Does it matter what kind of pet food you feed your pet?  You bet!  It can mean the difference between your pet thriving, or just surviving.

I was at the vet's office today to take my 7 week old kittens (pictured) in for their first checkup.  I happen to pick a busy day to be there, so I observed quite a bit of information.  One owner had to bring his pet in, and the pet was going to have to stay for a while, so the owner brought the pet's higher quality food with him.  

Another man brought in his 13 year old Greyhound.  This dog was in great shape to be so old.  He said that he always feeds him top quality food and that he also works in a restaurant that he can bring home raw meats; he even said the dog eats blueberries for his antioxidant support.  He and I, along with an employee of the vet's office, started a conversation about pet foods.  The employee stated that they had seen one dog with chronic bloody diarrhea that could not be controlled until they happened to change the diet.  The problem cleared up, then the owner of this dog ran out of the top quality food and just ran down to Wal-mart for some feed.  After ingesting the feed, the bloody diarrhea returned.  What caused this?  There is no telling, since cheap dog food most definitely contains genetically modified grains and loaded with preservatives.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "Human food is bad enough (yes, there are lots of awful stuff on the market), so you know if our food is bad, then pet food has got to be the worst."  I know what you are thinking art this point. "I can hardly afford the good food for us; how in the world can I even consider good pet food?"    Well, you might not can get the very best, but maybe you can transition to at least one step above what you are doing.  Besides the bad category, there are actually good, better, and best when it comes to pet food.  

Off the subject, but not quite, is that in general, people need to be more responsible.  If pets are not spayed or neutered, then of course, there will be too many pets to care for, and so the very cheapest food will have to be purchased because of the many mouths to feed.  So my soapbox here is get those pets spayed or neutered.  

Now back to the main subject - Pet food.  Ok, you are wondering, "how can I know if the food I buy is in the good, better, or best category.  With my knowledge of the importance of a whole foods diet, I realized that whole foods are also the perfect food for your pet.  Little did I know that when I found the following parts 1 and 2 of the You Tube videos below, that Dr. Joe Mercola is backing this presentation.  I agree with Dr. Mercola wholeheartedly on issues when it comes to human health, so I was delighted to find these.  You will benefit from watching these videos if you own pets.  Don't give up after you realize the very best is not what you can afford.  Keep watching; at least you will know how to read the label and understand what you are buying.

How about you?  Care to leave a comment on what you feed your pet or where you can find a good price on top quality pet food?

Someone brought me a butternut squash, actually a rather large butternut squash.  My brain immediately searched for files for "butternut squash".....not much there.  Realizing that the husband does not like squashes of any kind, I knew this would be a challenge.  He even threatens to step on the squash plants in the garden when I'm not looking.

So I baked the squash first.  In the picture, the long butternut squash is on the left, next to the oval spaghetti squash I already had on hand.  I decided to bake both at  the same time.  The spaghetti squash did have a folder on file in my brain.  I like spaghetti squash and use it in place of noodles in spaghetti dishes when the husband is not looking.   
Here is an update since this was posted:  Instead of baking the squash, I found that the best way is to cut it in half (but be careful as these squashes are hard to cut open - get a strong friend) and place it, cut side down, after removing seeds,  in a steamer for 20 minutes.  There are some steamers that are double stacked, mine is not, so I steamed each half separately.  

Back to the subject at hand, the butternut squash, and what to do with it. 

A friend sent me a recipe she found on another site, so I tried it, it worked, it tasted great (well the husband said to say, "from someone who hates squash, it's ok."  I said, "Don't you think hate is a rather strong word?"  He then said to revise to "dislike intently."  So for someone who dislikes squash intently to say that it's "ok,"  I guess that makes this recipe pretty good.  I liked it, and best of all, for anyone trying to avoid grain products for various reasons, this fits the bill.  

Butternut Squash Pancakes  (serves 4 -can double to serve 8)

2 large eggs
1/2 cup butternut squash, cooked and mashed
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup almond flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Poke a few holes in the squash and bake in oven on 300 degrees for about an hour or until soft when pressed.  Mine was a large squash, but if you choose a small one, then it may not take as long to bake; also a higher degree oven will shorten the time.  

After the squash cools, then peel and cut into pieces and place into a food processor.  I used my stick blender and it worked great.  The recipe only calls for 1/2 cup, but with my large squash I had about 4 cups.  Read to the end, to find out what to do with the remaining squash you do not use for this recipe.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, the blended squash, syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla until well blended.

In another small bowl mix the dry ingredients - almond flour, salt, and baking soda; then mix this into the squash mixture.  The picture shows everything all mixed together and ready to cook.

That's it - now heat a frying pan with some oil (butter, lard, coconut oil) and put a tablespoon of pancake mix into the pan, making several small pancakes.  The recipe made about 25 little pancakes for me.  Add maple syrup and now you have butternut squash pancakes - a little earthy with a little spicy taste.

The remaining squash can be frozen in 1/2 cup increments, or you can dress it up and serve it as a side dish.  I tried the recipe source suggestion to add some coconut oil or butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, a little sea salt and a little maple syrup, all to taste.  Just stir into the remaining squash and you got a great tasting dish - kin to sweet potatoes in taste.              source for recipe:  Jan's Sushi Bar

We recently had spend the night company and I wanted to have a good breakfast without a lot of trouble.  So this one seem to catch my eye.  I wanted something that I could make in advance and have ready to bake in the morning.   It turned out yummy, so thought I'd share it with you. 

 What I like about this recipe also, is that it gives the oats and the nuts a good soaking.  Why is it important to soak grains and nuts?  Simply put, it aids in digestion and breaks down some natural anti-nutrients.  You can read more about this at Food Matters.  

You can make this recipe starting two days ahead or just one day.

Baked Oatmeal
(Ingredients listed in red)

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Place oatmeal and walnuts in a glass bowl and cover with filtered water.  Soak overnight, or just skip this first soak and add the oats and walnuts to the mix below and soak all overnight.

Drain in colander and put back in glass bowl mixing in the following:

1/2  cup maple syrup (or sweeten to taste)
2    eggs, beaten
2    tsp. vanilla
1    tsp. sea salt
1/2 stick melted butter
2   tsp. baking powder
2   tsp. cinnamon
2  cups milk

Soak all overnight; add more milk in the morning if too dry.  Needs to be a little soupy, like if you were going to boil it to cook.

Grease a 9 x 13 glass dish with coconut oil or butter.
Line the bottom with a single layer of sliced bananas.
Put mixture on top.
Place fresh or frozen blueberries, dried cranberries or a mixture of berries on the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Melt 1/3 stick butter with extra maple syrup and pour over top.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Whole Living.

In the small intestine, there are many villi and microvilli.  They look like tiny hairy protrusions extending from the lining.  

These villi and microvilli (also called brush border) create a much larger surface area for the purpose of absorption, and the cells are linked closely  together forming tight junctions.

See this short video of the villi in the small intestine.

In a healthy person, these tightly linked junctions will provide for absorption of nutrients that have been broken down into the smallest of components, but will keep out larger molecules. 

When the gastrointestinal tract is inflamed or irritated, these junctions will loosen up, allowing for larger molecules to pass through.  It can even be a good substance, such as broccoli, but when broccoli is not broken down into the tiniest of particles for digestion, and the junctions are loose, allowing for larger molecules to penetrate, then broccoli is seen as a foreign substance.   When these large substances are able to pass through the intestinal lining, they enter the blood stream and an antibody response is created by our immune system, alerting our white blood cells to spring to action.  Once this battle is taking place in the blood stream, then inflammation and disease can show up any where in the body.  It can become rheumatoid arthritis, for example.  And to add to this trouble, a person can become malnourished over time, if inflammation continues in the GI lining, preventing even the good nutrients from entering. 

So the term "leaky gut" pretty much describes the situation.  Here's a good example:  When I brew coffee, I use a filter to catch the grinds.  If I use a food colander with bigger holes, the grinds will go through, and I do not like to drink coffee grinds.  It's the same way with "leaky gut."  Large particles are penetrating the intestinal lining and entering the blood stream.  Another name for leaky gut is increased intestinal permeability.

Of surprise to me, I learned that surgery and tube feeding in the hospital can also create a similar condition to Leaky Gut, since bacteria can get through the blood stream.

Leaky Gut has been associated with the following problems:  allergies, celiac disease, Cohn’s disease, HIV, and mal-absorption syndromes.  It is also linked to autoimmune disease such as AIDS, ankylosing spondylitis (chronic inflammatory disease of the spine), asthma, atopy, autism, bronchitis, eczema, food and environmental sensitivities, other allergic disorders, psoriasis, Reiter’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and skin irritations.  

Leaky Gut has no single cause but may be attributed to chronic stress, poor food choices, alcohol, NSAIDs (aspirin, Advil, Motrin, etc.), food sensitivities, poisons in the environment, candida, or chemotherapy drugs.

Now that we have all found ourselves in one or more of the previous listed problems, what can we do about it?  

My heart's desire is to help others with their health problems.  Hopefully upon graduation from school, I will be able to begin to direct someone in the right path.  Most textbooks say to work with your health professional for treatment; maybe I will be that person soon.

To repair Leaky Gut, try the 4 R approach: 

• Remove the cause
• Replace with beneficial enzymes and nutrients
• Reinoculate with beneficial bacteria (probiotics and prebiotics)
• Repair the intestinal wall

Remove: Take a look at what may be the cause of "leaky gut."  What kind of food choices do you make?  Are you eating a diet of whole foods, or is it mostly refined or processed foods?  Try to eat organic if possible to avoid toxins in foods.  Are you under stress?  The body will gear up for emergencies or possible danger (fight or flight), but did you know that stress from meeting deadlines, or working with an impossible co-worker, will also put the body in the same kind of stress.  Stress is something we must all deal with.  Exercise can be a stress reliever, but it can also be a stress inducer if the body is pushed too hard.  Remember that it is not so much that we are under stress, but how we respond to it that matters most.   If you think you have food sensitivities or allergies, then eliminate certain foods from the diet and see how your body reacts after reintroduction of the foods after 3 or 4 weeks.  if your body reacts in a bad way, then you probably do have a sensitivity or allergy to it. 

Replace:   Use digestive enzymes or bitters with meals to help digest the food.  In between meals take proteolytic enzymes to help immune fuction.  Try mucilaginous herbs such as slippery elm (can be in tea form), fenugreek, peppermint and marshmallow (tea form).  Flaxseeds are very mucilaginous.  They can be ground in a coffee grinder and added to foods or just soak them in water for several hours and drink as is.  I grind 2 tablespoons every morning and add a small amount of organic unsweetened applesauce, a little unsweetened almond milk, and a little liquid stevia if more sweet taste is preferred.  Supportive foods include:  cabbage juice, bone and vegetable broths, fresh vegetable juices (not storebought since pasteurization kills the enzymes).  Focus on eating a whole foods diet.

Reinoculate:  Fermented foods and probiotic supplements

Repair:  Aloe vera juice is very soothing and cooling.  It promotes cell regeneration and repair.  Glutamine is alkalizing to the body and is indicated by many health professionals as the top repair supplement.  The cells of the small intestine depend on glutamine as their main fuel for maintenance and repair.  Start with 1-30 grams daily and keep watch.  Too much can constipate, so you want to find your range and take that daily.  Quercetin (Perque Pain Guard brand or Repair Guard brand) - 500 - 3,000 mg daily.  Quercetin can help with allergies as it prevents histamine release.

There are other supplements.  If interested, contact me.

For other posts in this series see About Nutrition

Sources:
Total Body Tune-up by Michael Murray
Digestive Wellness by Liz Lipski
Hawthorn University NC-3 Lectures