Making Sense of Veterinary Herbs, Supplements, and Food by: Barbara Royal, DVM
Posted on November 29th, 2007
You’ve got a greyhound. You say to him, “Legcelot, you’re so sensitive to medications, I’m going to try a natural herbal medication, rather than some vet product, for your problems. What do you think?” Legcelot jumps on thecouch, manages a tight circle, and lies down, yawning.
> You think, There’s so much information available online, so many things to buy. You want to buy something for skin and hair coat problems (he’s going bald in spots), for arthritis, for loose stool, and for bad breath. There are probably a number of herbal remedies that seem appealing and useful for your dog’s problems.
> But I beseech you—be careful! “Natural” does not mean harmless. Nature makes the most potent medications and toxins. (Arsenic? Hemlock? Yes, they’re natural!) Many ofmy clients purchase herb combinations for their animal’s conditions but don’t know the actions of the individual ingredients. It’s not easy to get all the information. Often it’s not even listed on the bottle! But using and combining herbs is just as serious as using and combining medications. It may be even more dangerous—because often your veterinarian isn’t aware that you’re using these herbs. And he or she may not know about their possible toxicities or interactions if your animal presents with an herb-related illness.
Here are just a few examples of herbal energetics pulled from my lectures—not at all a complete list.
Taste Energetic of Herbs
Bitter Cold and dry, -usually a strong herb—alkaloids, essential oils: terpenes,goldenseal, gentian, motherwort, wormwood, elecampane
Sour -Tend to be cool and dry and sometimes astringent: rosehips, schisandraPungent Garlic, ginger, juniper berry, horseradish, cayenne, mustard—stimulant types tending tobe hot and dry, except echinacea and eucalyptus (cold and dry)
Spicy Warm and dry—essential oils: basil, thyme, rosemaryAcrid Cold and dry—resins and alkaloids: kava, lobelia
Sweet Warm and moist: licorice, ginseng, alfalfa
Salty Cool and dry: seaweeds
Bland Cool and moist: aloe, psyllium seed, slippery elm, okra
> In herbal medicine, food and medicine are not separate. Plants and animals evolved together over millions of years. The relationships are much more complex and subtle than the simple predator-prey relationship. It’s useful to know the actions of all herbs,foods, supplements, topicals, etc., and why they are used.
Four ways to assess
> Often it’s as simple as assessing a patient in the four basic categories used in Western herbal medicine: hot versus cold and excess versus deficiency. This information helps me to choose wisely among the many herbal remedies, supplements, and foods available
.> Although I recommend a veterinary evaluation, owners should be aware of their animal’s basic type and think about the herbs they’re already giving. The basic signs I may look for to assess an animal are as follows:
Hot Seeks cool surfaces, pants, dark pink/red gums/tongue, energetic,maybe paces, skin usually warm, rapid pulse, thirst, hunger, aggression,red skin lesions, pustules, halitosis/odors, worse at night
Cold Seeks warmth, pale gums/tongue, lower energy, maybe flaky skin with no redness, slow pulse, lethargic, worse in the morning and with cold or damp weather
Excess O verweight, maybe oily skin or lumps/growths, foul discharges, straining to defecate
Deficiency Weight loss, small tongue, thin rapid pulse, weakness
> In Western herbal medicine, we also assess the energetics of herbs to determine their best use. (This also applies to foods.) For example, you probably shouldn’t add oil to a hot animal. It will only exacerbate the condition. This even applies to omega fatty acids in fish oils, which are commonly given for skin conditions. Aloe vera would be a better choice because of its help with skin and its cooling properties.
> Some herbs help conditions but should be decreased in dose or discontinued once the condition resolves or the animal’s signs change. The goal is to provide what’s needed for the body to heal; herbs aren’t necessarily a chronic treatment.
> Often the taste of an herb can give you a clue to its energetics—and what effect it will have on an animal. For example, aloe is cool; therefore, it helps a hot animal become cooler. But doses must be carefully determined. Again, the reasonably innocent andeasily available herb aloe can be given safely in small doses orally, but it can, even inmoderate doses, cause severe gastric distress and diarrhea in some animals.
> Many strong herbs grow near other herbs that help modify or dull their toxicity. Plantsgrowing near each other have a history of being eaten together by animals for mutuallybeneficial reasons. It’s not always best to isolate one useful component of a systemwithout knowing the strength of its action alone or in combination with other herbs. Forexample, I may want to use Oregon grape to help with a urinary tract infection for mypet, D’ogtagnon, but I need to add something soothing for the bladder as well. Choices can include gravelroot, corn silk, or others, but these decisions are made based on the four properties revealed in my physical exam of the patient.
What about foods?
> Foods can be hot or cold as well. Different meats (e.g., fish: cold, beef: hot) mayprovide different energetics for an animal. I find that greyhounds do well on raw-meatdiets, but the rule is that there is no rule for every dog. It’s an individual issue.
> There are no good tests to see if an animal will do well on a food except trying it.But I have a few tips:– With few exceptions, I avoid corn and wheat in greyhound diets. This is a combination of (1) thinking of greyhounds as energetically similar to cats, which do well on anA tkins-like diet (or “Catkins diet,” as we call it) and (2) learning that greyhounds that stop eating grains tend to do much better overall.
– For all of us who worry about greyhounds and dental disease: dry food is notnecessarily better for the teeth. And depending on the product, it often can be worse! In order to make each kibble stick together, many companies use glutens and stickycarbohydrates, which also stick to the teeth. Voila—tartar buildup! In general, canned food is more easily licked off the teeth. The easy way to tell is to check Shakespaw’s mouth about 10 minutes after he eats. Teeth pretty and clean? You’re doing well. (Maybe do a quick brush anyway, as long as you’re checking…)
– If indicated, raw diet can really make a difference in problem animals. But it can be expensive, and it’s not for every pet. Some animals need processed food because they are deficient and can’t properly digest raw foods. But if treated to balance the deficiency, they may then do well on raw. You should consider other risk factors, such as immune deficiencies, or whether there are small children in the house who could get into a bowl of raw meat on the floor. Another note: I often discourage owners from making their own raw foods. The people who sell meats to us don’t expect us to feed it raw, whereas raw-food processing plants take precautions to avoid contamination.
> Why am I telling you all this? I strongly believe that we must be more cautious with herbs, especially in greyhounds, our sensitive friends. It’s important to understand the value of a full veterinary herbal consult. Matching the herbs to the dog isn’t alwaysan obvious process, and the best results come from completely understanding the condition(s) of your pet.
> Remember, the dog’s wild ancestors spent much of their time searching for the proper nutrients and foods to maintain health. I know my pets spend a great deal of timesearching for proper ways to use more of the couch. So I have to think about all of these complicated things for them. They’re too busy ignoring it all.
