As if things in my mind weren't becoming difficult enough to remember, Dr. P started cautioning me about phytoestrogens in food I was giving Reo (mostly sweet potato in the canned food I was giving her). Remember that the EI-1 panel evaluates all estrogens in Reo's body, and Reo's total estrogen was quite high. I believe that the high estrogen was responsible for nearly all of Reo's Cushing's-like symptoms. I had never even thought that I may be putting more estrogen into Reo, which I definitely didn't want to do.
If you review the list below (which I compiled from various sources I found on the internet, not necessarily for dogs only), you will notice that a lot of foods contain phytoestrogens - healthy, nutritious food. It is nearly impossible to feed your dog something that eliminates all of these ingredients. But, I think that if you have a SARDS dog with high elevated estrogen, it might make sense to try and minimize the number of ingredients s/he is eating from the list below.
The first 11 ingredients are the foods most high in phytoestrogens, and should be avoided completely. If you are following the home-cooked, grain-free approach, this won't be too hard, but many dog foods contain (sometimes high) amounts of flax seed or barley.
- Soy.
- Millet.
- Barley.
- Flax seed.
- Lentils.
- Kidney beans.
- Lima beans.
- Rye.
- Clover.
- Fennel.
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
If you are following the home-cooked, grain-free approach, consider trying to minimize some of the ingredients below. You will probably not be able to find a truly nutritious meal for your pup that does not include some of these ingredients, but it's just some food for thought (forgive the pun!).
- Apples.
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Celery.
- Parsley.
- Beets.
- Bok choy.
- Broccoli.
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower.
- Carrots.
- Cucumbers.
- Mushrooms.
- Brussel sprouts.
- Green beans
- Seaweeds.
- Garlic
- Squash.
- Collard greens
- Onion
- Pumpkin seeds.
- Sunflower seeds.
- Sweet potatoes/yams
- Cherries.
- Olives.
- Pears.
- Plums.
- Tomatoes.
- Prunes.
- Barley.
- Oats.
- Brown rice.
- Blueberry
- Wheat germ.
- Bulgur.
- Brewer’s Yeast.
- Black-eye peas.
- Mung bean sprouts.
- Navy beans.
- Red beans.
- Split peas.
So what the heck can you feed your high-estrogen dog? I think about some of the things that Reo enjoys eating that aren't on the list, and they are cooked kale, spinach, canned 100% pumpkin, and white potatoes, and raw melon (cantaloupe and watermelon), papaya, peaches (no pits!), and raspberries.
When I feed proteins, I always purchase organic meat. This means no hormones or antibiotics added, which is very important. Fortunately, Reo is a small dog, and so it's not expensive to feed her in this way. I could find a great supply of meat at our local farmer's market. Some farms are even grinding organ meats in with their beef for pet food, which is excellent! If your dog is bigger, consider a Costco membership if you don't already have one. Costco carries organic/grass fed ground beef, organic whole chickens, and organic chicken breasts/thighs at very reasonable prices. You can also find wild Alaskan red salmon filets fresh or frozen, which are also a great choice (you want to steer clear of farmed salmon like Atlantic salmon, which is very high in contaminants). Cage free/organic eggs are excellent sources of healthy protein. Try and scramble one up for your dog in the morning and see how s/he gobbles it down!
If you purchase liver to feed your dog, please make sure that it comes from organic/grass fed animals with no hormones/antibiotics added. Remember that the liver is the clearinghouse of the body, and it's responsible for detoxifying and breaking down excess proteins. You don't want to feed your dog liver from a hormone/antibiotic laden conventionally-farmed animal. This includes dehydrated liver as dog treats (also suggested in the Levin protocol as a source of adenosine). I couldn't find any commercially-available dehydrated liver (except from our local farmer's market) that specified hormone/antibiotic free, so I chose to feed Reo sardines as her adenosine source.
I realize that this post is probably overwhelming if you are just beginning your research about SARDS, because it seems like everything is out to get your dog, and it's so much to remember! Take a deep breath and relax...and do what you think is best for your pup!
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this. I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWill do - thanks for reading! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting up your page with your experience.
ReplyDeleteI trial my dogs in agility and it sure seems like there has been an explosion of dogs with cushings lately. I've been 'in dogs' for over 30 years and never even heard of this disease until maybe the last 8 years or so, so it seems odd it would just become epidemic in all breeds overnight.
I also noticed a ton of reproductive and fertility problems about the same time, it has decimated some really good bloodlines.
A change away from the phytoestrogen foods you list does seem to make all the difference. I'm starting to think the foods are causing the bulk of these problems.
I want to add 3 more important foods to your list of suspects-
1- rosemary- common in dog foods these days, traditional use as an abortificant- most certainly a phytoestrogen!
2-Yucca schigidera - great antiinflammatory, the problem is it is a steroid. Big no-no for hi estrogen, cushings, breeding dogs. Added to dog food for get this- it helps the stool and makes the poo smell less!
3- Millet. Has a supressive effect on thyroid. It's a great thing for the tummy, easy to digest, nutritious and does not usually cause allergy but it WILL shut the thyroid down if you feed it every day. Generally best avioded.
Hopefully the word will start getting out and the dog food comanies will get the message. The benefit of many of these ingredents is just not worth the cost of what they are doing to our dogs!
Thanks for your comments! I agree, it is strange this sudden rise in hormonal issues (in dogs of course, but humans as well!). I can't help but think that all of the 'junk' foods that we eat and feed our pets has a huge influence over this. It is interesting though because some dogs live to healthy late teens eating Pedigree and Purina, so there could be a genetic component that is a factor as well.
ReplyDeleteI did include millet in my list above, but thanks for bringing up rosemary and yucca!