Help protect your pet against cancer

Whether we are speaking of people or their pets, present medical knowledge holds that healthy bodies are continually producing cancer cells and that their immune system acts as the gate keeper that quickly destroys these malignant cells before they get a foot hold and develop into a malignant tumor. This, however, begs the question: Why do people and their pets develop cancer?

Some factors that may influence the onset of cancer include genetic defects, toxic exposure, chronic inflammation, malnutrition, poor detoxification and radiation exposure. However, underneath it all the bottom line is that cancer develops when the pet's immune system is unable to respond vigorously enough to eliminate the diseased cells.

So let us take a look at what we can do to prevent cancer in our pets by supporting their immune system. Apart from hereditary defects which we have no control over there are a number of steps we may take to help our pet's immune system do its job more effectively.

Let us start out by discussing how to nutritionally support our pet's immune system. We must feed our pets a complete and balanced diet, a diet that provides a host of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids in adequate quantities and proper proportions. A deficiency in any of these can weaken the immune system and allow cancer cells to get a foot hold. Because poor farming practices have left the soil deficient in important "trace minerals" and because poor manufacturing practices destroy health-giving nutrients, pet owners must fortify their pet's diet with supplements that include trace minerals, essential fatty acids, B vitamins, digestive enzymes and good bacteria.

Next, the diets we feed our pets are frequently out of balance when it comes to Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. There are far too many inflammatory Omega 6's in our pet's diet and proportionately too few anti inflammatory Omega 3's. The consequence of this imbalance is that our pet's immune system cannot effectively control inflammation and this may eventually lead to cancer. Dog and cat diets are usually deficient in antioxidants, which function to reduce the build up of dangerous free radicals that can cause inflammation and lead to cancer.

Supplementing our pet's diet with Omega 3 fatty acids and an abundance of antioxidants will go along way in supporting their immune system.

Food and environmental toxins are becoming more and more of a stress to our pet's immune system. Many pet foods contain an abundance of toxins in the form of chemical preservatives, coloring agents, flavoring agents, and pesticides to name just a few.

These food toxins further stress an immune system that is already working hard to remove many other environmental toxins. Next, feeding carnivorous animals like dogs and cats a grain-based diet that they can not properly digest often leads to an inflammatory condition of the bowel that holistic veterinarians refer to as "leaky gut syndrome." The leaky gut lets toxins that would normally remain in the bowel, leak out into the blood stream where they put an extra work load on liver detoxification and the immune system. The high heat processing and prolonged warehousing of commercial diets can cause fats to become toxic. Feeding our pets a commercial diet that uses natural ingredients rather than artificial chemical, that are meat based with few grains, that are processed under low heat and that are stored for only a short time in warehouses will reduce stress on the immune system.

Of course poor nutrition is not the only predisposing cause of cancer. Reducing environmental toxins such as radon, lawn pesticides, intestinal parasites, and cigarette smoke will help reduce stress on the pet's immune system. Using non-toxic house hold cleaning products will also reduce the immune systems toxic load.

Dr. John Simon is the owner of Woodside Animal Clinic, 27452 Woodward, Royal Oak, (248) 545-6630, where he has treated dogs, cats, birds and rodents with conventional and alternative medicine since 1970. He has written four pet care books and is certified in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary spinal adjustment. Dr. Simon's Web site is www.doc4pets.com