Pet Care - Dietary Information - Holistic Nutrition Part 1

Holistic Nutrition - Part 1

Our affluent Western society has largely overcome the problem of infectious disease. This is due mainly to public health measures. Similarly, our pet animals rarely die of infectious disease (unlike farm animals which suffer epidemics due to poor hygiene and overcrowding). But although we have seen off infectious disease, our hospitals and mental health clinics are swamped, veterinary clinics are busier than ever and our society is fragmented and ill-at-ease. We have replaced the problem of infectious disease with that of degenerative disease. Thankfully, Holistic Medicine offers us a solution.

My dictionary defines Holism as the “theory that the fundamental principle of the universe is the creation of wholes i.e. complete and self-contained systems from the atom and the cell by evolution to the most complex forms of life and mind.” It also defines Holistic Medicine as “a system which treats the whole person, physically and psychologically, rather than simply treating the whole part”.

While I empathise with the broader definition, as a clinician I will be focussing here on the latter definition; at present, there is no system of pet nutrition which satisfies Holistic principles of food production, transport, and environment and so on but which also meets the needs of pet owners.

In my opinion, nutrition is fundamental to the practice of Holistic Medicine. Correct diet underpins all other Complementary therapies and may make them unnecessary.

Although I am a veterinary surgeon (veterinarian) I came to my understanding of pet nutrition by way of human complementary therapies. As a recent graduate I quickly learned that my conventional veterinary training had left me ill-prepared to deal with chronic illness. In the 1970s complementary medicine did not exist in veterinary practice in the UK as far as I was aware. I trained in human acupuncture but at the same time I became interested in Macrobiotics which attempts to interpret traditional lifestyle and philosophy in a way which is appropriate for our modern society.

Evolution is the process by which living things survive and prosper by adapting to a changing environment – food supply, climate, avoidance of predators etc.

By definition, evolution ensures that all living things which exist today are well adapted to their environment provided that they live according to the forces which shaped their evolutionary development.

A similar way of thinking is found in Naturopathy. The term has fallen from common usage (thankfully in my opinion because its derivation suggests Natural-disease. I prefer to think that health is natural.)

According to the Macrobiotic philosophy it was by eating whole cereal grains as his principle food that man[kind] developed his superior intellect. Use of fire for cooking allowed man to change his food which in turn allowed man to become more flexible and adaptable and therefore the most successful species. It was the abandonment of this traditional way of eating in favour of our modern (Western) diet which has led to most of the illness which is so prevalent in modern society.

The Macrobiotic philosophy is that if we return to a diet based on whole cereal grains and vegetables with animal products, fruits and pulses as secondary foods rather than our present reliance on animal products, refined foods, sugars and chemicalised foods we can regain our health, physical and mental.

This way of thinking gives rise to a set of Principles of Natural Health Care:
1) Good health is a natural state
2) The body will always attempt to maintain balance and heal itself
3) Acute illness is a manifestation that the body is attempting to heal itself
4) Chronic illness is a sign that healing has failed

Using these ideas and with particular reference to the dog I have formulated a description of how disease develops. For convenience I have described three distinct phases but in practice the stages melt into each other with no clear division.

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