Television shows highlight modern medical miracles and the ability of doctors to handle massive trauma and horrible disease conditions. Good shows also highlight the emotional pain and suffering of doctors and patients when our medical technology fails to handle a given situation. When I went to veterinary school I was always impressed by the latest amazing surgery or newest drug, but as I approach 30 years of clinical experience, it is not the latest greatest medical advance that holds my interest. It is the miraculous power of biological systems to grow, repair and survive in a cooperative fashion.
This last month a case demonstrated this to me in rather gentle terms. I entered my exam room to find a middle-aged female dog with a large fatty tumor on her right side. The tumor was about four or five inches across and tests at another doctor's office said it was a benign tumor called a lipoma. It had not changed size in several years. These are common in human and veterinary medicine. Lipomas consist of a fatty deposit and usually don't spread but they can grow to large sizes. In some cases they can interfere with muscle or nerve function and present a danger to the patient's ability to move properly. While many of these tumors are removed, it is elective surgery and not all lipomas require surgery.
A small number of these tumors are actually more invasive tumors called liposarcomas and these need early surgery with wide margins. The problem is that if we wait they can invade locally and only a biopsy can accurately diagnose them.
In this dog's case the guardian wanted to remove the mass but could not handle any large veterinary bills. She was a new client and really loved her dog, so we discussed the individual situation we faced in hopes of finding a productive line of action for this patient. Since the mass was pre-existing she could not obtain veterinary insurance to cover the surgery. We reviewed the facts:
Now none of this means that kale is a treatment for lipoma. It would take many years of study and millions of dollars to prove or disprove that and I doubt that many lipomas would vanish from kale, but this case was unique because the tumor was located right on that acupuncture point for the liver and when we addressed the liver the tumor went away. Scientifically we cannot say why that happened but it did and all parties are happier for the outcome.
For me this just means doing what my mother told me:
This particular client remarked that she is now eating more fruits and veggies. Seeing this happen with her dog made her aware of the power of a proper diet and this knowledge lead her to improve not only her dog's health but also the health of herself and her family. And now this story might make others eat better, too.
That is health care reform we all can live with.
Truth is good stuff. Seek it and healing follows. Share it and happiness and health appear. I'd love to hear your stories of improved health from proper eating habits. How did you come to that awareness?
Suggested Reading:
Brandi G, Amagliani G, Schiavano GF, De Santi M, Sisti M. "Activity of Brassica oleracea leaf juice on foodborne pathogenic bacteria." Journal of Food Protection. 2006 Sep;69(9):2274-9.
Hu R, Khor TO, Shen G, Jeong WS, Hebbar V, Chen C, Xu C, Reddy B, Chada K, Kong AN. "Cancer chemoprevention of intestinal polyposis in ApcMin/+ mice by sulforaphane, a natural product derived from cruciferous vegetable." Carcinogenesis. 2006 May 4.
Kim SY, Yoon S, Kwon SM, Park KS, Lee-Kim YC. "Kale juice improves coronary artery disease risk factors in hypercholesterolemic men." Biomedical Environmental Science. 2008 Apr;21(2):91-7.
Jackson SJ, Singletary KW. "Sulforaphane inhibits human mcf-7 mammary cancer cell mitotic progression and tubulin polymerization." Journal of Nutrition. 2004 Sep;134(9):2229-36. 2004.
Maiyoh GK, Kuh JE, Casaschi A, Theriault AG. "Cruciferous indole-3-carbinol inhibits apolipoprotein B secretion in HepG2 cells." Journal of Nutrition. 2007 Oct;137(10):2185-9.
Moreno DA, Carvajal M, López-Berenguer C, GarcÃa-Viguera C. "Chemical and biological characterisation of nutraceutical compounds of broccoli." Journal of Pharmaceutical Biomedical Analysis. 2006 Aug 28;41(5):1508-22.
Stidley CA, Picchi MA, Leng S, Willink R, Crowell RE, Flores KG, Kang H, Byers T, Gilliland FD, Belinsky SA. "Multivitamins, folate, and green vegetables protect against gene promoter methylation in the aerodigestive tract of smokers." Cancer Res. 2010;70(2):568-574.
Thimmulappa RK, Mai KH, Srisuma S et al. "Identification of Nrf2-regulated genes induced by the chemopreventive agent sulforaphane by oligonucleotide microarray." Cancer Res 2002 Sep 15;62(18):5196-5203
Zhao H, Lin J, Grossman HB, Hernandez LM, Dinney CP, Wu X. "Dietary isothiocyanates, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2 polymorphisms and bladder cancer risk." Int J Cancer. 2007 May 15;120(10):2208-13.
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On the market are products with "yucca". I bought a product today with this in it. He had a bad reaction to it, but it could be the other things in the product. Yucca was listed as the last thing in the product.
Do you think alittle yucca in the orginal form (something I could buy at a food store--like raw salt etc...) would help?
I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Folks, if you want to keep your pet healthy, do not feed them commercial dog food. Dogs and cats DO NOT need grain products, which are the major ingredient in most pet foods.
I've had many pets. They all ate raw, home ground meats, mixed with small amounts of green veggies and a variety of other vegetables on occasion. They were supplemented with pure, raw, unprocessed fatty acids, because the meats were grain fed. The pets almost never went to the vets office. We never vaccinated them, expect for the ones required by law or by the vet in order to board them. Just ignore all those "friendly" reminders to vaccinate!
If you can't handle the raw meat then minimally cook it by boiling for a few minutes only and then give the animals extra digestive enzymes.
Result? Happy, healthty, very old pets who don't know what a vet is.
This last week I saw a dog that was doing very badly on regular therapy. Nutritional therapy and herbs got him up and walking but he still had a lot of pain. A homeopathic prescription of Rhus tox got the dog up and walking in a short time. In homeopathy the prescribing is dependant on many issues so I can't say, "GIve XXXXX and he'll be better."
People do need to be educated that the phrase "You are what you eat" applies to dogs and cats. Feeding your pets low grade commercial foods found in the grocery store that contain wheat, corn, soy and by products will eventually effect the pet's health. If your dog does not like eating veggies, find a food that already has veggies in it or cook carrots, string beans, celery, and kale in a crock pot with chicken. Most dogs love that.
Veggies are not crucial for a dog's health; they do just fine without.
Epic facepalm.
I can't help it, I have a huge bias towards modern science.
my dogs hate veggies.
i have 6 60 - 110 pounds.
i have always fed my dogs purina, my dogs have always lived to be 15 plus years old.
after that food scare 3 years ago, i made my own dog food.......for months.
i was always worried about their teeth, the crunch factor,..
that is a fact, my dogs do not like veggies either.
(even green beans)
they do love cottage cheese, and cheese , peanut butter.. and of course meat.
.
Dogs are people, too.
I wrote an article about her today http://www.postcardsfromapeacefuldivorce.com/698/death-in-the-afternoon/
so wonderful, she had 15 years of your love.
until her last day with you, she was your baby, and you were nurturing her.
she is over the Rainbow Bridge, i contacted all my kids there.........
they helped her cross. peace