Cancer Diet, Tums, and Centrum, and Don’t Forget the Garlic and Olive Oil
Cancer research benefits both pets and people, whether the research is done by a veterinarian or a physician. Cancers such as osteosarcoma, melanoma and lymphoma are among those with common benefits. Dr. Max Lang, a Hershey Animal Research notable, used to call this “a two-way-street”; thus, it is not unusual to learn that drugs which help dog owners can also help their best friends.
Recently I read an article about a diet for dogs with cancer. The author is Jeff Grognet, DVM, who suggests adding a Centrum as a daily vitamin-mineral supplement and a Tums tablet to meet calcium requirements in daily diets.
The ideal canine cancer diet should be low in carbohydrates, high in protein, and high in fat (and specifically omega-3 fatty acids). Grognet writes that commercial diets with these attributes are available but, alternatively, caregivers can prepare a home-cooked diet that meets these criteria. Centrum and Tums are the supplements in the home-cooked diets. (One Centrum tablet for every 20 pounds of weight with half a tablet for dogs under 20 pounds. A Tums tablet should be dosed at one for every 20 pounds body weight.)
Grognet recommends Hills Prescription Diet Canine n/d (moist) and Iams Eukanuba Maximum-Calorie/Canine (dry) as commercial diets for dogs with cancer. The home-cooked diet consists of 50 percent fish or poultry, 50 percent mixed frozen or fresh vegetables, olive oil for calories–one teaspoon per 20 pounds–Centrum and Tums. The ingredients should be mixed together and cooked in a crock-pot. Additional ingredients can be added for anti-tumor activity such as one capsule omega-3 fatty acid (300 milligrams)–inhibits tumor growth–for each l5 pounds of body weight as well as the spices garlic and tumeric. Also, antioxidants are considered to be essential supplements for cancer patients. These include vitamin C, vitamin E and the mineral selenium.
There is a rule that you should be able to determine the breed of a dog by viewing his head alone. If you can’t determine the breed from the head alone, then the dog is not a recognizable breed. Some breeders also believe you should be able to determine the sex of the dog from the head. I have never found this to be reliable–either in people or pooches!
LESS STRESS AND ANXIETY. It has been determined that anxiety, as measured by a standard rating scale, dropped 24 percent for those visited by a dog in a nursing home compared to only 10 percent among patients visited only by a volunteer. Levels of epinephrine, a hormone the body makes when under stress, dropped about 17 percent in patients visited by a person and a dog and 2 percent in those visited by just a person. Heart pressure dropped 10 percent after the visit by the volunteer and dog and increased 3 percent when visited by a volunteer alone. Lung pressure declined 5 percent for those visited by a dog and a volunteer and rose when the dog was not present.
It has been predicted that there will be a significant increase in death and illness after the meltdown of the nuclear reactors in Japan–not due to radiation, but to anxiety and stress. More therapy dogs need to be trained and ready after a disaster to relieve anxiety and fear. Therapy dogs today are undervalued compared to service dogs and they fill a vital and important function if we are to recover, to survive, and to progress. And, the difference between the service dog–who seems to be a headline maker–and the quieter but very effective working therapy dog needs to be drawn and appreciated.
Mar 14, 2012 | | Uncategorized