Inflammatory Bowel Disease

HealthyLife.Net Radio Show
Wendy’s Animal Talk, Host Wendy Nan Rees
Guest Russell Louie
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Part 2: Scientific Evidence
March 16, 2009, 1-2:00 PM PDT

Russell, has studied holistic health for over 30 years and lived a holistic lifestyle for over 57 years. He specializes in integrating his scientific background with his knowledge of health, to holistically help both people and pets. His greatest talent is being able to cut through all the marketing hype, using his scientific background, to tell people what is truly holistic. Today, our topic is “Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Part 2: Scientific Evidence.”

Russell, so many pets seem to have inflammatory bowel disease today. Why is that?
I feel there are four main reasons. Keep in mind I am not a vet, so these are just my holistic perspectives.
1. Many pets have an imbalanced endocrine and deficient immune system. When this endocrine-immune imbalance is present, the IgAs (immunoglobulin antibodies that normally coat the mucus membranes of the gut for protection) go out of control and sometimes even attack the body itself.
2. The current Western medical treatment of IBD only alleviates the symptoms and never addresses the cause.
3. Puppies and kittens fed a nutritionally deficient dry kibble diet in the beginning, contributes to the poor development of their digestive track and IBD symptoms later on in life. If more people would use your Natural Pet Food Cookbook right from the start, this issue could be alleviated.
4. And finally, over breeding and poor breeding practices perpetuates a pre-disposition to IBD problems in offspring.

So, in our December show you gave us details on each of these four reasons. What new information do you have for my listeners today?
In my research on IBD, I found an article entitled, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Separate or Unified? (Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 2003; 19:4). This research article cites a malfunction in the gut-associated mucosal immune system response due to possible genetic factors and early programming of the anti-inflammatory system, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as a possible cause for IBD and IBS. The study found chronic stress can affect the mucosal immune system, while acute stress can affect this HPA axis. Rats with a history of aversive early life events were more susceptible to these stress-induced changes in gut permeability possibly related to early programming of the HPA axis.

That all sounds great, Russell, but what does all that mean for our pets?
What I learned from that human IBD-IBS article was the importance of early life stage events as demonstrated in the experimental rats. I will extrapolate their findings to our dogs and cats. In December’s show I mentioned the importance of giving 60-80% meat protein to puppies and kittens, as their digestive tract develops. But not only is the amount of meat protein important for young pets but a variety of meat protein is essential to developing a diversity of bacterial flora and enzymes in the gut.

Yes, I heard that feeding the same type of meat every day is not good for our pets.
If one feeds only beef flavor food to their pet every single day, then the pet’s intestines have no need for bacteria and enzymes that can digest chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. So, for young pets that are still developing their digestive tract (and even older pets), it is important to feed a variety of meats every week. This will provide a diversity of bacterial flora and enzymes in their digestive tract.

Yes, I give my clients who make home-made meals the same advice. What else did you learn?
Another reason to feed a variety of meats to young pets is that different meats have different ratios of nutrients. For example rabbit is low in taurine while mouse is high in taurine (which is a critical nutrient for cats). Feeding a variety of different meats over time helps ensure a balance of nutrients in your pet’s diet.

How about changing brands of food?
It is also suggested one vary not only the meat flavor (for example, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, venison, bison, elk, quail, pheasant, etc.) but also the brand of pet food regularly in all stages of a pet’s life. Each manufacturer gets their meat and nutrients from a different source and each has their own formula for fortifying their foods. One may favor more vitamins and minerals, while another more enzymes and amino acids. One brand might use synthetic vitamin sources because they are cheaper, while another all-natural whole food sources. Feeding a diversity of food and nutrients sources leads to a diversity in the digestive tract. After all, one would not feed just beef to their toddler every day and expect it to have a fully functioning digestive tract as an adult.

That is so true. What else did this research article tell you?
The article reiterated what I said in our December show that IBD is not a disease of the intestines. Dr. Michael Kiriac, the inventor of BioPreparation said, “Inflammatory bowel disease is not a disease of the intestines. That is just where the symptoms have manifested. The true source of this degenerative disease is in the brain. Feed, energize and balance the pituitary (master gland), pineal and hypothalamus glands in the brain and the body will regenerate and heal itself.” The scientific basis behind this theory was confirmed by this article for me.

Can you explain that further for my listeners?
The study cited a malfunction in the gut’s immune system due to early programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as a possible cause for IBD and IBS. These three glands are in the brain, not in the intestines. The hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal and I will include the pineal gland, are all part of the endocrine system in charge of releasing hormones that regulate and direct the anti-inflammatory response of the body and its entire immune system. If these glands are not being nourished and are not properly working in synergy together, then the body’s lining of the intestines and anti-inflammatory response cannot protect itself.

Can you give us an example of how this can happen in our pets?
Suppose a young pet had a traumatic puppyhood or kittenhood. When pets are rescued, one does not know anything about their formative environment. According to the above scientific study, early traumatic life events can affect the developmental stages of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. An improperly programmed HPA axis is one suspected cause of improper gut permeability (leaky gut syndrome). This is because there is insufficient immunoglobulin (IgA) antibody production which normally operates in the mucus membranes of the intestines for protecting the intestinal lining of the gut. Although this cause is different than the nutritionally-deprived malfunctioning that I mentioned earlier, the results of letting unwanted bacteria and other toxic substances and the inability to digest certain protein molecules is the same—IBD, allergies, leaky gut syndrome, etc.

Wow, I am starting to see how the proper nutrition AND a loving environment is so critical to young pets for them to be healthy as they get older.
Not only is a diversified meat diet with all the proper nutrition for a carnivore important but yes, so is a nurturing, loving environment. That is why so many rescued pets come down with IBD as they get older.

So, you mentioned rescued pets and perhaps even “puppy mill” pets with a traumatic upbringing could predispose the pets to IBD symptoms later on in life. So what do I do if my pet already has IBD symptoms?
The first step is to obviously go to a vet to get a proper diagnosis. One needs to rule out more serious conditions and make sure their pet does not need immediate treatment for bacterial infections, parasites, tumors, cancer, etc. Diarrhea and vomiting can be very dangerous in small pets because they can get dehydrated very fast and so this should not be neglected. If the vet diagnoses an IBD condition, they can treat the immediate symptoms so that the pet can return to somewhat normal digestive function.

OK, say I have ruled out all those causes and my pet is diagnosed with IBD, what next?
If the IBD symptoms are severe enough, one will have to accept the prescribed Western medications or use natural supplements to alleviate the serious symptoms, so a pet can eat normally. But like I said in the beginning of the show, most Western medical treatment only addresses the immediate symptoms. In other words, the medication will successfully calm down the digestive tract and suppress the immune system from attacking the walls of the intestines but it will do nothing to address the original cause of IBD. As the research paper stated, one needs to balance the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the brain that controls IgA (immunoglobulins) in the gut that are supposed to be protecting the intestinal lining.

That sounds more holistic to me. How does one do that?
The first step is to clean up the diet of an IBD pet. One must feed a hypoallergenic diet. Certainly avoid any food a pet has shown a sensitivity. Other potential allergens include wheat, corn and soy products as well as any poultry meats. I, personally, would not feed any dry kibble as it is a poor nutritional diet for a carnivore. I would suggest either premium canned food and even better, a home-made diet. You could help them with that, Wendy?

Anything else my listeners could do to alleviate IBD?
Yes, our BioPreparation algae product was shown in research to feed, energize and balance all the glands in the brain. Of course, this includes the all important hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis mentioned in the IBD article that controls IgA (immunoglobulins) in the gut protecting the intestinal lining. When one corrects this endocrine-immune system imbalance, the mucus lining of the gut returns to normal and then the body can absorb nutrients again and heal itself. In essence, we are working from the top-down and from the inside-out instead of just trying to fix the symptoms in the intestines from without.

Yes, I see now how that is a different approach. Do you have any successful case histories to prove that this new holistic approach works?
One client had a cat, about 17 years old that was diagnosed with diabetes, pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The problem was that the usual treatment for chronic pancreatitis in cats is a steroid, Prednisolene, and could not be taken simultaneously with the Budesonide used to treat his IBD. The cat’s guardian decided to try our whole food algae and the pancreatitis attacks were eliminated. Not only that, the cat became more energetic than he had been in the four years since he became diabetic.

What a wonderful story. All those benefits from one holistic product?
That is the benefits of using a whole food product, like BioPreparation. We do not give it for specific symptoms or one particular disease. We give BioPreparation because the over 5,000 nutrients nourish all the body’s glands and organs not just the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to balance the IBD symptoms. Now that is true holistic wellness.

You seem to have wealth of pet knowledge. How can we access more of your 57 years of holistic wisdom?
One way is to go to our website, www.OptimumChoices.com and sign up for our free monthly e-newsletters. We have written articles on such topics as, Is glucosamine the answer for arthritis? Healthy water for you and your pets and Whole Food Products vs. Supplements. All past articles are archived online and one can search for a specific topic. If your listeners will check the box at the bottom of the subscription form, we’ll send subscribers a free report entitled What Pet Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know. This report contains 11-points some of which we covered today.

What other holistic resources do you have that would be of interest my listeners?
We have written a series of Holistic Choices e-Books. Readers can take advantage of the latest holistic research we find and absorb the information in a small chunk rather than a 100+ page book. The first three titles that have been published are:

• Save Your Dog or Cat
• Secrets of Longevity (for people )
• How to become a canine massage provider

How can me and my listeners get a copy?
Go to our website www.OptimumChoices.com and click on the [e-Books] button in the left column on our home page. As a special offer, I will give your listeners a free e-Book with any purchase of BioPreparation or BioSuperfood. Just have them enter in the Special Instructions box of our shopping cart, “Wendy sent me” and ask for their free Save Your Dog or Cat e-Book or mention it in their telephone order.

Thank you for sharing your holistic wisdom with my listeners today.
For more information on Optimum Choices and holistic options for your pet, go to Russell’s website at www.OptimumChoices.com/. You can call toll-free
866-305-2306 or e-mail them at info@OptimumChoices.com.

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