Allergies & Nutrition

If you follow the studies that document the stress put upon our digestive tracts when processed and refined foods are eaten, you will then realize how the body has to respond in a completely unnatural way to digest food matter that the body does not recognize.

The problem with kibble is not so much the ingredients, but the actual processing of the ingredients That is not to say dog’s don’t have food allergies; they can and do. I know people whose dogs were "allergic" to beef, but once their systems were cleaned out with a proper raw diet, they could eat beef without incident. I will get into detail further along about how the body responds to processed foods, as this does have a bearing on allergies and how they are perpetuated by a processed food diet for every meal, every day of the year.

Remember when lamb & rice kibble was the hypoallergenic dog food? Now it's fish and potato, and next year it will be quail and quinoa. It takes 1 to 3 years to develop an allergy; most dog owners find a food and stick with it until the dog has some sort of reaction (i.e. allergies, itchies, weight gain).

If you have a pet that suffers from allergies (inhalant or food), please find a vet who will put off or eliminate vaccinations until this dog is not so compromised. While the manuals that the vets receive for companion animal vaccinations aren't quite as comprehensive as the one for humans, the human one does state that vaccinations shouldn't be administered to patients with T or B or T & B cell immunodeficiency. T & B cell immunodefficiency is characterized by allergies.

Interestingly, when cooked foods are eaten, large amounts of mucus are secreted. Foods that are particularly mucus forming include all processed and refined foods.

When cooked food is eaten, the T-cells, which are so vital to immune function, increase in the gastrointestinal tissue to protect our system from certain foods, which are interpreted as foreign matter. If we consume cooked and processed food day after day without adequately eating raw food and fibrous foods, protective mucus will form in excess and build-up on bowel tissue, similar to the age rings we see in the trunks of trees.

As a result of faulty eating, nature's protective coating -- which was designed for occasional use only -- becomes enraged and inadvertently contributes to ill health.

Consequently, the immune system is taxed and the presence of this excess mucus creates a perfect medium for the multiplication of bacteria, viruses, parasites and worms. Autoimmune diseases may develop due to the fact that the immune system has begun to attack the body, rather than invading microorganisms.

Continually eating “lifeless” foods -- cooked, refined or processed foods devoid of fibre and enzymes -- over-stimulate the immune system in a way that compromises its function. As a result, the animal becomes susceptible to every virus and bacteria, constantly coming down with some illness and we may not think to relate it to our digestive systems.

Kibble will take an enormous toll on a pet’s body. To just give an explanation of how the digestive system is affected by what form nutrition is obtained, here is a summary of the life of a kibble-fed pet …

Puppies (or kittens) experience initial intestinal scarring and protein infiltration when weaned onto commercial food at an early age (early age in biological terms would be before three months).

Intestinal scarring interferes with the re-absorption of bile salts. The liver produces bile fluid that plays an important role in the digestion of dietary fats. The digestive enzymes used to digest food are delivered to the small intestine in a solution of water. Since oil (fats) and water don't mix, the enzymes have difficulty attaching to the liquid. To solve this problem, bile is secreted by the gallbladder. Bile salts act like laundry detergent, emulsifying lipid molecules. This breaks down the lipid and exposes more surface to the effects of the digestive enzyme lipase. Bile salts are not normally excreted from the body, they are recycled. Once their work is complete they are reabsorbed from the intestine, recycled by the liver and returned to the gallbladder for future use.

Eating a lifetime diet of processed food places a great demand on the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes.

Unable to keep up with the demand, the pancreas becomes enlarged and inflamed.

White blood cells bring additional enzymes to supplement digestion, neglecting their job to protect the body from invaders. Digestion is slowed. Slowed digestion allows ample time for harsh chemicals and foreign molecules to irritate the pancreas, liver and intestinal lining.

The irritation and otherwise-occupied white blood cells provide continued opportunities for large grain protein or other foreign molecules to infiltrate the intestine.
Constant inflammation of the pancreas, liver and intestinal linings result in a sustained production of cortisol.

The adrenal glands, exhausted from this sustained effort, may produce cortisol that is biologically inactive.

Inactive cortisol fails to shut of the ACTH (adrenocoricotrophic hormone) feedback loop. The pituitary gland may become hypertrophied and exhausted.

Excessive cortisol production, prescription steroids, intestinal scarring, and the otherwise occupied white blood cells hamper IgA production (IgA is the first line of defense in the immune system).

IgA deficiency allows for the continued infiltration of large protein molecules into the body.

IgG and IgM antibodies are deployed, which memorize the amino acid chains of the large protein molecules, and attempt to destroy them.

IgG and IgM antibodies later recognize that same amino acid chain elsewhere in the dogs’ own body. Unable to distinguish between self and non-self, the antibodies destroy these tissues as well.

And a lymphatic system preoccupied with immune function (the production of more white blood cells) interferes with lipid digestion.
It's a chicken-and-the-egg puzzle. Many pets today exhibit some degree of leaky gut syndrome and excess cortisol production. They suffer from chronic skin infections, allergies, autoimmune disorders, vomiting, diarrhea, obesity, hypothyroidism, urinary tract infections, and incontinence. Which particular disorder they develop is likely a matter of genetic predisposition. But many of our pets are experiencing the same underlying problems.

Natural, raw food is the foundation for many, many years of brilliant health.

Sources::
Dogs, Diet & Disease, Caroline Levin, RN
The Natural Guide to Colon Health, Louise Tenney