Health Begins In The Colon

Understanding what goes on in the colon is vital to getting your cat or dog healthy, and keeping them healthy. The good news is- it's pretty basic! So basic in fact, by the time you finish this article you would be right to wonder why it has been overlooked by the medical community. Well, thanks to scientists dedicated to finding alternatives to medications and their known side effects, we are on the doorstep of a new era in Animal Wellness.

In order to optimize your animal's wellness (much like your children) you have to examine everything you give them and everything they do. Let's start with the basics.

Wild Animals vs Domestic Animals

The water wild animals drank, the air they breathed, the fresh kill they ate, and the grass and dirt they ate to replenish the microflora, essential for proper digestion and elimination, were all pristine.

The Industrial age has brought us a lot of conveniences, but along with them, a lot of pollution. I'm all for conveniences but it is important to realize that they come with a price. Knowing how to defend your animals against that price is what separates the healthy animals from the sick ones.

21st Century Pet Food

By strict definition if something is not a "food" it is a "poison".

What do fast food chains and commercial pet foods have in common? Their content and ingredients suggest that profit is the motive, not nutritional value, or health.

It is no coincidence that a steady diet of low quality foods (empty calories) eventually causes the intestinal tract to malfunction, producing toxic levels of anaerobic bacteria, yeast, and fungi.

Just as putrefaction of food is caused by microbes in the air, this natural process is duplicated in the digestive tract. A byproduct of putrefying pathogens is that they excrete toxic chemical compounds, small amounts of which are actually necessary for digestion BUT, when they get the upper hand in the colon, they cause a variety of GI disorders. When this happens your animal's instincts take over; they eat dirt and grass. Be aware that allowing them to do this could actually make them sicker.

Microflora and Bacteria are Essential to Optimize the Colon

Further stress is put on the colon when your cat or dog eats a tasty pathogenic morsel, say from your garbage can, or while out on a walk off leash, or drink from a funky puddle. The additional pathogenic bacteria throw the balance off pretty quickly, causing GI problems like vomiting or diarrhea.

If this careful balance is not maintained daily, over time other GI related issues develop such as; IBS, spastic colon, bad gas, bad breath and constipation.

Any one of the following compounds can cause disease in the body. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are tissue toxins that can damage the liver. Histamines contribute to allergic disorders such as atopic dermatitis, allergies, urticaria (hives) and asthma. Indoles and phenols are considered carcinogenic. Scatoles produce a rotten egg smell in the breath, gas, and body odor. The body's defense mechanisms try to eliminate these toxins by releasing neutrophils. When the body is unable to produce sufficient neutrophils, the body reacts, expelling the toxins through vomiting and diarrhea or becoming paralyzed with constipation.

Due to a wide variety of reasons, optimizing colon health is more important today than ever before!

As you are learning, air, water, diet and optimizing colon health are more important today than ever before.

Real World Probiotics

Some 25 years ago, Laboratory Research Scientists began to connect the dots. If wild animals ate dirt and grass and stayed healthy, why doesn't this work for modern domesticated animals? They literally got their hands dirty and began examining and studying dirt and grass samples going back before the Industrial Age.

Here's what they found. Pre-Industrial Age dirt was teaming with active bacteria and microflora. Logically, they were named Soil Based Organisms (SBOs). However, soil samples examined from the mid-20th century to the present are virtually devoid of these essential SBOs, also known as "Probiotics".

Slight of Hand

Do you know the old saying "A little information can be a dangerous thing"? The pet market is flooded with so-called "animal" probiotics sold to resolve GI issues. The most well known is lactobacillus acidophilus- a key ingredient in yogurt.

Back in the 70s Dannon sold the world a bill of goods with its television advertising campaign, suggesting a direct connection between Dannon Yogurt and the Hunza people, whose average lifespan was well over 100 years. This clever advertising campaign made a fortune for Dannon. There's one "small" detail they failed to mention- The human stomach acid destroys most strains of acidophilus. Any benefit of what actually makes it through is negligible. Worse, pet's stomach acids are many times stronger than ours. Obviously, intestinal distress requires a viable product that is fast acting and without side effects.

High Efficiency Digestion: The Key

If you've read this far, chances are you, too, realize that the keys to Optimizing your pet's health include giving them nutritious food specifically suited to their digestive requirements, you also need to give them distilled or reverse osmosis quality water. Add a few grains of a high quality "sea salt" (not common table salt!) to give it flavor and beneficial minerals- and change it daily. Make sure the air they are breathing and the bedding they sleep on is clean and fresh. Finally, make sure they are getting SBOs along with other essential supplements on a daily basis. Oh yeah, and watch them like a hawk!

Now this may seem troublesome and expensive. But the truth is you will have a healthier, happier pet capable of bringing you love and joy for many years to come. And as an added bonus properly optimizing your pet's health will cost you far less than the frequent vet visits and numerous medications that will result if you don't!

About the author: Robert Hart is co-owner of Vitality Science, a company that formulates all-natural remedies and supplements for cats and dogs. His articles have been published in Fido Friendly, and Natural Awakenings print magazines, Professors House, Pet Professor, Pet Style, and numerous pet newsletters. To learn more about how you can restore health or prevent disease please visit www.vitalityscience.com

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