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Unfortunately it wasn't going to be. The way the cookie crumbles (or I should say the processed food pellet) in today's world is quite different: a few days before the show I was informed that the sponsors of the show (who happen to be a local distributor of well known pet food brand) insisted that I was an inappropriate choice of veterinarian. No big surprise here, everything you can see in the mainstream media is controlled by financial interests, including the news reports.
The pet food industry generates € millions in revenues every year, so it's no wonder that much of the mainstream media is in their pocket. Once upon a time sponsors would just pay for commercials on a TV show but have no influence on its content. But these days, money seems to control every bit of information that is broadcast to the public via mainstream channels.
But it's not just the media, large numbers of animal health professionals are also in the clutches of the pet food industry. Very little independent research goes into pet nutrition, with most available studies commissioned by multi-national pet food companies. The studies these companies fund are obviously biased and aim to prove the superiority of processed foods over the appropriate natural biological food model for any particular species. Pet owners and veterinarians, in other words, are being systematically brainwashed and seduced by these companies. Every now and then a hit piece such as this one is served up to the general public through mainstream media with the sole purpose of instilling panic into anyone contemplating feeding their furry friends the way nature intended.
In this process, a very simple and basic biological fact is completely obscured: dogs are facultative carnivores, this means their bodies are designed to thrive on meat or a whole prey diet. During difficult times, when the hunt fails etc. they will forage for fruits and vegetables, mostly berries and tubers. Cats are strict carnivores which means their body is designed to thrive exclusively on prey they catch, mainly small birds, rodents and reptilians, sometimes also insects. Feeding these animals processed foods which are based mostly on grains and usually contain carbohydrate content in excess of 70% is a sure recipe for a health disaster. Fortunately in recent times there is a growing number of veterinarians who are aware of this dangerous mistake.
Since the mainstream media are today reduced to nothing but corporate and government propaganda outlets, it is very difficult to educate a broad audience about some of the basic facts of pet nutrition. Luckily we still have the internet and independent news sources. Therefore, in this article, I would like to cover the questions that big pet food companies prevented me from discussing on the TV show:
Presenter's Question: Where does an allergy originate from?
Answer: In a nutshell allergies are the exaggerated response of an animal's immune system particular substances that either enter into their body or come in contact with it. Allergens can originate from plants, like pollen for example, or from animals - bee sting venom being a most common example. Most of the food allergens are usually proteins. Milk, for example, contains protein called casein which very often causes an immune response in the body, while most grains contain gliadine proteins ( gluten being one of them) which have a similar effect. Recent research suggests that increased quantities of carbohydrates in the diet also have an inflammatory effect. In hypersensitive animals, allergens can cause a generalized body reaction which develops immediately and can lead to death. However, in most animals, allergies develop slowly and one of the main features of this process is chronic inflammation in various parts of the body.
Skin is usually the first organ to be affected. In fact Atopic dermatitis is the most common allergic skin disease in dogs these days. The symptoms include itching, excessive scratching, rubbing on the carpet, hair loss, greasy or flaky skin with a foul odor, excessive chewing on the paws and areas such as the groin and armpits.
Often the inflammatory process affects the joints and in those cases we are presented with arthritis. To make matters worse, the immune system, which is busy fighting with the allergen, is not capable of keeping a handle on microorganisms which are always present in an animals environment or on its body and such animals are often diagnosed with different bacterial or yeast infections.
Presenter's Question: Can dog and cat allergies be treated and how?
Answer: Since we are basically dealing with inflammation, the most commonly-employed treatment for allergies in veterinary medicine are anti- inflammatory drugs, steroids being one of them. While these drugs can provide dramatic relief, their effect is short lived and they have to be administered long term. This will disrupt the natural balance even further and cause more problems in the long run. Steroids work by suppressing your pet's immune system. Switching the immune system off improves the symptoms remarkably fast, but doesn't address the root issue of why your pet's immune system is over-reacting in the first place. Apart from disrupting the body's homeostasis, especially in kidneys and liver, by switching off the immune system steroids actually contribute to opportunistic yeast and bacteria growth on an animal's skin which means the antibiotics will be prescribed. Antibiotics will cause yeast overgrowth since they will eliminate their bacterial competition which will then cause intensification of the symptoms and send you back to the vet. It is a vicious circle as explained in the diagram below.
In my experience, most inflammatory disorders including skin allergies or joint problems will resolve completely once we eliminate inflammatory foods from our pet's diet. This means no grains, no dairy products, no starchy tubers. In addition, a wide range of herbal supplements can be employed to help with detoxification of the body, to help and protect the liver and counter the inflammation. Homeopathic remedies can also be very effective in cases that do not respond to dietary adjustment.
Presenter's Question: How can we help dogs and cats against food related allergies?
Answer: The answer to this question is pretty simple, we need only to feed our pets the way nature intended. This means unprocessed fresh food. We call this way of feeding our pets - species appropriate diet. Health begins in the gut. In pets that are fed inflammatory foods - i.e. grains which are present in in most commercial pet foods, the intestinal wall is inflamed and unable to absorb an optimal quantity of nutrients from the food. By eliminating inflammatory foods we enable our pet's guts to heal and to regain their normal function, which will promote a healthy immune system.
Presenter's Question: Apart from food allergies do other allergies exist in dogs and cats?
Answer: Indeed. Harmless substances like grass, mold spores, house dust mites, and other environmental allergens are all listed as causes of hypersensitivity reaction. Flea bites or flea saliva being the most common. In my opinion this is largely related to a pet's lifestyle. Feeding inappropriate food or maintaining inappropriate lifestyle conditions can have devastating effects on an animal's immune system. I have never seen the case of flea allergy in dogs or cats that are fed species appropriate food.
Presenter's Question: Are allergies related to breed?
Answer: Genetics does seem to play a certain role, as we notice certain breeds are over represented. But in my opinion, other factors are more important since we often see dogs of mixed breeds who are also suffering from allergies. Healthy and appropriate diet and lifestyle can go a long way towards optimal gene expression.
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