Adrenal Disease - Cushing and Addison's Disease
Cushing and Addison’s Disease.
The Dr. You in us all, including our pets is working away non stop 24/7. Included in the Dr. You scheme of things is a range of glands know in medical terms as the ‘endocrine system’ The endocrine system supplies a range of hormones into the bloodstream and part of that system includes the adrenal glands. These adrenal glands normally work efficiently but if either of the 2 glands produce too much or too little of the desired hormones then the health conditions can be debilitating.
If the adrenal glands produce too much then they are know to be ‘hyper’ thus the term Cushing’s disease ( hyperadrenocortism.) On the other hand if they produce too little it is known as ‘hypo’ and thus Addison disease (hypoadrenocortism)
What Happens when these gland malfunction? The hormones produced by these glands regulate the use of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Which in turn help to maintain a proper balance of water, salt and potassium in the body.
One of the main hormones produced is cortisol which also contributes to maintaining blood sugars, muscle development and tissue repair. Cortisol also delivers a rush of adrenalin in stressful situations which will release stored energy in the body and allow the animal to react accordingly.
The story starts to get complicated because the adrenal gland is actually controlled by another gland called the ‘pituitary gland’ which signals the adrenal gland to produce more or less Cortisol.
TOO MUCH CORTISOL – CUSHING DISEASE Two factors cause this problem and they are both cancers. The more common of the two is a small benign tumour in the pituitary gland. This tumour interferes and causes too much cortisol to be produced. The other cause is a tumour in either or both the adrenal glands and have the same effect – producing too much cortisol.
Symptoms of Cushing Disease
Bloated abdomen, thinning hair coat, drinking and urinating to excess, reduced muscle strength, interferes with normal blood clotting and the body’s ability to ward off infection. Episodes of panting due to the weakened muscle can accompany the problem and your animal friend may be prone to falling. A reduced ability to break down fat may also be present.
Conventional Treatment
If the pituitary gland has a tumor , then drugs are administered that supposedly destroy the part of the adrenal gland that is producing too much cortisol. The objective is to manage the problem rather than cure. Malignant tumors in the adrenal glands is another matter and often surgery is conducted to remove the offending growth.
Alternative Treatments
Usually involves a number of complementing approaches which reinforce each other. Holistic Diet is imperative, not so as a treatment, but to provide the foundations of good health.
Diet:
Low fat, Low protein, highly digestible diets are a must in terms of giving our animal friends the best possible chance. Diet is the basis of life and good food is essential to creating the correct conditions for the Dr.You in our pets to start taking care themselves.
“Let Food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
Homeopathic approaches include:
Corticotrophin (ACTH) 30c – This hormone helps to reduce the excess of fluid and generally improves adrenal function.
Cortisone 30c – This hormone will assist in counteracting over production of crude protein.
Thallium Acetas 30c – This remedy has an effect on skin and hair helping to restore a healthy coat.
( Note: Over use of steroid hormones can produce the same results as the disease itself and Nux Vomica and Thuja may help in overcoming this. A homeopathic vet should be consulted – If you are unable to find one please contact us and we can arrange for an internet consultation with Alan Slater – our homeopathic vet)
Herbal Approaches:
Herbal approaches are limited in the treatment of Cushing’s other than providing tonic support for the various affected organs. As a result of the increased urination, potassium is leeched from the body and nettles, dandelion root, garlic and burdock can help replace potassium and support the liver and digestive system.
Liver HeProtect and Digestive Tonic are the 2 world herbs we would recommend for this problem.
Kelp (seaweed) is beneficial for maintaining iodine and other trace minerals.
Avoid Licorice, borage leaf – these stimulate adrenal activity
Supplements
Phosphatidyl- serine – is an active ingredient of lecithin which naturally suppresses cortisol production
TOO LITTLE CORTISOL – ADDISON DISEASE
The cause of Addison’s is unknown but it is generally considered to be associated with an immune system problem. Cancer of the lymphatic system or systemic infections have been related to the problem as has over use of steroids or sudden withdrawal from the drug.
Symptoms of Addison’s Disease
Weight loss, occasional vomiting, poor appetite, weight loss, decreased energy and stamina. Degeneration of the adrenal glands is not reversible but progression can be delayed with diet and proper nutrients.
Conventional Treatment
Supplement with synthetic cortisol
Alternative Treatments
Diet
Foods with excess potassium should be avoided. High quality, easily digested protein should be included. Robbie’s Holistic Cuisine is also well suited for the reasons stated above but is also low in potassium.
Homeopathic approaches:
Arsenicum [Ars]
This is the most homoeopathic of all remedies to this disease. Both the disease and drug have nerve depression, gastric irritation, general debility, feeble heart action and tendency to vomit. The skin symptoms have also a curious similarity;
The disease, though considered an incurable one, may have its development arrested by the proper remedy. Among other remedies to be thought of are: Thuja; Natrum muriaticum, which especially corresponds to the symptoms, muscular fatigue, indigestion, melancholia, etc., so often present at the onset of the disease; Belladonna, Calcarea carbonica, Iodine and Phosphorus. Arsenicum iodatum is also especially worthy of a trial. Tuberculinum may also be well indicated.
Herbal Approaches
Herbisone – this World herbal product is very well suited to Addison disease.
Licorice, borage leaf – these stimulate adrenal activity.
Siberian Ginseng for reducing the impact of stress.
Spirulina is also well suited this problem although is considered a whole food rather than a herb. 1 spoonful per 4lbs (2kg) pounds of bodyweight.
George Burns BA
Managing Director Land of Holistic Pets Ltd (UK)
Vice President - Burns Pet Health Inc (USA)
© All rights reserved
All World Herb Products are available to special order.
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Free Radicals, Phytochemicals, Antioxidants and More
The more you read on health issues, the more complicated the terminology becomes. I am left wondering if health language is used just to keep the players and users in their own world and limit entry to their understanding. Then again, maybe I am too liberal and prone to conspiracy theories. To quote Robert Frost, "A liberal man is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel." So let me let you in on a few of the secrets so that you don’t need to be a walking medical dictionary but have the benefit of being an expert. It is often said, that you are only a night’s reading away from being an expert. You might want to try the theory out after reading this article. Tell the next person all about it and watch their reaction!
Free radicals are simply broken part of molecules which run around the body looking for a mate but more of this later. Phyto-chemistry is all about the Chemical composition of Plants. Phyto / chemicals simply means combining with other plant chemicals. All herbs for example are really Phytochemicals in that they are made up of a range of chemicals based on a plant. Vegetable, fruits and berries are Phytochemicals in other words plant-based chemicals. The real key lies in how valuable these plant based chemicals are in relation to the health of our animal friends and us. Free Radicals are the way of making sense of this. Of course antioxidants have a major role in all this but we need to understand what processing is taking place first so we can influence the outcome with adjustments in diet.
Now you don’t need to be a physicist to appreciate that electrons are positive and negative – you just need to think of a battery! They are useless unless the positive and negative ends meet up to release the battery’s energy. Well, Free Radicals are missing the necessary electron to make them effective. So they scurry round our body looking for the missing part and will latch onto any available opposite electron to make them complete.
The danger lies in them latching onto something which is not quite right. It could be DNA, enzymes or proteins. It doesn’t matter to the Free Radical but it matters to the health of the pet or other living beings. If the Free radicals join up with the wrong cells then the energy that is released can result in all sorts of problems like cancer, degenerative disease and so on.
In short the energy released from this type of association is like touching the positive and negative sides of a car battery at the same time. The sparks fly!!!! The only difference is that you may not notice the effect for a long time and fail to make the connection between the actual cancer, degenerative disease etc. and the sparks.
So where and how do the Free Radicals come about and how can we set about making sure that these little devils are not running about the body searching to satisfy their needs at the expense of our pets health? Free Radicals cannot be prevented; they are part of the body’s process of living. The cause of them is unknown, pollution in the air, chemicals in our food, water and even stress, can set off a chain reaction which results in this activity.
We can set in place the means to properly deal with the Free Radicals and limit their ability to latch onto the wrong type of energy. This where the Antioxidants comes into their own. I am sure all of us have witnessed that when an apple is cut in half and left out within a short period of time the cut section starts to go brown in colour. This is called ‘oxidisation’ which simply means that it has started to go bad. We will come back to this later and give you an example of how you slow this process down with ‘Phytochemicals’ or plant chemicals. As I sure most of you know that “Anti” Oxidisation is the process which stops the cut apple going bad or turning brown.
In the body, Antioxidants are like a charity – they go around the body giving the Free Radicals the missing part they are scavenging for. They make them whole and prevent them from aligning themselves with the wrong kind. A bit like a parent watching over who their children associate with in order to prevent them being led astray. Once the Free Radicals have been matched up properly they are no longer a threat to the body.
Going back to the plant chemicals (Phytochemicals) why don’t you try a small experiment to demonstrate the effectiveness of this process? Berries are excellent sources of plant chemicals which act as Antioxidants. Cut an apple in two and rub one of the cut halves of the apple with a strawberry. Then leave the two halves sitting for about a hour. You will notice that the untouched half will go brown much quicker that the half rubbed by the strawberry.
There are two very important aspects relating to Free Radicals and how we can best serve the interests of our pets. Firstly, there is the pets primary defense system known as Phase 2 enzymes. These are naturally occurring but work best when they have a minimal amount of work to do. This is where everyday diet is very important. Provide the correct ingredients in the diet, in right proportions and the Phase 2 enzymes will work normally minimizing the potential for health problems often associated with ageing.
The second approach to dealing with free radicals is through supplementation of products to work in conjunction with the Phase 2 enzymes.- It works a bit like having a fire burning and throwing some petrol/gas on it.
Now we can look at the value of plant based chemicals to act as antioxidants. As already stated berries are an excellent source of the appropriate antioxidants but need to be fed without processing although dried and frozen sources are alright: but if cooked they are useless. Vitamin C and E are also good sources of antioxidants but plant based ones have a major advantage over these. Vitamin C and E neutralize free radicals directly - usually one molecule of a direct antioxidant removes only one molecule of a free radical; in other words it zero’s directly in on one radical, one time, to prevent it from causing cell (DNA, fat, protein) damage. They may only last for a few hours and the energy from them dries up quickly. Plant based chemicals, those containing a chemical called Sulforaphane Glucosinolate, stimulate the bodies natural antioxidant activity; this type of activity eliminates many types of free radicals, cycling over and over again, creating an "army" of antioxidants, ready to neutralize free radicals over a period of time. This process continues to be effective, even after it has left the body and may last for days.
One of the best plants that has been identified as an antioxidant for Free Radicals is young broccoli. Sprouted seeds contain an amazing amount of Sulforaphane Glucosinolate. And it is also important how these sprouts are grown. The concentrated energy can be matched by concentrated herbicides or pesticides so therefore the broccoli should be organic. The chemicals in the herbicides and pesticides will cause free radicals themselves defeating the purpose of using them.
George Burns BA
Managing Director Land of Holistic Pets Ltd (UK)
Vice President - Burns Pet Health Inc (USA)
Why we don’t use Pork or Beef in our products at the Land Of Holistic Pets.
I am often asked these questions and realised that there has been very little written about these issues. This article is intended to give a brief overview of our reasoning behind our beliefs.
A Study in 2001 by the National University of Singapore and reported in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Cancer, found that diet and a family history of colorectal cancer were the primary risk factors for the disease in the Chinese population. After accounting for all other risk factors, a high intake of red meat -- including beef and pork -- doubled the risk of colorectal cancer. No rise was seen for those reporting increased consumption of other meats or seafood. Eating vegetables was associated with a reduction in risk. (1) Cancer, Dec. 1, 2002
From my own experience, having suffered eczema for a number of years prior to 1990, the Doctor at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital advised me on lifestyle changes and in his words “eat nothing from the pig”. My eczema was cleared up in 6 weeks after suffering for more than 4 years although major changes were made in my overall diet. Similarly, a friend who had long suffered from psoriases was given the same advise.
A number of independent researchers have noted that cancer in the form of microbes become either benign of malignant depending on the medium on which they grow. Pork has been identified as being a virulent medium for malignant growths whereas asparagus would produce a benign form. (2) Udo Erasmus – Fats that heal and fats that kill The conclusion to be drawn here is that consumption of pork, particularly in quantities like in a pet food would create the correct conditions for malignant tumours.
What is probably more sinister about Pork is that nearly every piece of this animal is utilised by the pet the pet food industry. From the Ears to the feet and many pet food companies even use the skin. Many of these products are firstly dried, then treated with formaldehyde to preserve them, others are deep fried and some companies claim them to be a health food treats - 'Pork Scratching' would be an appropriate name for them. All of these type of products from the pig, contain an indigestible protein called "Kerotin". It is the same protein as is in hair, nails, beaks and feathers.
In summary, degenerative diseases afflict mainly people who are red meat and pork eaters. (2) As for pets, because little research has been done on these issues we have to assume that the results will be the same if not similar in pets. Our Approach – Do No Harm!
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