As it turned out this was one of the turning points in my understanding of how simple supplements could turn a patient around. I decided that Brewers Yeast was full of B vitamins including Vitamin B 12 (commonly known or seen to be an appetite stimulant). In addition I felt that the dog could do with some multivitamin and suggested that nettle and kelp were a good source of many nutrients. I also suggested they try the dog on some fresh meat and ideally green veg blended into the food and either fish oil or flax oil (turns out the dog liked the latter or as I now know was self selecting the best supplement for itself)
The result was rather astounding as the owners insisted on coming for a repeat appointment just so I could see how well the dog was doing! When I saw the dog I too was amazed at the patient at the first consult was suffering from weak legs and really looked like a lost cause. The owner also pointed out that the dry cracked pale nose now just six weeks later was starting to become darker much less cracked and had a bit of a shine.
I was fascinated and now wanted to know what had turned this pet around not just in physical appearance but also when I listened to the heart it too had improved with no additional drugs! This was my first lesson in the true power of natural supplements. Over the years that followed I discovered the benefit of fresh meat for heart dogs providing the amino acids L-Carnitine, Taurine and Co Enzyme Q10 in their natural all of which can distinctly help with DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy)! Co Enzyme Q10 is depleted by some heart drugs and this in turn leads to cardiac failure as can the loss of many other vital nutrients. Thus the improvement in the heart, but it was a picture in Patrick Holford's book the 9 day liver detox diet that later put together in simple terms what I had learned in college. The drugs the dog was on needed nutrients to help them be metabolized (broken down) in the body at the cost of the dogs health. The diuretics were leaching potassium (along with zinc and many other trace nutrients due to the increased water through in the kidneys) while thickening the blood by dehydration to draw fluid out of the lungs something the flax oil helped by thinning the blood somewhat and helping fluid retention in the right rather than the wrong places in the body. The Brewers Yeast helped replace some of the lost nutrients affecting coat and nose colour along with the Kelp providing replacement potassium copper zinc magnesium and calcium all of which led to the nerve conductivity in the muscles improving leading to better walking! The trace minerals in the kelp and nettle also helped colour the nose as do berries such as Blue Berry and many other dark berries.
Some times a nose is just black and sometimes a nose is just plain pale, but sometimes it is a sick nose that used to be dark and shiny and that can make all the difference.
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With record rainfall and river levels in large parts of Ireland at record levels leading to large areas of flooding showing what can be expected as global warming gets going here in Ireland. (The photo above shows Washington Street in Cork City, Ireland) Many elsewhere have already experienced these changes with places like Bangladesh having ceeded land to rising sea-levels and pacific islands worried about disappearing like the famed Atlantis . This is a warning to all of us of as to how we will have to adapt not just as individuals, but as a global community and requiring real action at a global level. Many of these changes are beyond the ability of local communities to deal with as they have been created at a global level. For many in Ireland these are scenes reminiscent of monsoon floods only ever seen on TV in far off lands. For many there will be no going back to what was before with businesses already coping with the effects of a severe recession, let alone a meter or more of water, but it is at times like this you see the true resilience and wonder of human nature at its best. With people out helping neighbours, people coming off strike to help those most in need. My heart and thoughts go out to all those affected both directly and indirectly. With all the groups so badly affected on land across the world also spare a thought for those at sea. Some of the problems were the result of poor planning decisions in the past, but as is so often, it is what we do now in the present that is most important.
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