Building Good Health

In a group of animals why will one develop symptoms of sickness or disease while the others remain healthy? When wanting to build good health knowing which things to avoid is equally as important as utilizing health promoting natural care methods.

The information on this page applies to all animals – parrots and birds of all types, dogs, cats, horses and other exotic animals.

 

 

There are several factors that contribute to either maintaining good health or having illness set in.  The foundation for maintaining health and wellness is holistic nutrition. Ensuring the animals under your care receive proper nutrition includes making sure they consume a balanced diet. The foods an animal eats directly effect their behavior. Nutrition either supports a strong immune system – or weakens it. Feeding organic foods is vital when you’re concerned about maintaining hormonal balance.  Older animals can benefit from additional supplements and special care that younger animals have not yet developed a need for. When considering an animal’s genetic predisposition to illness or disease we have discovered revolutionary scientific information that is providing us fresh options in this area. The environment an animal lives in and their perception of it either supports health or causes stress and damages the immune system. Another area is ensuring you eliminate exposure to any toxins in the diet – food and water, in the environment, and by using non-toxic treatment protocols. All of these area play a vital role in laying a strong foundation for health and wellness.

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Preventive Nutrition

This is the foundation of my work – using diet and nutrition for creating healing good health.  An animal’s diet plays a key role in building good health. Nutritional requirements vary from species to species and selecting the most appropriate diet and nutritional supplement plan for each animal is an individualized process.

However, there are general guidelines that are important to keep in mind when deciding on how to best utilize a preventive nutrition plan for your critter kids. Select high quality ingredients and feed organic fruit, vegetables and grains when ever possible. Avoid feeding products containing artificial colorings, additives, flavorings, and preservatives. Offer filtered drinking water or bottled spring water for drinking. Public water supplies are flooded with chemicals that are best avoided.

 

Food as Medicine, Healing Takes Time

When using diet and nutrition to improve health conditions there is no quick fix. Improvements can sometimes be seen as soon as two weeks after beginning a program. However, a typical response is usually seen four to eight weeks after starting. This time frame represents the period it takes for old unhealthy cells to die off and begin being replaced by new healthy cells regenerating throughout the physical body.

Although the best results are seen when clients receive a personalized nutritional supplement plan, there are some general guidelines that can be applied. It is important for each species to receive an appropriate amount of a variety of basic nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. If essential nutrients are present in low amounts or are missing from the diet, these must be added by feeding supplements. However, caution must be used when using any of the readily available  nutritional supplements for birds.  Avian veterinarians are now seeing birds with avian malnutrition being caused from over-supplementation.

 

Powerful Antioxidants

One important group of nutrients that are very important for all of us are antioxidants. Because we are all exposed to more toxins now than ever before we all need antioxidants.  For birds, our sprouting blends – either the Original Sprouting Blend or our Wheat-Free Blend are naturally rich in a variety of powerful antioxidants. For birds and all other animals DMG (dimethylglycine) performs antioxidant functions in numerous key organ systems.  DMG  is an amazing metabolic enhancer that has been documented in treating and preventing an ever growing amount of health and wellness situations for both humans and animals. DMG is meant to ‘supplement’ a well balanced avian food plan, not that the place of it.

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Nutrition and Behavior

When animals consume a properly balanced holistic diet they are receiving all the nutrients the need to be able to cope with stress.  When anyone experiences stress, the body consumes all nutrients at an accelerated rate.  And when the diet is missing key nutrients, in order to meet its nutritional needs,  the body’s metabolism robs these elements from body tissues.   Without adequate nutrition the individual becomes less and less able to cope with stress – this results in the development of inappropriate behaviors.  Ensuring an animal is consuming a diet ideal for their unique needs is the first step in resolving any behavior challenges.

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Supporting the Immune System

When understanding that healthy animals naturally resist disease and infection numerous factors contribute to supporting an animal in having a healthy immune system. A properly balanced diet made from high quality ingredients creates a strong foundation for health and wellness. Any supplements fed are intended to complement, and not take the place of, a diet rich in whole foods.

The immune system is greatly supported by avoiding toxins and chemicals that can be found in the environment, food, water, and in many chemical oriented treatment protocols. Selecting appropriate supplements to help support the immune system is directly linked to the symptoms and diagnosis. Cancer treatment therapies can benefit from using the nutritional supplement DMG. There are species specific (dog, cats, bird) anti-cancer diets – that feed the patient and starve the cancer – but these require a personalized nutritional consultation to receive the best results.

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Balancing Hormones

The proper diet – that focuses on feeding organic foods – along with nutritional and herbal supplements can influence and help regulate hormone balance. When a hormonal deficiency exists natural glandular products can be used to help nourish the deficient organ. DMG can also prove to be a key elemental nutrient in helping to restore hormonal imbalances to a healthy and balanced level of functioning. Hormonal related feather destruction habits can greatly benefit from these nutrients and those in our sprouting blends.

 

Avoiding pesticide use on an animal, in the home environment, and in food and drinking water may prove to be invaluable in restoring normal hormonal functioning and balance. According to the report, ” Pesticides and Human Health”1 published by the Physicians for Social Responsibility and Californians for Pesticide Reform 2 , certain pesticides are known to disrupt the endocrine system in humans and in animals. Glands of the endocrine system include thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, pancreas, adrenals, and gonads. Research has shown that chemical pesticides tend to accumulate in fatty tissues, have an accumulative effect on the body and can remain there for years before breaking down. There are certain protocols people use to detoxify from pesticide exposure in the environment, in food, and in water. Many of these can be successfully used in animals as well.

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Seniors, Their Special Needs

As the body ages certain nutrients make a huge contribution towards helping an animal maintain a high quality of life for as long as possible. Since many theorize that free radicals are the primary cause of aging,  antioxidants lead the list of our senior supplement list.  For birds our sprouting blends provide an abundant array of powerful free-radical eliminating antioxidants.  For more details on the senior nutritional needs of birds or other animals (dogs, cats, horses, exotics), please contact me for a personalized nutritional consultation for more information on your specific situation.

DMG can contribute properties no other supplement can due to its unique ability as a metabolic enhancer.  Any supplements used are intended to complement a balanced diet made from natural whole foods.

Supporting the joints of any senior with nutritional supplements produces gratifying results. Antioxidants, again, top the list. They scavenge free radicals and produce visible results.

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Genetic Predisposition

As a society we are accustomed to the concept that individuals have a genetic predisposition to certain diseases or conditions. This leaves us feeling as if there is very little – to nothing – we can do to help these individuals. However, exciting new information that was first presented between 12 to 15 years ago replaces this outdated model with scientifically verified research that actually gives us control over human evolution.

 

Turn Off Disease Genes

Cellular biologist, scientist, and lecturer, Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., discovered that the behavior and health of body cells is actually controlled by the environment. One aspect of ‘the environment’ that Lipton is referring has to do with the types of foods eaten. Poor quality foods, lack nutrients that support health and contain high levels of disease-causing omega-6 essential fatty acids–this causes inflammation, creating a toxic environment for body cells. And this toxic environment turns disease genes on. This insightful information is in direct contrast to the normally accepted teaching that life is controlled by the genes. Lipton’s newest research reveals that biochemical pathways connecting the mind and body are actually responsible for health and wellness.

This information adds a dimension to animal wellness that we here at Critter Connection are developing for use with our clients. With every health related consultation we will integrate appropriate information that has evolved from this transformational information as they apply to your individual situation.

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More Environmental Influences

Additional influences that can affect an animal include everything he sees, feels, hears, smells, eats, breathes, touches, is exposed to, or has been kept away from. Temperature, air quality, levels of pollution, exposure to pesticides or other air borne chemicals all affect numerous bodily systems. Is second hand cigarette smoke a concern? Even exposure to chemical based cleaning products can have an accumulative effect on weakening the body’s immune system.

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Eliminating Exposures

Chemically scented household cleaning products and personal use products are commonly used items that have been directly linked to weakening an individual’s level of health.

I’ve worked with dogs and cats who had become chemically sensitive. This means that they developed a sensitivity to the fragrances and chemicals in these common items. This exposure had an adverse effect on their immune system lowering their resistance. Developing a chemical sensitivity is biochemically different than having an allergic reaction. Symptoms clients have noticed in their critter kids have included asthma, coughing, and a general weakness or malaise without being able to identify a specific cause. The indications of chemical sensitivity in an animal may not be limited to these symptoms.

After determining, in a session, that their critter kids had become chemically sensitive, the caretakers were educated in the use of natural alternatives. Right away these clients noticed a dramatic increase in their pet’s level of health and wellness.

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Building Good Health

This brief presentation summarizes the wide variety of elements influencing an animal’s ability to have and maintain radiant health. I hope this article has provided you useful information, given you a sense of some different options, and has made you aware of some new possibilities in the area of animal health and wellness.

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For more avian species-specific information concerning diet and preventive nutrition please schedule a personal nutritional consultation.

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For other companion animals, please view the appropriate animal page under the ‘Other Animals’ category on this Web site or contact me for a personalized nutritional consultation.

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