The food your dog eats, the air he breathes, and the water he drinks all contain a common ingredient
… toxins.
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| Calhoun Strickland |
Every day, your dog is exposed to heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and nickel), petrochemicals, and other external toxins including solvents, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s found in paints), pesticides, herbicides, phthalates, food additives and medicinal drugs.
The list of chemical toxins is never-ending so it’s become increasingly important to learn how to detox your dog.
A Toxic Environment
It’s estimated that there are 85,000 chemicals in our environment.
Ninety percent (90%!!) have never been tested for safety.
It’s estimated that the average newborn today will have 287 toxins already in its body, and human breast milk is now considered the most toxic beverage in the world!
If I haven’t depressed you enough, let me remind you that many of these toxic substances have cumulative effects.
For example: mercury and aluminum are toxins included in most vaccines. Individually they wreak havoc; but in combination they are like a nuclear bomb hitting the nervous system. And what about phthalates plus pesticides plus bisphenol? They take BPA’s out of our plastic bottles, and then substitute BPS’s. So what are BPS’s anyway? And why are they any better? Geez, Louise!
And then there’s GMO’S – God Move Over – OMG!
The subject is huge, the studies are vague at best; and sadly, the FDA has turned a blind eye. GMO’s add nothing to the nutritional value of the plant, nor do they serve the plants nutritionally. By tricking the plant into creating herbicide tolerance, and into producing its own pesticide, yields and profit increase – but not our health.
GMO foods in livestock have been shown to damage virtually every organ (see Genetic Roulette-The Gamble of Our Lives, by The Institute For Responsible Technology). The risks to humans and our pets is still unclear; but isn’t it likely that it’s the same as it is for the livestock?
Studies have shown that our animals are exposed to hundreds more toxins and at higher rates than humans. In general, drugs are metabolized more slowly in animals, the fetus, infants, and the elderly.
Do you have a dog who is overweight and hypothyroid? Well, you probably know by now that starch based diets aren’t very digestible for our carnivore kids. Giving a daily dose of a thyroid supplement may not succeed in nourishing the thyroid or improving its health and function … but detoxing can substantially help.
If your dog has the FLC Syndrome (Dr Mark Hyman coined this: the “Feel Like Crap” Syndrome) then his or her thyroid hormones might be blocked.
What are they blocked by, you wonder? Toxins, of course!
It’s possible your canine is experiencing the hypothyroid state and FLC Syndrome because his metabolism is slowed w-a-y down, which in turn makes it difficult to burn fat. And if he does burn calories from fat, well, sorry to say, you’ve released the toxins stored, sometimes making the FLC syndrome worse. Help!
Adding gas to the fire above (oh, I forgot to mention that all these toxins create inflammation everywhere in the body!), they also damage hormones that regulate appetite control. Leptin, a hormone that tells your brain you are full can be blocked by heavy metals.
How To Detox Your Dog: Four Major Systems
In practical terms, how do we help the body so hypothyroidism symptoms and FLC Syndrome are a thing of the past?
First, stop the toxic load – eliminate or decrease any environmental toxins in the food, air, water, ground (grass, asphalt) and food bowls.
Secondly, support the body to naturally detox via liver, kidneys, gut and skin. These organs already know how to keep us clean. With a little help from their friends, life can be good.
The body uses four of its systems to detoxify itself. The four systems are:
- Liver – most complex detox organ, able to detox thousands of substances
- Gastrointestinal Tract – best at removing solid waste
- Skin – largest detox organ
- Kidney – best at removing water soluble toxins
Liver Detox
A healthy liver might be able to detoxify many toxins but considering the volume and types, it’s better if your pet can get a little help from their friends. Helping the liver do what it already is programed to do can reduce symptoms of allergies, weight gain, fatigue, skin disease, chronic constipation, arthritis, chronic infections, gastrointestinal issues, headaches, depression, anxiety, autoimmune disease, and – quite likely – the free radical damage leading to cancer.
The liver can use nutrients readily available in a balanced, fresh diet, but in these toxic times, this may not be enough.
Adding a “liver formula” to the diet can make the work easier. Simple B vitamins like folinic acid (or folate), B12, Niacin (B3), Riboflavin (B2), start the process. Other team members include: amino acids, antioxidants (vitamins A, C and E), trace minerals (selenium, copper, zinc, manganese), bioflavonoids, silymarin (milk thistle), garlic, onions (yes, you are reading this correctly, in small amounts!), cruciferous vegetables and others, all help keep the process moving.
Use a liver formula that includes these nutrients, combined with a fresh clean diet, and the liver can rock!
It might help to understand a little liver science so you can support the precious liver of your precious pet. Don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz.
First, the liver takes fat soluble toxins like prescription drugs, chemicals from agriculture, food additives, household pollutants, and normal metabolic wastes in the first phase of detoxification (Phase I), called the Activation Phase. The following diagram shows how toxins enter the liver, go through chemical reactions using the nutrients listed, to become more water soluble and then excreted through the urine or feces.
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