Food Supplements:
There are certainly better alternatives than man-made supplements; i.e. organic whole food supplements. Whole food supplements are far superior in their quality and effectiveness for reversing digestive system diseases because they are produced in their natural and complex configuration.
Photographer: Suat Eman
Why whole food products work better is based on the philosophy that the animal body is a marvelously designed living organism with the ability to grow, regulate, repair, and defend itself when given natural, high quality, full spectrum nutrients.
I don’t know of too many companies that produce high quality whole food supplements. However, I came across one company that has been in the whole food supplement business for over twenty five years. I was so impressed with their philosophy of producing whole food supplements that I paid a visit to their manufacturing facility. I was very impressed with everything they do to preserve the quality of their whole food supplements from the time the foods are harvested to the time they are introduced to the public as supplements.
I attribute a large percentage of the success in reversing digestive system degenerative conditions as a result of the use of these wild-crafted, organic and natural whole food supplements.
Today I’m a distributor of their products. Since my health philosophy has always been that “food is our best medicine”, I found their supplements to align with my philosophy. I have been distributing their products for twenty years. Hundreds of pets have been helped with these whole food products. I’m not surprised, because when it comes to healing pets, there is nothing more powerful than supplementing their diet with whole foods, especially if they are wild-crafted and organically grown.
If your goal is to find a natural treatment for your pet’s digestive system diseases, may I recommend that you follow this health model which is the same as the Nutritional Medicine health model with the exception that I recommend the use of whole foods and not man-made supplements.
I attribute a large percentage of the success in reversing digestive system degenerative conditions as a result of the use of these wild-crafted, organic and natural whole food supplements.
Today I’m a distributor of their products. Since my health philosophy has always been that “food is our best medicine”, I found their supplements to align with my philosophy. I have been distributing their products for twenty years. Hundreds of pets have been helped with these whole food products. I’m not surprised, because when it comes to healing pets, there is nothing more powerful than supplementing their diet with whole foods, especially if they are wild-crafted and organically grown.
If your goal is to find a natural treatment for your pet’s digestive system diseases, may I recommend that you follow this health model which is the same as the Nutritional Medicine health model with the exception that I recommend the use of whole foods and not man-made supplements.
The supplement program is as follows:
1. Support better digestion and assimilation of foods through the use of probiotics and enzyme supplements (These supplements must be micro-blended with mineral rich foods).
2. Nourish through food-based supplements (consuming nutrient rich foods such as wheat grass, organic micro algae...etc.).
3. Repair and protect against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through the use of whole food antioxidant supplements (wheat sprouts, red algae, wheat grass, etc.).
With the use of whole food supplements, you can improve your pet’s GI tract environment, decrease the burden of toxins, and thereby take the stress off the liver and kidneys. With fewer toxins, there is less need for a constant high-level defense effort and everything in your pet’s body just starts to work better. Dr. Jeffrey Anderson summarizes the whole concept of healing so beautifully when he said: “you can’t deal with the downstream problems (symptoms in the body) until you have addressed the upstream problem(s) (i.e., malfunctions in the gut)” (Nichols, p. 132).
To learn more about the specific recommended supplements, click on the following:
• Probiotics and Enzymes for Colitis
• Vitamins and minerals for dog colitis
• Antioxidants for dog colitis
References:
Nichols, Trent W., and Faass, Nancy. (1999). Optimal Digestion. New York: Avon Books, Inc.
2. Nourish through food-based supplements (consuming nutrient rich foods such as wheat grass, organic micro algae...etc.).
3. Repair and protect against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through the use of whole food antioxidant supplements (wheat sprouts, red algae, wheat grass, etc.).
With the use of whole food supplements, you can improve your pet’s GI tract environment, decrease the burden of toxins, and thereby take the stress off the liver and kidneys. With fewer toxins, there is less need for a constant high-level defense effort and everything in your pet’s body just starts to work better. Dr. Jeffrey Anderson summarizes the whole concept of healing so beautifully when he said: “you can’t deal with the downstream problems (symptoms in the body) until you have addressed the upstream problem(s) (i.e., malfunctions in the gut)” (Nichols, p. 132).
To learn more about the specific recommended supplements, click on the following:
• Probiotics and Enzymes for Colitis
• Vitamins and minerals for dog colitis
• Antioxidants for dog colitis
References:
Nichols, Trent W., and Faass, Nancy. (1999). Optimal Digestion. New York: Avon Books, Inc.