Man's Dance with Disease
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In the world of holistic medicine we look at our patients as whole physical,
spiritual beings who have an emotional and mental relationship with the
environment. The body has an incredible innate ability to heal itself if
provided with the proper tools. These "tools" include a good diet as well as a
good spiritual and physical environment.
Conventional medicine is all about control. Each disease is studied and
dissected down to the molecular level. Very little effort is made to improve the
body's ability to heal. The disease is attacked with drugs, antibiotics, and
vaccines.
Symptoms should be recognized as the body's effort to heal, to purge toxins from
itself. The skin is the body's largest detoxifying organ. The first "symptom"
of many "diseases" may be in the form of a rash or ear infection. If this
symptom is treated with antibiotics and/or steroids it may temporarily go away.
Unfortunately, if the treatments suppress the symptom without addressing the
underlying disease, the body will attempt to find another way to purge the
toxins or resolve the disease. Now, instead of a simple skin or ear problem, the
patient may develop a bladder infection, or bronchitis. If these symptoms are
further suppressed with more antibiotics and steroids, the disease is driven
deeper into the body. Now the patient may develop seizures, organ failure or
even cancer. If annual vaccinations are given, the immune system is stressed
even more and the disease may progress more rapidly and become more severe.
If you add to the picture a poor diet, toxic flea products, lack of exercise and
a polluted environment it's no surprise that we are seeing so many young animals
(and people) with serious health problems. There have been studies done that
directly link lawn chemicals to cancers in dogs.
Holistic medicine involves energy work. Acupuncture, Flower Essences, Reiki,
Essential Oils, Chiropractic, and Homeopathy all strive to improve the body's
energy flow. This energy is known as Chi, Vital Force, or Spirit. When the
energy flows normally miracles can, and do, happen.
For those of you who are skeptical, I challenge you to look at an animal or
human you know who has multiple, chronic health problems. Document their
problems on a time line. What was the first symptom, when did it start, and how
was it treated? A common scenario starts with a simple skin rash. The rash may
have been treated with steroids and/or antibiotics. After a few recurrences of
the rash, more rounds of antibiotics and steroids (and in our pets, a couple of
years of annual vaccinations,) the patient may have developed a thyroid
imbalance. More meds, more rashes, more vaccines and now the patient developed a
bladder infection, or maybe bronchitis. If this scenario continued, the patient
may have developed seizures, organ failure, or even cancer.
In retrospect, when I first started studying holistic medicine I looked at my
own patient's records. The majority of my patients, who had to be treated for a
skin problem or bladder infection at least once a year, often developed the
problem within 30 days of their annual vaccinations. All of my patients with
oral tumors had received at least one intranasal vaccine in the past. All of my
hypothyroid patients had received annual vaccinations for at least 4 years.
So what does one do with that initial symptom? I recommend Perelandra Flower
Essences, essential oils, antioxidants,
and soothing aloe/oatmeal shampoos.
Since the body detoxes thru the skin, shampooing will assist the detox. Feed a
premium diet that is preserved with Vitamins C and E. Avoid foods and treats
with chemical preservatives and dyes. The quality of the ingredients is much
more important than the quantity. For example, when a cat or dog is diagnosed
with kidney failure, the recommendation is to limit the protein in their diet.
Kidneys process the by-products of protein digestion and the belief is that if
you limit the protein in the diet, the kidneys do not have to work as hard. But
actually feeding a higher percentage (say 14%) of a highly digestible protein is
easier on the kidneys that feeding a lower percentage (say 8%) of a poorly
digestible protein. If a protein is from a good quality source, making it highly
digestible, there are fewer by- products for the kidneys to process, so they
don't have to work as hard.
I'm not a fan of prescription diets. Many contain the chemical preservatives BHT
and BHA, which are highly
suspect of being carcinogenic. Corn is often the first
ingredient, followed by pork fat, or meat by-products.
One diet food contains
26% peanut hulls. Doesn't that sound yummy? After reading the ingredients of
another weight control diet, I got a mental picture of a factory worker sweeping
up the remains on the floors of grain and meat processing plants and pouring
them into a bag labeled "dog food."
The good news is that there are several good premium diets available. Eagle,
Innova, and Nature's Recipe are just a few. The Whole Dog Journal (www.whole-dog-journal.com)
and The Whole Cat Journal (www.wholecatjournal.com)
are monthly newsletters dedicated to natural dog and cat care. They both print a
recommended food list yearly.
In closing I would like to say that we have wonderful tools available today to
provide our pets with a long, healthy, and happy life. Many health problems can
be treated with improving diet and with energy work. There is hope for those
animals with multiple health problems, but it takes time and commitment to
resolve these problems. I believe our furry friends are worth it. They certainly
give us so much in return!
