What Molecular Biology, the MTHFR Gene and Your Pet’s Brain Have in Common
Our companion animals give us unconditional love and support. They deserve the best that we can give them. Unfortunately many of them are living shorter lives. They’re also suffering from more serious and stubborn dis-eases. Things that just keep coming back and getting worse over time.
Dogs and cats are able to have long and healthy lives because of their ability to interact in a life-sustaining way with their environments. Their responses to external stressors keep them healthy or make them sick. The genes are only partially responsible for these reactions.
What you do matters even more! Behavior problems, seizures, and even brain tumors can be prevented and helped by the choices that you make every day.
For example, a dog can be playing with his friends and get a little wound which bleeds a bit but then clots and heals. Why? Because his complex clotting mechanism is working properly. However if the same pup has the genetic variation that causes Von Willebrand’s disease (VWD), the bleeding may not stop. The fun play is over and you have to rush to the veterinary hospital to get help. Some dogs have even bled to death due to this and other bleeding defects. Similar to hemophilia.
However, most animals with VWD are able to have normal lives. Why? Because just like a light switch, genes and the proteins they code for can be turned on or off. This is what are called epi-genetic influences. Many environmental factors effect genetic expression.
Things you do every day like vaccinating, medication use, feeding, and symptom suppression can modify the genes.
“Nutrigenomics” is the scientific term for this. Everyone can learn more about it from Dr. Dodds’ great 2015 book “Canine Nutrigenomics: The New Science of Feeding Your Dog of Optimum Health”. Guardians of cats, horses, and any living being can also benefit. This is not just about dogs.
In human animals, one of these genes causes an enzyme to be made that adds a very important little piece onto other chemicals in the body. This is called methylation. Abnormalities of methylation can cause symptoms of serious brain and behavioral imbalance ranging from obsessive compulsive disorders to schizophrenia and even brain tumors.
The thing is, that even if the gene is abnormal, the methylation process can be normal. That’s because, like VWD and many other genetic abnormalities, the disease it can cause can be prevented. Even once a dis-ease is active it can be helped. This is known as the gene’s “penetrance”. The result, or penetration of any gene can be modified through epigenetic and nutrigenomic influences.
You can make a huge difference in your pet’s quality and length of life. Every Holistic Action! that you take will help.
Many behavior and brain problems can easily be helped. Take advantage of epigenetics and start today. Feed fresh food, increase environmental stimulation, exercise and socialization.
Even though MTHFR abnormalities have not yet been documented in companion animals, adding methyl donors will also help. These can be found in dark green leafy vegetables and supplements like betaine and dimethylglycine. This simple action alone can reduce (and stop) seizures. You’ll also be helping the whole body function better.
Be well,
Dr. Jeff
How Your Pet’s Behavior is Related to Brain Dis-eases Like Seizures
Some of you have asked, how behavior problems and brain dis-eases (“dis-ease” is another way of saying imbalance) are connected.
That’s an easy one!
All parts of your pet’s body work together as a system. Not like a car made up of separate parts. A car may function normally with a broken tail light or window. You may not even know that there is a problem. This is not true of a computer or an animal.
The living being is a unified whole (as in “holistic”). Sensitive feedback mechanisms connect every part of the body. For example, it is the brain that sees and hears. The bacteria that live in the guts effect the immune system and emotions! All parts of the body work together.
Meet Daphne
Daphne is a great example. She’s a six year young rescue Border Collie. Four years ago she started developing some fearful behavior. As the years went on, her odd behavior and fears worsened. She became over-sensitive to many noises and other environmental stimuli.
Then she started having seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Her seizures were directly related to her odd behaviors, anxieties and fears.
At first her fears and seizures were rare, but over time they became more and more frequent. As her health worsened, her previously joyful life got smaller and smaller. She had to stop participating in her favorite agility classes, hikes, etc.
However, now that her seizures are under better control she is starting to get her life back. And her behavior is better. Why? Because the seizures, like other brain dis-eases, are directly related to her behavior.
And there are very specific Holistic Actions! that you can take today which can help. You can learn more about how to help your pets with behavior problems and brain dis-eases by joining Holistic Actions! Academy.
Be well,
Dr. Jeff
Holistic Actions When You Have an Emergency with Your Pet
Here’s what you can do if you see emergency symptoms in your animal:
Safety first. If an animal is in pain, she may bite you. Even if she loves you dearly and is a super sweet dog or cat. Covering her head with a towel or wrapping a leash or soft cord around her mouth is helpful.- Assess her visually. Is she breathing, is there bleeding, is she moving?
- Carefully examine. Gently feel for swellings, pain on moving joints, gum color and capillary refill time (which is explained below).
- If time allows, a complete TPR (temperature, pulse and respiration) is useful to help the assessment.
Rush right to ER if:
There is any major trauma such as being hit by a car or falling from a height. Bring her for professional evaluation even if she seems OK after these injuries.
Do not wait if you see:
- Abdominal bloating, multiple episodes in an hour of retching or vomiting.
- Continued or large amounts of bright red bleeding.
- Inability to urinate in any animal but especially male cats.
- Collapse, difficulty breathing or blue tongue or gums.
Call and email your veterinarian if there is time.
- If you go to the ER or your local conventional veterinarian and they determine that the problem is life-threatening, you should just let the emergency vet and critical care specialist start any indicated life-saving treatment (including hospitalization, IV fluids, testing, further supportive medications, etc.).
- If the veterinarian says that your pet’s problem is not life-threatening, now’s a great time to breathe and reassess. Take a moment to think before you act. Does the ER or referral hospital vet now want to pursue further diagnostic testing to reach a diagnosis? If so, and if cost is not a concern, or if you have a pet insurance policy, then now might indeed be a great time to do these tests.
However, if you don’t have pet insurance or are watching your budget, ask the ER vet if there is a problem with having your regular doctor do the work up tomorrow (or after the weekend). The same tests may cost a lot less when run by your regular vet.
If you do have pet insurance, the expense of the ER tests should be partially (up to 80-90%) covered. This is another big benefit of working with a quality insurance company like Nationwide (VPI), Embrace or Pet Plan.
Even if you go ahead with the tests, ask what they may show and whether the results would change the treatment approach?
- Avoid non-essential drugs prescribed by the ER veterinarian. For example, if your pup suffers a trauma and is prescribed anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories “just in case”. Many drugs decrease the energy needed to heal.
- Dose Arnica in water (use the highest potency you have) as soon possible after trauma. Add 1 large or 1-3 smaller pellets into one cup of water and give 1 tsp. You can then easily succuss and redose whenever you would have otherwise have given pain medications like Rimadyl or Tramadol.
If the Arnica improves the B.E.A.M. symptoms (Behavior, Energy, Appetite or Mood) but then they worsen, this is the time to redose. Restlessness, panting, isolating (important BEAM symptoms) and overt pain symptoms like lifting up a leg when walking, licking the injured area, are also indications to repeat the Arnica.
If symptoms persist after three doses of the Arnica, it is the incorrect remedy, so do not repeat.
- Hands on healing (massage, T-Touch, etc.), Reiki and flower essences like Rescue Remedy can help in the face of any emergency. Research has shown that therapeutic touch stimulates bone formation, decreases wound healing and helps human patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.
- When you return home, BREATHE and just sit for a time with your companion. Time for a sacred paws. You can now take the time to start putting the symptoms into context. What really happened? For example, was this truly acute, or an acute flare-up of an already existing dis-ease state?
- Now is also the time to assess and address lifestyle and contributing factors. For example, a therapeutic fast is indicated if she is vomiting from overeating or getting into the garbage. Another preventive Holistic Action! in this situation is to use a latch to prevent access to garbage, the kitty box, etc.
- If continued treatment is needed, educate yourself about both the conventional and the holistic options. Find out more about our A.S.C. (Avoid, Support, Cure) method treatment approach.
- Schedule your appointment with your regular vet. Be sure that any ER notes or test results have been faxed or emailed to them. Your appointment with a trained medical professional is the perfect time to continue interpreting symptoms in context.
Remember, an emergency symptom is just another bump in the road to better health. So don’t despair.
Our faculty and community members will help support you.
Stay well.
Dr. Jeff
*Capillary refill time (CRT) is a great way to quickly evaluate for shock, heart and lung troubles. Press your finger firmly against the gums. This will blanch the pink color. When you stop pressing, the gum color should return within a second or two. If it takes much longer this is another indication to head right to the ER.
If however your animal is not acting sick and this test seems abnormal, ask your veterinarian or another educated animal guardian if you are doing it correctly.
Heal Your Pet With a Hug
While researching the connection between wellness and vitality, I came across an article with the intriguing title of:
“Therapeutic Touch Affects DNA Synthesis and Mineralization of Human Osteoblasts in Culture”
This is not some woo-woo research. It’s from a conventional medical center published in a mainstream journal.
The article shows positive, statistically-significant, effects on living cells under laboratory conditions. Osteosarcoma (bone cancer cells) were influenced just by holding them.
Wow! More food for thought.
This is even more evidence of a life-giving energy (“vitality”). And it can be transferred through touch.
There’s already plenty of research showing the many positive effects from healing touch. Wound healing, behavior problems, carpal tunnel syndrome (in people) etc.
You can incorporate this in your pet’s wellness program today.
Hug, pet and “love up” your companion animal’s today.
Dr. Jeff
The Case of Razz’s Disappearing Mouth Tumor
Meet Razz
Razz has a great life! He gets to run with his guardian almost every day, loves playing, training and competing with other dogs.
He is so well-adjusted (“Bombproof” as Patti, Razz’s guardian says) because he has been holistically and homeopathically treated since he was a puppy. Actually, even before that since his breeder (also a veterinarian) was treating his mom homeopathically. But we’ll dive into improving health over the generations in another post or Empower Hour! online class.
Patti examines Razz closely every day. She removes any ticks, checks his ears, mouth etc. to make sure that he’s in tip top shape. One day she found a growth in his mouth that was not there the day before.
“This wasn’t here the other day!”
Being a proactive pet parent, Patti coincidentally had her monthly routine recheck for Razz the next day. During the appointment, all of Razz’s current symptoms were evaluated. Even though the new mouth tumor was Patti’s main concern.
This allowed a medicine to be found that addressed Razz’s totality. Not just the tumor.
Within a week Patti noticed that the tumor was almost gone. Holistically individualizing Razz’s symptoms allowed us to harness the healing power of nature. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy were avoided!
You can easily learn to use the Holistic Medical Decision Making method too. Join Holistic Actions! community below.
Be well.
Dr. Jeff
The 6 Ps That Help Keep Your Pets Healthy
You’ll become better at keeping her well by identifying early hints of internal imbalance.
Your pet’s symptom language will also help you manage her health challenges. (more…)
Holistic Actions! For Allergies
Holistic Actions! For Endocrine Dis-ease
You Can Learn Your Pet’s Language
Nature can be seen expressing herself just by looking.
Symptoms are the natural language of your pet’s body.
It seems intuitive to work with nature and in accord with the body.
So why don’t more people listen to symptoms and work with them?
Once we learn about the exquisite effectiveness and elegance of doing so we don’t want to stop.
But there’s a problem.
It’s not easy at first. No one likes something different or difficult.
But the learning curve is short.
At first, learning to recognize and use symptoms is like a foreign language.
But it gets much easier. And natural.
Speaking the native language is always the most effective way to communicate. You can give your pet a better life by communicating more effectively. Better communication usually equates to better treatment outcomes.
Recognizing, respecting and using the language of symptoms allows you to understand your pet’s health better than any laboratory test.
In the US and some other younger cultures, Vitality (aka Chi, Prana, the Life Force) is seen as an old and out dated concept. But adopting it can transform health care. And save you thousands of dollars.
Vitalism in medicine was discarded along with the advent of the modern scientific methods. But holistic veterinarians understand that the vital force allows the body to function.
So how effective could this old concept really be?
Some of the cultures that still use this concept are among the most long-lived around the world. Recognizing and working through symptoms is what allows the traditional (but not the “modern”) doctors in China to only charge patients for keeping you healthy. Wellness care. Not dis-ease treatment.
If you get sick, traditional doctors in China feel they have failed at their job. They only get paid if they keep you healthy.
You too can become more effective in your wellness care and dis-ease management. Listen to and respect your pet’s symptoms. Help your pets today by learning the language of their bodies. You don’t need medical training to listen to it. Read this article for the exact ways to understand and record your pet’s symptoms.
Stay balanced and connected.
Dr. Jeff
Treating Symptoms Like Weeds In Your Garden
Some quick thoughts while weeding my garden this morning.
Improving health is like gardening.
We know that contact with soil is healthful. For various reasons.
You’ll also have healthier animals when you work along with mother nature.
Not against her.
Many of our pet’s health challenges come from becoming dis-connected from nature.
Treating your garden and lawn with toxic chemicals may make it look good. For now.
Everything you do, including pulling weeds by hand, is more effective if you follow the laws of nature.
Weeding works great if you remove the weed roots. In addition to the visible parts above the surface.
Some especially problematic weeds are like chronic dis-eases. They can be difficult to eliminate.
Like deep internal imbalances, if you only remove part of them they keep coming back.
Much like superficially removing symptoms while leaving the underlying imbalance (the “roots” of the disease).
Weeds and chronic dis-eases keep coming back.
The bigger and more obvious the weed, the easier to extract.
If you recognize the weed you can pull it out early before it gets entangled in the normal plantings.
Keep working to remove the roots of dis-eases (other posts discuss how).
Patience and perseverance pay off both in gardening and pet care.
Be well.
Dr. Jeff
More About Using Your Pet’s Symptoms to Help Health Challenges
<Main take home: Relapsing conditions can be resolved by listening to the symptom clues of your pet’s body.
In the preceding post we saw how easily and quickly you could resolve the acute symptom of a swollen lip: just by recognizing, describing and acting on the symptoms.
We’ve already established: symptoms are clues to your pet’s inner wellness.
Acute vs. Chronic
Resolving acute diseases is pretty easy because the symptoms to be cured are obvious. The trick is to understand the value of acute symptoms. Many of you have already helped your own animals with acute lameness, injuries, swellings, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Unfortunately, chronic dis-eases are not as easy to treat. The most important symptom clues are not as clear.
For example, let’s imagine a pup with itching and rashes all over the body, plus smelly mucoid pudding diarrhea with accidents in the house. What’s most significant?
Most health challenges nowadays are not simple or easy to resolve. That’s why there are so many recurrent symptoms like red ears, frequent urination, itching, etc. Often even the early changes are subtle. Therefore, recognizing the B.E.A.M. (Behavior, Energy, Appetite, Mood) symptoms is very helpful and important.
In the early stage of internal imbalance, you may know that something is wrong, but it is not reflected in any test that you run. Early symptoms can be seen by you but will not necessarily show up in a blood test, x-ray, ultrasound, etc. Sometimes a trained holistically-minded veterinarian can help you interpret these early changes. Especially when all physical examination findings and diagnostic tests are normal.
When all of the tests are normal, but your pet is still sick may seem like a frustrating situation. But it’s actually a wonderful one!
Why?
Because this means that you have detected the internal imbalance early. Before it has progressed to a more serious problem. This is especially important for stopping the return of chronic and recurring problems.
Symptoms are like the rattle in your car and error messages on your computer. They tell you that something is wrong. The better than you can describe what’s going on, the better the chance of fixing it.
Describing Symptoms
Detailed symptom descriptions will help your pet the most.
In addition to the B.E.A.M. symptoms, here’s a list of some early warning signs of dis-eases you can keep track of to detect the imbalance early on.
For example, every detail about how she eats or drinks, if her symptom is better or worse from going outside, coming inside, time of the day, thickness and color of discharges, etc.
You can use these symptoms to have healthier and happier companion animals.
That smelly pudding stool with clear mucus and straining to defecate symptom can go away with a simple change in diet, or the ear redness and putrid odor may resolve by avoiding chicken, etc.
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If you would like to learn more about understanding your pet’s language and how to have healthier pets, sign up for the Holistic Actions! community below.
Be well.
Dr. Jeff