Veterinary Food Therapy
There is truth in the old adage: Food is your daily medicine. This also holds true for our pets. Food has healing power. Ask any medical professional, nutritionist, dietitian, internist, surgeon, holistic healer, shaman, or molecular biologist. Food is important and therefore an important part of therapy for all living beings. But we’re here to to focus on your pets and help heal with food!
What is Veterinary Food Therapy?
Food Therapy is a holistic approach to balanced nutrition. It is a branch of integrative veterinary medicine that recognizes food as a treatment tool and as a disease preventative for pets. Many foods have already been recognized in humans and animal studies as beneficial in many areas. For example, garlic and certain species of mushrooms have anticarcinogenic properties. Fatty fish like sardines and salmon are high in omega 3 fatty acids that are well known to decrease inflammation and even joint pain. Honey is widely used in Western medicine to aid in cough and sore throats. Lycopenes are phytocompounds that make fruits red or pink and are strong antioxidents that may also benefit preventing certain types of cancers. The list of healing foods is long!
Conditions Benefited by Food Therapy
- Arthritis
- Frequent muscle aches and pains
- Skin issues
- Anxiety, over-excitement, behavioral issues
- Acute and chronic GI issues (vomiting, diarrhea)
- Liver inflammation (hepatitis)
- Kidney disease, especially in cats
- Muscle wasting
- Diabetes
How does Food Therapy Work?
So you can start setting a plate for your pet at the table during dinner time, right? Well, not quite! Many of the foods we humans eat, especially in America are highly processed , have a high glycemic index (promotes inflammation and diabetes), and are high in salt and fat. These are not good for our pets. However, one of the quickest and most simply way to help our pets is to switch from a dry heat extruded kibble to canned food. But food therapy is so much more.
Food therapy combines the finesse and experience of obtaining a diagnosis for your pet and then creating a tailored diet to help your pet. We also must consider not only foods that will be helpful in treating your pet but also your pet’s nutritional requirements. Animal nutrition is very complex and we need ot make sure any home cooked or even commercial diet is balanced. This is the beauty of integrative medicine. We combine modern nutrition science with holistic methods and whole foods to heal.
What about raw foods?
Are raw foods best for my pet? The honest answer: it depends! For some issues, raw is beneficial. However, I would never recommend feeding store ground meats. There is a huge risk for bacterial contamination that can make your pet or a family member ill. That said, there are many situation where raw food isn’t appropriate, such as geriatric pets or pets with certain GI or even pain conditions. A pet’s needs also change over time. Raw may have been appropriate at a younger age or for a specific condition/ disease, but not beneficial later on.
What food is best?
Again, it depends! It is pretty safe to say that if you are willing to put in the effort, home cooked is best. By effort, we mean seeking out a diagnosis, even if it’s just for maintenance. having a nutritionally balanced plan or recipe and following the instructions.
Your Food Therapy / Nutrition consultation
The Big package:
- Exam
- Medical history
- Record review
- Written treatment plan
- 2 balanced recipes
- 2 free recipe modifications if needed
- $165
Stand alone consult
- Exam
- Medical history review
- $80
Diet formulation if done in conjunction with an exam
- $45