RAW FOODS AND
GLANDULAR PRODUCTS
RAW FOODS AND glandular products are both used as therapies to treat diseases. Raw foods are processed whole foods that supply all of the biochemical components of the raw food, rather than just a single chemical fraction of a vitamin or mineral. Instead of giving a pet chemically produced “vitamin C” for allergies, a raw food product would supply vitamin C in its “natural” state. For example, a doctor might prescribe a whole (raw) food supplement made from carrots, broccoli, and wheat grass to provide the entire vitamin C complex rather than just administering chemically produced ascorbic acid, which is only a part of the entire vitamin C complex.
Glandular products are extracted from the glands of cattle, swine, or sheep, and concentrated by specific processes. These products have high biochemical activity designed to elicit specific nutritional or biochemical activity designed to elicit specific nutritional or biochemical activity. For example, instead of giving a pet a chemically produced thyroid hormone, the doctor can prescribe a glandular extract from the thyroid gland of an animal.
Benefits of Glandular Products
Proponents of glandular therapy in the veterinary field often recommend adrenal gland extracts for allergic pets to ensure proper immune function. This glandular product may work by boosting the levels of the adrenal gland hormone DHEA (dehydroeplandrosterone); research has found that some asthmatic people have decreased blood levels of DHEA.
Other studies on glandular products have shown there is an active accumulation of the injected cells or their constituents in the target tissues. There is a more rapid uptake f the corresponding injected cells in diseased organs than there is in normal organs. Injected or implanted cells have tissue-specific effects on the corresponding tissues of the recipient. For example, thyroid cells given to animals with thyroid diseases result in accelerated regeneration of the thyroid gland. Giving glandular products orally provides a longer-lived effect.
Finally, glandular preparation contains not only the active hormone substance, but a variety of substances with biologic activity, many of which have not been identified.
Benefits of Raw Foods
With raw foods, the concept is simple: Why provide a chemical vitamin or mineral that represents only one fraction of the vitamin or mineral complex? Instead, feeding a whole food product provides your pet with all the nutrients found in that food.
Numerous studies demonstrate that the protection against disease is lost when synthetic vitamins are substituted for diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables. One older study, from 1942, showed that people suffering from scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency; healed when given either fresh vitamin C in the form of lemon juice or synthetic ascorbic acid, but that those getting the natural vitamin C in the lemon juice healed quicker than those receiving the synthetic. Another more recent study, reported in the New England journal of Medicine (July 22, 1994), showed that synthetic antioxidants were not effective against recurrence of benign growths of the colon. Yet, other studies have shown that diets high in natural vegetables and fruits did have protection against colon cancer.
Proponents of natural raw foods suggest that these findings are due to the presence of phytochemicals, the numerous compounds present in the whole plant. Using this theory, it is not just vitamin C or ascorbic acid (a component of vitamin C) that is helpful, but rather the entire plant that contains the entire complex molecule of vitamin C plus a number of other chemicals (many of which have yet to be identified).
One company has produced supplements for people that can also be prescribed for pets. Standard Process is a company founded on the belief of the superior value of vitamins and minerals in their whole raw-food states when compared to synthetic products. I recommend their whole food products Catalyn (a raw, natural vitamin-mineral supplement), Allerplex, Dermatrophin, and Livaplex (among others) for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
While there is a lot of research showing that whole raw foods may be preferable to synthetic vitamins, many doctors who practice complementary therapies use synthetic vitamins with good success. Synthetic vitamins and minerals may be of use in pets, but their use should not take priority over the natural vitamins and minerals in raw food products.
My conclusion is: Feed pets a good wholesome diet free of by-products and preservatives; give them whole raw-food
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Even none, of the active ingredients listed on the battle! For this reason, purchase only products from high quality, reputable companies. In my own practice, I use only herbs from companies with those quality control I feel most comfortable. The least expensive generic herbal supplements are likely to be of lowest quality and questionable value.
The study of herbal therapy can be divided into Western herbal therapy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), though the two use many of the same herbs.
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