I recently took my fifteen-year-old Aussie, Emma, to the vet for her annual exam. Now, I am not a giant proponent of continually taking your pet to the doctor, just like I don’t go to the doctor, just because. I have experienced a lot of pill pushing in those situations so I tent to take the, “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”, approach. However, in Emma’s case, there were a couple of factors that compelled me to follow through with the appointment. First of all, it has only been three months since we lost Kate. Now, I know that Kate was old as well and somethings just happen, but I didn’t want any surprises. Second, Emma is fifteen! That’s over one-hundred years old, in dog years. Third, I had been noticing that Emma was starting to loose a lot of strength in her hind end. She would go to jump in the van or run up the stairs and her hind end would just collapse. In my opinion, these things certainly warranted a chat with her vet.
I received confirmation on her hip issues in that the vet found that she has osteoarthritis. This is a form of chronic joint inflammation that is caused by deterioration of joint cartilage. This type of arthritis is mostly seen in older dogs.
I have known, for a few years, that Emma has been struggling with arthritis. I have never chosen to put her on prescription medications because there are so many holistic alternatives that can actually reverse the damage instead of just masking it, like prescription drugs. I’m all for healing, not masking.
Two major things to look at, when talking about joint health is weight and exercise. My grandmother, God love her, is notorious for over feeding her dogs. She insists that they are a good weight but they are always overweight. They also get very little exercise. Now, she does have a yard that they can play in, but since she is now ninety years old, she doesn’t take them for walks like she did ten to fifteen years ago. These two factors, combined, means that every one of her dogs, without exception, has had severe arthritis. They get to be around seven or eight years old and they can barely move. Then, the vet starts writing prescriptions and well, it’s all downhill from there. It makes sense that if your bones and joints are carrying more weight than what they are made to carry that you might start seeing some issues, right? So, the first thing I’d say is to make sure your dog is at a healthy weight.
You also need to watch what foods you are feeding them. As with people, certain foods can cause inflammation, especially now-a-days with all of the toxic laden foods. Glyphosate, the active ingredient found in Round-up, in addition to being a known carcinogen, according to the World Health Organization, is also the cause of chronic inflammation! What does this mean? This means that the health of your pets joints could be compromised by foods that are manufactured by companies who are looking at the bottom line, and not the ingredients. It means that it is really important to watch exactly what your pets are eating. Up until last year, we really had no way to undo the damage that glyphosate had done because it would hang around in the body and just build and build…causing joint pain, inflammation, and so many other issues. Thankfully, we now have a solution for this. It was co-created by Dave Sandoval, a world renowned speaker and a leading force to the health epidemic that has been caused by glyphosate. Biome Medic, https://ishoppurium.com/products/biome-medic, (remember to use gift code LOYALTY to get $50 off of your first $75 purchase) a product that I give to every one of my dogs, every single day. (My husband and I both take it daily as well.) Why? Because it removes the glyphosate from your system and reduces inflammation by seventy-four percent. Yep…seventy-four percent. Let’s face it, most of us simply can’t afford to feed organic dog food to our beloved pets. It’s hard enough for us, as people, to eat one-hundred percent organic, so trying to do this with our animals is a tall order. I still try to give the most nutrient dense and clean foods to all of my fur-friends, but I also know that toxins don’t only come from our foods; they are in the air we breathe and the water we drink.
There are foods are more inflammatory than others, like sugars, certain fats, and milk. Night shades are very inflammatory and should be avoided. These include tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Alternatively, you can choose brightly colored, leafy fruits and veggies to feed like kale and blueberries.
One of the number one holistic recommendations for osteoarthritis is bone broth. Yep, bone broth. Sounds simple, right? Dr Cate Shanahan, author of the book Deep Nutrition, writes, “The health of your joints depends upon the health of the collagen in your ligaments, tendons, and on the ends of your bones. Collagens are a large family of biomolecules, which include the glycosaminoglycans, very special molecules that help keep our joints healthy.” Bone broth is loaded with glycosaminoglycans, including glucosamine. It also has chondroitin and hyaluronic acid, which are two joint protecting compounds. I think the coolest thing about bone broth is that the nutrients that are in it, which are so vital to joint health, are actually absorbed in their whole form because it does not breakdown during digestion. (There are many other great things about bone broth, but I am trying to stay focused on the joint issue, right now.)
Of course there are also things like turmeric, curcumin, and MSM that helps reverse joint damage and restore them back to where they should be. A product that I have been using with Emma, for quite some time now, is Joint Flex, which contains some of these ingredients, and more. You can find Joint Flex here, https://ishoppurium.com/products/joint-flex-180-ct , where you can learn more about the ingredients and order it. (Remember to use gift code LOYALTY to get $50 off of your first $75 purchase)
I know that I talk about joint issues, a lot, but honestly, it is what I see most prevalent in pets these days. I have started to incorporate the bone broth and chopped up kale and blueberries into Emma’s food; we will see how much that helps her. Along with proper nutrition, a good diet, and plenty of exercise, I look forward to at least a couple more, good years, with my beloved fur-baby.
Many blessings to you and your four-legged-loves ~ Tammy
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