Food Intolerance- Gluten, Csein, Soy, and Corn

[DogtorJ]

Hi Everyone,

I have joined this forum to share some very important information with you. I have been doing medical research (both veterinary and human) for the past 5 years following my personal diagnosis of celiac disease (gluten intolerance). My subsequent recovery from a myriad of symptoms was nothing short of miraculous. BUT, the cool thing was that almost everything I learned also applied to my four-legged friends.

I suddenly remembered about the Irish setter...the only breed that had been definitively diagnosed as gluten intolerant...and went to review its typical medical conditions. Bingo- a match for the problems that celiac humans suffer from. BUT, the interesting thing was that they matched those of the Dachshund, Golden retriever, German shepherd, Lab, Rottie, and other breeds that are having big trouble medically.

I immediately began taking all of my patients off of wheat and barley, the two main gluten grains in pet foods. As I learned that casein (from cow's milk), soy, and corn could all do the same harm to the intestinal villi that gluten did, I started taking all patients off of those food ingredients as well. Wow! The miracles started happening.

The response to the elimination diet- avoiding the gluten grains (wheat, barley, rye), cow's milk products (with casein), soy (errrrrh), and corn- has been nothing less than phenomenal. I am a million percent convinced that gluten intolerance (as well as casein, soy, and corn intolerance) all occur in the dog and cat, with certain breeds being severely afflicted. In fact, I have recently heard that a well-known veterinary pathologist has reopened the books on celiac disease in dogs. It is long overdue.

Again, the Irish setter was found to be a celiac years ago (in our medical texts) and serves as the poster child. But where did all of the Irish setters go??? Well, that's what happens when you give wheat to a celiac. They become very ill and often die prematurely. If we examine the "genetic" disorders of the Irish setter, we see that they were a "who's who" of what goes wrong in just about all breeds....and people. Yes, the immune-mediated food intolerances have their hands in just about everything.

Once we see the damage that they do to the duodenum AND we are finally told what the duodenum actually does, then we can all have the "revelation" that I had and write so much about on my Website. It has all become second nature to me now, as it has to some of you. I find it soooo hard to believe that everyone doesn't already know and completely understand this, especially doctors, veterinarians, and the pet food companies.

BUT, therein lies the rub. As I have written for years, I have yet to casually meet a doctor or veterinarian who has been able to tell me what the duodenum absorbs. I am NOT throwing stones here because I did not know either until I studied my own, new found friend...celiac disease. THEN, the world of medicine became my oyster and things started falling into place like the pieces of a big puzzle. (Sorry for the mixed metaphor )

The duodenum not only does not absorb "nothing", as I have been told in conversation with colleagues and doctors, but it is responsible for the vast majority of the absorption of our calcium, iodine, iron, B complex, C, and trace minerals like zinc, boron, magnesium, chromium, and more. Wow! Man, does that explain much???

For example, now anyone can see why the most food allergic dogs (the breeds listed above) have the worst juvenile bone diseases, immune-mediated diseases, and highest cancer rates. Two of the most food allergic breeds...the Cocker and Shi Tzu...hold the record for blowing discs in their back at ONE YEAR of age. That is 3 years sooner tha the average Dachshund. This should be a no-brainer for those who understand how our skeleton is made (calcium, vitamin c, "COLLAGEN"). And the cancer? Well, what drives the health and integrity of our immune systems? How about thyroid problems? Yep...where is the iodine absorbed ? Did you know that some hypothyroid dogs get better on iodine supplements alone? Now you know why, right?

As I like to say, "This is not rocket science. If it were, we would KNOW this stuff. We have landers on the moon, Mars, and now on Titan...a moon of Saturn. And yet, we still don't know what the duodenum absorbs or that it is crazy to artificially reduce a fever caused by a virus? Hmmm...". Yes, if what I write about was rocket science, we would understand all of this. Its a matter of priorities, right?

And the epilepsy stuff...WOW!!! What a cool thing. I read early on in my celiac research that celiac kids who also had epilepsy often had dramatic improvements in their epilepsy when hey went gluten-free. That caught my attention "for some reason" and I jumped into that topic with both feet. My Website chronicles the journey and outlines the diet. Countless dogs (and people) have responded to this anti-seizures diet over the past 3-4 years. I just placed a new summary-style paper at the top of my epilepsy section. Hopefully, this will make sense to all of you. If not, as I am fond of saying, then I haven't done my job...yet.

I hope this helps. I am on a lot of forums now (both human and veterinary) so please feel free to Email me rather than wait for responses on forum posts. I will try to dedicate some time to this forum, however. I want to help keep our pets as healthy as possible. And when you see how these vital food issues are affecting their health so negatively, I think you will also see that it is high time that we start taking things out of that big ol' recycle bin we call "genetics" and put them where they belong...in the preventable category. How cool is that?

John

[DogtorJ]

Heres a link for you:

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/

[Veggie]

I have a 5 month old golden retriever pup who has been very itchy almost since I had him at 9 weeks old. His coat also felt sticky. After the vet said it was parasites and I smothered him in Frontline spray which did not cure it I took him to a person I know who has become a bit of an expert on dogs skin problems. He diagnosed a gluten intolerance and for the last 6 weeks or so the pup has been off all cereal and been fed meat with cooked potatoes and raw vegetables. He has been much better: scratching a lot less and his skin became silky and not sticky. However in the last few days the scratching has started again and he is developing sore patches on his back. A couple of weeks ago he also had a reaction on all exposed skin after being exercised in a field which had the remains of a cereal crop ie straw. A couple of people think the straw may have been sprayed before being ploughed in. I kept him away from the field until it had all been ploughed in but he has been back in the last couple of days, again playing with another goldie (which has not been affected at all). Could the remains of the crop be having an effect on him? The 2 pups play and roll over a lot. I am really worried because I do not want to havbe to take him to the vet and have chemicals pumped into him. I have washed all the bedding for both my dogs and sprayed both dogs and bedding with a pyrethrum based flea spray which seems the spray least likely to cause allergic problems. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[Sheltiemama]

Veggie, that is exactly what I had to do. All of the brand name dog foods have things in them that aren't good for any dog. I've given up on them and only home cook for Magic anymore. At least I know what she is eating when it comes from my own kitchen.

As for the fleas there is a holistic repellent for dogs that contains Neem oil which is very effective, also you can make up a spray yourself with tea tree oil (this is also a very good repellent) and spray them each time they go outside.

[DogtorJ]

Hey Veggie,

I've "retired" from forum writing. Just swamped. Katrina didn't help.
But, I sent you a PM. Here it is. Since it was such a good question, I thought that I would share the answer.

***********************

Hi Veggie,

I have "retired" from the forums. I'm pretty much swamped.

BUT....Wow! Someone really called him gluten intolerant, huh? Cool. I would love to talk to that person and see where they got that idea.

The question is what are you feeding now? It is not impossible that he has inhalant allergies at this age but it is unlikely. Other food allergies are more likely. When I was in school 26 years ago, they told us that it was uncommon to see inhalant allergies (trees, dust, moold, weeds, etc) before 1 year and RARE before 6 months. NOW we are diagnosing classic inhalants by 3 months of age. I am thoroughly convinced that this is because inhalant allergies are a SECONDARY phenomenon, occuring AFTER the food intolerances have gotten bad enough. And the foods of today are infinitely worse than they were 26 years ago (when all kibble was made of corn...the number 4 food allergen...rather than wheat, which is their number one allergen now.

If he truly is gluten intolerant (and/or dairy, soy, or corn intolerant), then he could be allergic to just about any protein going into his mouth. The first order of business is to eliminate all of the "big 4"...all gluten grains (wheat, barley, rye), all dairy products, soy and corn. Then, if the problem persists, have him food allergy tested to see if he has developed any secondary allergies (e.g. rice, lamb, beef, fish, eggs,turkey, pork, etc). The secondary allergies occur after the villi of the intestine have been damaged enough so that the body starts to react to other proteins passing through that gut.

Hope this helps,
John

[Zoesmom]

I have a small Lab cross that weighs 105 lbs. She should be at about 70 lbs. My vet has drawn blood and says her thyroid is within normal range. He then said that she is probably Gluten intolerant. I've been looking for a feed and found something I think will work called Nutra Ultra Holistic. Has anyone tried this? We live on a farm and she is very active. Our other two dogs are a good healthy weight.

[Owned by Lucy]

If the dog is very active and you have decreased the amount of food you are feeding but he is still gaining weight (or not losing weight) I would look more closely at the thyroid. Normally, vets only do a couple of the tests that come in a complete thyroid panal (6 tests). It is very possible (and very common) that the test they did came back normal but further testing would come back abnormal.

As for the food, the terms holistic, all natural and others have very little meaning. The first 4 ingredients should be meat, not grains, corns, veggies or soy. None is better if there is a suspected allergy.