Pet Health Store

This is from our good friend and monthly contributor, veterinarian Dr. John Symes (aka Dogtor J) who will be speaking with us on Animal Talk Naturally on this topic on Wednesday March 28th at 2:30 PM ET at Holistic Pet Audio which you’re invited to attend live:

I have very mixed feelings here. Of course, I am saddened by the death of the affected pets and the trauma this has caused the owners. BUT, this is the absolute best thing that could happen TO the pet food companies. I could not be more excited about the potential for seeing the much-needed changes in pet food manufacturing that may finally come about as a result of this “scandal”. This recall should serve as a HUGE warning shot being fired across all of our bows.

The latest is that 14 pet deaths have been linked directly to the recalled foods, with 6 of them being cats that died in the studies conducted by Menu Foods themselves to confirm that the food was the culprit. The mortality and morbidity rates have shown that cats are more susceptible the effects of this food, which makes sense from a gluten standpoint since cats are a more strict carnivores and would be less adapted to dealing with eating grains. The FDA, as of this date, still holds that they do not know what the exact culprit is while the company itself has been quoted as saying that they believe it is the wheat gluten acquired from a new supplier. They have replaced the gluten and gone back to manufacturing the recalled foods according to one report that I read. So, if that’s true, they must be pretty convinced that it’s the wheat gluten.

And wheat gluten CAN do this. Gluten, in sensitized individuals, can induce both chronic and acute kidney failure. The form of kidney failure is typically what we call an IgA nephropathy, in which antibodies and immune complexes formed against the gluten are deposited in the kidneys, which leads to damage and ultimately failure. Again, this can be chronic leading to persistent blood (microscopic) and protein in the urine or it can be very acute.

In most of the cases of the “tainted” food deaths, the pets had been eating these foods for months before succumbing to its effects. Many of you saw the emotion-charged interviews on national news that dealt with owners who thought they were doing the right thing by feeding their pets these foods but have now learned that “all of these months” they were poisoning their dogs.

First of all, is it a “tainted food”…one that contains a poison or a toxin in the usual sense…OR is it one that simply has a gluten in it that is too powerful for pet’s (or human) consumption? I could easily believe that it is the latter and that they will find that this new source of gluten came from some GMO or hybrid wheat that IS too powerful for human consumption and that is why it was cheaper and chosen to replace the company’s old gluten.

It could be the old Starlink (CRY9C) corn story all over again. You remember that one, right? This occurred in 2000 and Taco Bell became the poster child, as they had to recall taco shells suspected of having this GMO corn that was intended only for animal feed. Of course, that story died quickly (like I am trying to keep this one from doing) and the public never heard about the millions of dollars spent to rid our food supply of this transgenic maize (GMO corn). They ended recalling over 350 brands of corn products in their attempt to clean this situation up. Who knows whether they were really effective, as corn allergies in humans have risen as I certainly believe they have in pets. Their concern was it may cause “allergic reactions”. Well, if you call immune-mediated reactions like rheumatoid, lupus, and asthma “allergic reactions” then that might be accurate.

This story should be sending shock waves through the public and veterinary communities but the response thus far has been one that seems limited to being concerned in a way similar to an E. coli outbreak. But if we KNEW beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the wheat gluten and if we KNEW what wheat gluten was capable of (like we who study celiac disease know), then we should be seeing the bigger picture here: That is this just the tip of the iceberg and that dogs and cats have been dying from this stuff all along and we have not known it. Then all it takes is for us to wake up to the fact that dogs and cats should not be eating these grains to begin with, whether man has genetically modified these foods to death or not (which they have).

The startling fact is that it is well-established that the lectins of gluten (wheat, barley, rye), dairy products (e.g. casein, lactalbumin), soy and corn are ALL capable of inducing serious health issues in those (sensitized) individuals consuming them. I am of the firm belief that these “big 4″ are not healthy for anyone. They are simply more harmful to some than others. As I have written many times, it is a matter of when they will cause a problem much more than IF they will. That’s why I lovingly call them the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”. You are starting to see why, right?

But why do these proteins wait to cause problems? That is a great question and one that keeps people from seeing the truth about these harmful glycoproteins/lectins. The fact is that the onset of the lectin-related disorder- whether it be rheumatoid arthritis, type-one diabetes, lupus, etc- is usually preceded by a secondary event, such as viral or bacterial infection. Other things such as vaccines can act as triggers as well. As a result, there is a rather sudden influx and attachment of these inflammatory proteins to various cells in the body ushering in what we often refer to as “autoimmune” disorders. Of course, I hate that term because it implies an immune system that has gone haywire, attacking the body for no reason. No! Our body and immune systems never makes that kind of mistake. These things happen for a reason and these food proteins are often the culprit. Viruses also play a role (described on my Website).

All one needs to do is study celiac disease (gluten intolerance) to see how all of this works and appreciate the health implications that accompany this extremely common condition. And it does occur in dogs and cats. That has become painfully obvious over the past 7 years I have been studying this. The Irish setter is the only known breed to suffer from gluten intolerance but it is clear that gluten is affecting many, many of our breeds or dogs and cats. And why wouldn’t it? It is affecting us and we have had millennia to adapt to eating wheat. The pets have only been eating wheat-based pet foods for about 20 years now.

This leads to the final point (other than the fact that many of you are up in arms about so many of your “quality pet foods” being made by one big company in Canada): Are your pet foods “scientifically” made like you think? I used to think so. Hey, I used to parrot back what I was taught that the pet food companies spend millions of dollars and years of intense research coming up with balanced and nutritious foods. I used to warn people not to add any table food so that they did not upset this “balance”. I was one of their biggest fans…patsies.

But then I woke up and wrote “Gluten Intolerance and Your Pet”. Why are we feeding dogs and cats wheat, barley, soy, and corn (and now dairy products…again…after removing them all 20 years ago)? I’ll tell you why. It is because of one of two things: The manufacturers of pet food either don’t have a clue as to what they are doing OR they know better and are doing the wrong thing anyway. I’ll let the reader decide but if I were in the pet food industry, I’d rather claim ignorance.

If the research and development departments of these companies that are starting to use dairy products again in their foods TRULY think that lactose is the culprit (rather than the lectins of casein, lactalbumin, etc), then the executives in charge need to fire the entire lot of them and start afresh. If they really don’t know what gluten can do to the kidneys, joints, intestinal tracts, brains and other organs of our beloved pets, then they all need to go back to school or find another line of work.

DO NOT let this story die. It does not matter whether they ever tell us that wheat gluten caused these problems. The fact is that it CAN…and does…and that it has no place in pet food. The gluten found in the non-recalled dry food versions of these foods is only incrementally better, causing subclinical issues that shorten our pet’s lives.

Do you really want to know why the average dog’s life is 12 years and that of the cat is 13 years (in the USA) when the former can live to be nearly thirty and the latter to 40? Look no further than what’s in their bowl. In a study that was done in Europe, those pets that were fed table scraps lived an average of 3 years longer than those fed commercial diets alone. Why? Highly processed foods cannot possible contain all of the essential nutrients found in fresh meats, fruits and vegetables. And if our veterinarians can’t understand that, then they too need a refresher course.

The combination of these foods being woefully deficient in nutrients and the fact that they are downright HARMFUL is an abomination. It is time to change this. Let this recall story be a warning sign but please do not let it die.

I hope this helps,

John B. Symes, D.V.M. (”Dogtor J”)
www.dogtorj.net
Read- “Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn OR How We Won the Battle of Helm’s Deep”

Dear MSNBC,

My name is John B. Symes, DVM, otherwise known as “DogtorJ” on the Internet. I have been studying the effects of gluten on people and pets for the past 7 years following my personal diagnosis of celiac disease.

The fact is that wheat gluten CAN cause kidney failure all on its own and with the relatively small number of deaths that have occurred, the gluten IS the most likely culprit. Wheat gluten can cause an IgA nephropathy that can either result in chronic or acute kidney failure.There does not have to be another toxin involved. In fact, mold toxins primarily affect the liver and the amount of other toxins that could be present would have to be much higher to cause kidney damage. And if they were that high, many more individuals would be affected.

So, they are right in pointing the finger at the gluten but very wrong in saying that wheat gluten cannot cause kidney failure.

I hope this helps,
John

John B. Symes, D.V.M. (”Dogtor J”)
www.dogtorj.net
Read- “Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn OR How We Won the Battle of Helm’s Deep”

Here is our write up on Bark ‘N’ Blog if you need more details:
http://barknblog.aspenbloompetcare.com/2007/03/17/another-major-pet-food-recall/

UPDATE FROM DOGTOR J:

PICK YOUR POISON

In my thinking, it is highly unlikely that rat poison caused these deaths. Most rat poisons are anticoagulants which do not cause kidney failure. The only rat poison that I know of that could remotely cause kidney failure is cholicalciferol, a toxic amount of vitamin D3. This intoxication causes calcifications of the blood vessels (e.g. aorta), heart, gut, and other tissues, which could include the kidneys. However, when you read about cholicalciferol poisoning in pets, there is rarely any mention of kidney involvement.

NOTE: The latest news (3:30PM) is that a compound known as aminopterin was found, which is a rat poison that is not approved in the USA. Here is the Wikipedia link to this drug: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminopterin . As you will see, it is used (intentionally) as a chemotherapy agent in treating children with leukemia. This begs the questions of “Just how much would be required to intoxicate an animal?”, “Just how much was in the food?”, and “Why didn’t more animals become intoxicated if this was the culprit?”

If there was enough of any of these toxins in the food to induce kidney failure, wouldn’t there be NUMEROUS other deaths being reported? Maybe there are. The relative rarity of these deaths reported (14 or so out of how many pets eating how many brands???) is much more consistent with an IgA nephropathy, in which the pet’s kidneys shut down due to an immune-mediated reaction to the gluten, as they suspected to begin with. This does occur in celiac (gluten intolerant) humans and I’m thoroughly that it occurs in pets, with IgA nephropathy being the most common cause of glomerulonephritis in people. It is usually chronic but can cause acute renal failure in some individuals. The cat would be the most likely victim , just as we have seen, due to the fact that it is a carnivore and less suited for the consumption of gluten grains.

So, finding rat poison in this tainted food could be like finding some cocaine in human food that is being tested for toxins in suspected restaurant food poisoning cases. The cocaine has nothing to do with food poisoning but it further condemns the establishment on numerous other levels. If there was enough rat poison in the food to kill a pet, we should be even more concerned about how pet food is made on some levels than we are with this gluten issue.

Are we really that surprised to find traces of rat poison in pet food? I’m not, personally. Rats eat grains and the grain sources used for animal consumptions are often very different from those consumed by humans. Could traces be found from the feces of rats that had ingested the poison? Does it have anything to do with the death of these pets that died from kidney failure? I still find it very hard to believe.

Let’s keep our thinking caps on!

John B. Symes, D.V.M. (”Dogtor J”)
www.dogtorj.net
Read- “Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn OR How We Won the Battle of Helm’s Deep”

***March 26, 2007 UPDATE***

I do now believe it was the aminopterin, especially with the numbers now being posted. That was the illogical part of all of this….the small number being affected. But, as far as the IgA nephropathy, it is a fact that gluten can do this and this point needs to be remembered because this story is much bigger than the poison and people are seeing that. The fact that a pet was eating this gluten-containing food all along may just be the cofactor in why they died when the aminopterin was introduced. There has to be a reason why some were affected and died and while others didn’t. It also helps to explain why the cat was so much more affected. This story is likely to be the “syndrome” effect that I talk so much about, where multiple factors come together to produce the disease state, such as in the case of epilepsy, cancer, MS and many other disease states.

For example, carcinogens don’t cause cancer. Viruses do. But, the viruses alone don’t do it. In fact, some need helper viruses to do this. But that alone doesn’t result in cancer. We have to have an incompetent immune system (”governor”) for cancer to develop. It takes a fair amount of wrong-doing to end up with an incompetent immune system, such as a poor diet (for quite some time), air pollution, lack of sleep, immune-suppressive drugs or chemicals, etc etc. So, the combination of all of these things results in cancer, which used to occur in the elderly and now occurs in the young. Why? We all know the answer to that one.

God in His infinite wisdom and love actually made it quite hard for His beloved creation (man) to get sick. It’s just that WE’VE made it so much easier. Most people can see that truth, I believe.

These are some of the points we need to discuss on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Holistic Pet Audio for Animal Talk Naturally’s weekly podcast

John B. Symes, D.V.M. (”Dogtor J”)
www.dogtorj.net
Read- “Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn OR How We Won the Battle of Helm’s Deep”

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