Your Animal's Health

"Oh! It's Only Vitamins and Minerals"
by Wendell O. Belfield, D.V.M

"Oh! It’s only vitamins and minerals", I have had to hear from pet owners being introduced, for the first time, to nutritional therapies over a period of some forty years. I think it is now time to address this misconception.

Nutritional supplements have long been trivialized as some things to prevent deficiency diseases such as beriberi and scurvy. We are now in the Twenty-first century where and when new things are happening, like taking nutritional supplements to a new and higher level.

Most recently, it has been observed that intravenous drips in mega dosages of vitamin C aid in the fight against cancer. Vitamin C in gram amounts produce hydrogen peroxide which acts as an antioxidant, thereby attacking the cancer cells as do chemotherapies but much safer and less costly. Also, vitamin D is being touted as "the magic bullet" for autism, infectious diseases, Type I diabetes, schizophrenia, and cancer. Now let's not trivialize these scenarios as has been done in the last century. When nutritional supplements are administered beyond Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA), it's a whole different ball game. Vitamin/mineral deficiency mind set does not apply when administering "gram" quantities. At this level, the supplement transcends the deficiency requirement and addresses the specific problem.

As mega vitamin/mineral therapies progressed, a decade ago, a new terminology was necessary to describe this phenomenon, "neutraceuticals." Mega levels of vitamins/minerals administered should be based upon the pathology involved. If there is no pathology, then there should be no administration of mega dosages. This can be harmful. Specific pathological conditions require specific nutritional supplements in specific dosages and, taking it a step further, specific sources are essential for optimum results. Some vitamin/mineral sources are more effective in one species than another. When a product label lists "vitamin A", what is the source? Animal or vegetable? Which is best for which species? palmitate or fat soluble? The product label lists vitamin C, what is the source, corn, limes, rose hips? what is the pH? What about calcium, di-calcium phosphate? Oyster shell calcium? Calcium citrate? These are typical examples of determining which nutrients will optimize healing. Another extremely important factor to consider is how the nutrient is extracted from its raw source. Nutritional supplements listed on the product label does not include the formula, the information is privileged only to the manufacturer and, without it, makes it impossible to duplicate.

Also, there is the matter of nutritional supplements formulated for humans and administered to dogs and cats. When this occurs, there is the possibility of having less than positive results. Some nutritional sources are species specific; therefore if there are less than positive results with human formulated supplements, the sources were not compatible with your dog or cat.

Dr. Robert Cathcart, a friend and physician, more than three decades ago determined dosages of vitamin C for specific diseases. I recall pneumonia, allergies, and influenza are three of several. His clinical work has provided a glimpse into the future where human is headed. The bottom line is, if you or your pet have pathological problems and desire to treat, prevent or control, via nutritional supplementation, you had better know what you are doing.

In 2007, three professional papers were published in a veterinary journal on nutritional research titled "Focus On Oxidative Stress, Overview, Therapies & Research." This research is being conducted at three outstanding veterinary teaching universities: Colorado State, Texas A & M, and Cornell. The consensus of the researchers is "The role of antioxidants in veterinary medicine is still being explored, but preliminary data are promising." Pathological conditions being researched are cancer, chronic feline immunovirus (FIV), liver and red blood cell toxicity, cognitive dysfunction, chronic pancreatitis, hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease and cholangiohepatitis.

Finally, I am no longer "the lone voice in the wilderness." These researchers are affirming that which I have been doing for the past forty years. Though I celebrate this new research, it saddens me to know that many pets have perished that, perhaps, could have lived a normal life had this research occurred forty years ago.

My formulas were developed in my small animal practice over a thirty-seven year period with considerations outlined previously. They are not "just vitamins and minerals", they are "nutraceuticals" and, if not administered properly, can be harmful to you pets' health.

Since my formulas consist of vitamins/minerals for the treatment, prevention, and control of specific pathological conditions, there is no need for additions or substitutions of other nutrients. Additions can result in over dosing resulting is toxicity. Substitutions can be incompatible with the established specific formulation resulting in negative results. All Orthomolecular formulas have been formulated to interact positively with each other without fear of "over dosing." The conditions for which these formulations are intended have been diagnosed by experts in their specialties and by recognized laboratory diagnostic procedures. For "nutraceuticals" to be clinically effective proper professional diagnoses are mandated. There is a tendency, in veterinary medicine, to treat some diseases symptomatically rather that determining the source of the problems. Those conditions for which I have developed my formulas address the causes of the condition, thus eliminating expensive and sometimes ineffective pharmaceuticals.

All that I have learned about nutritional therapies began with an idea followed by thought processes which gave rise to a concept, then followed the nutritional formulas to support the concept. Though this has been presented in capsule form for brevity, all transpired over a period of thirty-seven years, one condition at a time and one formula at a time as needed for each disease process.

This, the Twenty-first Century in nutritional therapies, will have many surprises as we learn to "fine tune" nutritional supplements to treat, prevent, and control diseases. In the not too distant future, medical science will be able to determine those nutritional requirements necessary for each individual to promote optimum immune function. As these requirements change so will the consumption of the essential nutrients. Medical scientist are now able, via and individual's DNA, to determine the specific nutritional requirement for optimum health.

This scenario in harmony with a greener planet will offer a longer healthier life for both we humans as well as our companion pets.