Diet and the canine cancer patient

[chivas]

On Nutrition and the Cancer Patient:

Nutrition has come to play a very big role in the management of cancer. Studies have shown that it is best to feed a high protein diet and one that is comprised of less than 1/3 carbohydrates. Even though cancer will feed regardless of what one eats, it has been shown that it is best to avoid carbohydrates. Below is a write-up prepared for The Perseus
Foundation by Monica Segal, who is a fantastic nutritionist. It is an overview of > nutrition. After the write-up I will add some final comments on food items that are recommended for cancer patients.

Overview on Nutrition in The Cancer Patient
By Monica Segal

There¹s much ado about raw vs. cooked diets for dogs. Everyone seems to have an opinion and I suppose that I¹m no different so based on my experience of working with a multitude of ill dogs, here are a few thoughts to consider.

From the moment we bring home a puppy, we know that the time spent with this pet will be all too short. As the years go on, we pray that there will be many more left. Cancer is an ugly word that strikes fear and panic in to all of us and since we already know that an animals¹ lifespan is too short, we can become desperate to do the "right" thing.

Let me preface what I¹m about to say with the fact that I feed my own dogs a diet that consists of both raw and cooked foods with the emphasis being on raw. One of my girls has an awful case of colitis that makes me walk a dietary tightrope daily. It is to her credit that I¹ve been led down a path that shows me clearly that each dog is unique in needs and
tolerances.

Opinions tend to be based on personal experience so it¹s easy to understand the emotion that lies behind a directive to feed one way or another. However, no two animals are exactly the same and what works for one may very well not be right for the next. Raw diets can be wonderful. They can also be > problematic for the animal that has a compromised immune system. While a dog > can usually deal with some bacteria that people can¹t, even a healthy animal > may not always thrive on a raw diet. It depends on what else they¹re dealing with. For instance, gastro problems may or may not translate in to the gut being more permeable. If the mucosa has been compromised, the natural barrier against bacterium predisposes this animal to more problems. It affects the immune system in a big way and this shouldn¹t be overlooked. Adrenal gland function is also a consideration. The adrenal cortex comes into play when an animal has to adapt to stress. It releases
hormones such as corticosteroids, which stimulate the body to extract energy from its reserves of fats and proteins. Consider the stress that chemotherapy may induce. The stress that a sick animal has to begin with!

Not to mention the trips back and forth to the vet which most animals find less than appealing even on a good day. And keep in mind that "stress" is not always what we think it is. A dog can feel stressed even during a walk when s/he meets other dogs. Excitement, whether it¹s the good kind or the negative kind is still stress on the body. Something you might want to know is that an animal can be a subclinical carrier of an infectious disease. In other words, you might look at your dog
and see nothing but great health. This would lead you to believe that things are going along merrily however, it¹s not always so. When the immune system is challenged, it can react in one of three ways. In the best case scenario, the body handles the bacteria or virus without much effort and in fact, we > may never know that there was an invasion. The second possibility
is that the disease takes hold because the immune system could not fight well enough. Eventually, the immune system will either win or lose to the infection. The third possibility lies somewhere in the middle. The immune system fights well enough so that clinical signs of disease are not apparent but the disease becomes "subclincial". This means that disease may
resurface at any time when the body is ill disposed or sheds ( sometimes for years ) the bacteria in to the environment through bodily discharges etc.

Why am I discussing subclinical carriers? Because a dog that is battling cancer may also be carrying a subclinical form of disease and now that the > body is under stress, the disease may manifest. It¹s possibly why so many of my clients come to me not only with cancer but with a range of other > complaints at the same time. Yes, the ill dog may indeed have picked up something new in the way of disease but it¹s just as possible that a subclincial form of illness has resurfaced. Stress is one of the known > factors in brining a subclincial disease to the forefront again. So when you decide on the diet for your dog, please consider that what you see may not > always be what¹s actually happening. The body is able to do some
some > mysterious things!

Raw diets have healthful properties and I do not suggest that an animal suffering with cancer be fed only cooked foods. There are some misconceptions about raw foods and cooked foods at times and these may worth exploring.

Myth #1
The enzymes in raw foods mean that the body doesn¹t use it¹s own enzyme reserves. If the enzymes in a carrot were the digestive sort of enzymes, the carrot would digest itself before we could eat it- so I¹m not buying in to this.
Further, dogs are marvels at enzyme production and there really aren¹t a set number of enzymes in the bank that suddenly runs out. I¹m not saying that > the enzymes in raw foods are useless. Far from it! But comparing them to the digestive enzymes in the body doesn¹t make much sense.

Myth #2
Raw fat is better than cooked fat Actually, this is true but it remains nothing short of a myth for the dog that has a gastro problem and can¹t handle raw fat. The key here is not to be blinded by sweeping statements that make sense on paper but have little value to your dog in a particular situation. Some dogs do exceptionally well on cooked meats while others do equally well on raw meats. A dog that has pancreatitis may do well on raw meats but the come back is much faster and
easier when lean meat is cooked. I see this over and over and especially so when cancer is a part of the picture.

Myth #3
Cooked foods lose all their nutrients. Not true! Some lose more than others but surprisingly, some actually gain
nutritive value. One cup of carrots has far more vitamin A content than the same cup of raw carrots. Calcium content actually goes up if meat is cooked on the bone ( the calcium leaches in to the meat ) compared to a piece of
raw meat being fed. Many values do indeed go up! Which is not to say that we necessarily want them to go up by the way. But the point is that cooking does not always diminish the value of a food.

The myths go on and on. Be careful as to what you believe and decide to incorporate in to your dogs¹ diet.
It might seem that I¹m not in huge favor of raw diets for dogs that have cancer. Not so! I believe that dogs are scavengers and as such, can do very well on a variety of feeding methods. Cancer dogs need a careful approach in
my opinion. Feeding a raw diet may be the perfect way to go but it depends on whether or not the animal is also trying to cope with another illness that may predispose it to more problems if bacteria laden foods are introduced too quickly. When starting a raw diet for these dogs, I prefer to go slowly and let the dog lead the way through reactions that become
apparent. By cooking foods at first, we allow the body to adjust and the option of cooking less and less is something to consider at that point. If the pet shows us that s/he is tolerating things well, foods can be easily switched to a more raw state and finally to an all-raw diet. But the key in my opinion is to really let the animal be your guide and not have a
game plan that¹s carved in stone.

Best Bets

There¹s been some success with diets that are full of cottage cheese and > flaxseed oil. This may be fine for some dogs but not for all. If your dog > has a heart problem that translates in to a need for less sodium, cottage cheese may not be your best choice. In this case, look at Ricotta cheese. It has less sodium and is nicely balanced in the calcium to phosphorus
ratio. A lactose intolerant dog may do nicely on white meats such as chicken but you¹d probably need to increase the amount of Omega 3 in the diet. This is where the flaxseed oil comes in but if your dog can¹t handle this, consider
Wild salmon oil instead. Just be sure that it¹s a pure source and not highly contaminated ( some can be! ) and keep in mind that the "wild" version is vastly different from regular salmon oil so go for the best! Other proteins that might be a consideration if your dog has food sensitivities:
fish (from a clean/unpolluted source please!), eggs, rabbitŠbasically, white meats can work nicely.

Organic sources are also your best bet. They have better nutrient values than their regularly farmed counterparts and they offer a safer source of foods. If your pet has a thyroid problem, you may not want to use much in the way of kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage or anything else that falls in to the cabbage family. Otherwise, the use of
some of some of these vegetables is fine- not in large amounts though. My personal favorites include carrots, squash ( winter and summer varieties), sweet potatoes as well as greens such as parsley, romaine lettuce, watercress and spinach ( go easy on spinach because it can impede calcium uptake if overfed).

Supplements
I¹ll focus only on food supplements here but be aware that there are many sales pitches to be wary of. Not all supplements are created equally as I found out when I started testing my own supplements at a lab. Zoey was reacting horribly to everything I tried to give her until I found the real deal about some of these things. So be sure that what you buy is
pure and not chock full of additives that may not be on the label!

Kelp and alfalfa powder for some mineral content (be aware that kelp can vary in its¹ iodine and arsenic content and the freshness of alfalfa as well as the time of year that it¹s harvested impacts the nutrient value as well as fiber content )

Multi B vitamin- the B groups is crucial to just about every body function you can think of
Vitamin E- the D Alpha Tocopherol is superior to the DL Alpha Tocopherol and if you have a dog that¹s allergic to soy, try using a soy free/allergy free version because most vitamin E is derived from soy these days.

Vitamin C- ester c is easier on the stomach but you should know that large amounts of C can be a problem for other reasons. It works with gastrin in > the stomach to increase the absorption of calcium which may sound
good butŠ urine now includes calcium and excess C which is excreted as oxalic acid. Calcium + oxalate = potential crystal formation, especially in an acid urine which is something else that C promotes.

Flaxseed Oil or Wild Salmon Oil-good for Omega 3 but be sure of purity and especially so for any fish oils

Cod Liver Oil- high in vitamin A, which can be wonderful or a problem depending on the full diet. Also contains vitamin D and is useful for dogs that do not have access to direct sunlight daily. Gel caps are sometimes well tolerated when the liquid oil is not.

Calcium source- raw meaty bones, bone meal ( from a pure/clean source! ), egg shell powder or generic calcium such as calcium citrate can work well.

Oils to consider ‹primrose oil works quite well for inflammation, borage oil can be very helpful for skin problems

Hoping that this has given you food for thought!

Monica Segal
www.doggiedietician.com
www.doggiediets.com


Copyright 2002 The Perseus Foundation and
Copyright 2002 Monica Segal


And some final comments:

Carbohydrates

Dr Gregory Ogilvie, Colorado State University, recommends that dogs with cancer have a reduced number of carbohydrates in their diet. Tumors need glucose to live, (simple sugars ). Tumors give energy to the
tumor, and robs energy from the dog. In addition, several studies indicate that dogs ability to metabolize carbohydrates is altered in dogs with cancer.

Since both the dog and cancer compete the amino acids found in protein, Dr. Ogilvie recommends high quality proteins and amino acids. Some amino acids decrease toxicity in the dogs body. For example, arginine (enhances the
immune system) and glutamine aids in maintaining health of the> gastrointestinal tract. In addition, glutamine could potentially help with vomiting and diarrhoea associated with chemotherapy.

Furthermore, our canine friends show abnormalities in lipid metabolism. In turn, these abnormalities contribute to immune suppression. Because malignant cells cannot employ lipids for energy, Dr Ogilvie suggests adding much more fat to a dogs diet, and in particular, the essential fatty acid, omega 3. There are studies that indicate that Omega 3 can actually
help arrest the growth of a tumor. Among foods rich in omega 3 we would find salmon and other cold water fishes. Flaxseed oil is slowly becoming a > powerhouse, as it has been discovered that the lignan properties are truly the key to its anti-cancer fighting properties. Please keep in mind that Omega 6 fatty acids have to be limited, as it is thought that these
oils can actually promote cancer growth. For example, oils high in omega 6's would include: primrose borage and black current .

Dr. Ogilvie recommends the following supplements/nutrients/vitamins

Vitamins A, C. E
Selenium
Iron
Glutamine
Arginine
Therapeutic enzymes, especially those containing L-asparaginase

Other recommendations by doctors include:

Pancreatic enzymes- it is reported these can help break down the
outer lining of the cell wall of the cancer tumors, and aid in digestion .
Bromelain is thought to be the best enzyme to break down the outer
wall of a cancer cell.
>
A number of holistic veterinarians will recommend glandulars, such as Raw
Thymus to enhance the immune system. Others will also suggest giving
nothing but distilled water and caution against vaccines for dogs with
compromised immune systems.

If at all possible make sure that the the food is organic, so it is
free of antibiotics and pesticides.

Protein sources:
chicken, beef chunks, liver, either chicken or beef
canned salmon, (fresh if from a "good" source) mackerel and sardines
eggs

Fat sources:
Fats in the chicken, beef, canned fish and eggs.
Flax seed oil
Salmon oil

Vegetables:
Broccoli
celery
red and green cabbage
bok choy
collards
turnip greens
spinach
summer squash (zucchini and crook neck)
chinese cabbage
one clove garlic (raw)

A teaspoon of turmeric (folk remedy in Iran for cancer-- now being
studied
for its anti-angiogenic properties)

Try to avoid sweet vegetables, such as carrots, green peas,
potatoes, yams,
pumpkin and corn but occasional fruit is fine.



The Perseus Foundation www.perseusfoundation.org
Join our battle in finding the causes and cures of cancer in our animal friends.
You are also invited to visit AnimalCancerAwareness@yahoo.com

[Brooke&Ryan]

Very interesting article. Thanks for the good read. :)

:)
Brooke

[sbudd]

Thank you so much for all the hard work you've put into researching this subject.