This is a guest post from Melissa who blogs about all things cellulite (as well as frequent posts concerning acne, fluoride, real healing, and Real Food) at Cellulite Investigation. This is part of the series Mothers & Wives as Keepers of the Health.
If you’ve ever cared for an ailing pet, you know just how skilled our furry friends can be at bringing out those mothering instincts in their “owners.” That’s one reason I was so frustrated when vet after vet failed to cure my three-year-old Labrador retriever’s itchy paws, ears, and backside. It was heartbreaking to watch her chew her bright yellow paws until they bled. Repeated prescriptions for antibiotics only provided temporary relief.
In conducting my own research, it became clear that all her symptoms were yeast related, similar to
candida.
Yeast overgrowth is likely just as common in pets as it is in people due to the poor quality of most commercial dog foods.
Her condition improved significantly when she started on a raw food diet, but it was several months after her transition and her itchies still lingered.
Out of desperation, I scheduled an appointment with yet another vet. This one decided she had incurable food allergies and recommended Benadryl to ease the suffering. BENADRYL! “She won’t be operating any heavy machinery, right?” he quipped. One tiny dose of Benadryl puts me in a haze for the entire day; there’s no way I was giving a daily sedative to my exuberant Marley look-a-like. There should be a law against such a thing.
On the way home from our appointment, I tried to go back to the basics. What do I know for sure? I know real healing starts in the kitchen. I know she was having difficulty digesting her food (the so-called “food allergies” the vet spoke of). I know people often have difficulty digesting pasteurized milk because it lacks the accompanying enzyme, lactase. Protein, fats, carbohydrates –they all require specific enzymes for digestion. Lightbulb! Perhaps her frozen food is lacking in enzymes.
Back to the Internet for more research. Digestive enzymes are recommended for food allergies, but they are pricey ($10 for a 4 oz. jar). Yet the ingredient list couldn’t be simpler. They’re all made from ground and dried sprouts of some sort. It seemed easy enough to grow my own sprouts at home so I gave it a try. The results were immediate and substantial. As soon as I added the fresh sprouts in with her meals, the remaining itchies vanished! To learn more about growing your own sprouts, I recommend Sprouting 101 at www.SproutPeople.com.
It’s such a pleasure seeing my pup returned to full and radiant health, especially knowing her symptoms aren’t just covered up with medications that induce serious side effects of their own. The experience taught me to trust in my own reasoning and never to underestimate the power of healing foods, even in the face of an “incurable” condition.
