Food is Medicine!

We are what we eat and most of us fail to realize that foods influence how we think, feel and act. Next time you wake up congested or develop a headache, stop to consider what foods you’ve consumed in the last 24 hours. I often apply this same rational to pets, questioning owners about what they feed their pets or changes made in the diet just prior to the onset of symptoms.

After feeding our pets dry corn-based diets (which are energetically hot) for several decades, they have developed a host of diseases or imbalances like thyroid disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, skin conditions, liver disease, and urinary tract disorders. Home-made diets or even just supplementing the diet with whole foods can improve and even resolve many of these issues.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the diet and healing power of food is thought to be the most important factor in maintaining health. Food

therapy is often utilized alone but can also be an important complement to other modalities such as Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine in the treatment of disease patterns.

Food has energetics. In the West food is described by its protein, fat and carbohydrate content. By contrast, in the East food ingredients are chosen based on their energetic properties, which include both their temperature and their taste. The temperature of a food is either hot, warm, neutral, cool or cold. Lamb and ginger are considered warming foods, whereas turkey and cucumber are cooling. The taste of a food is either salty, sour, bitter, sweet or pungent. A salty food can help drain excess moisture from the body, while a sweet food will moisten and nourish the body.

During the initial consultation, I will use these properties to discuss and recommend which foods will help to restore balance for your pets specific condition. It may include a home-made diet or just adding a blend of whole foods to make up 30% of the diet. The effects of food therapy are slower-acting though if chosen correctly have virtually no side effects and can be used safely throughout your pets lifetime.