Epigenetics
Epigenetics is a newly emerging science that tracks how different environmental stimuli can turn on or deactivate genes from expressing themselves. In the case of your dog, food can act a modulator and, depending on what you feed your pet can determine to a great extent whether or not they develop auto-immune disorders, succumb to cancer later in life or fall prey to glucose related problems like diabetes. “This is a real game changer,” says Jim Miller, President & CEO of Diets for Life. He goes on to add, “You don’t need to be a scientist or a biochemist to understand the magnitude of how this can affect your pet. Just following some simple guidelines about what works and what to avoid can go a long way in maintaining a healthy pet throughout all life stages.” It’s already a given that dogs don’t need carbohydrates to flourish. They don’t have the digestive enzymes to fully break down and assimilate heavy carbs and starches- especially the kind found in commercially prepared foods.
The old way of thinking was that “if someone in your family – mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc. – had the gene for, say, lupus (an auto-immune disorder) that you were destined to get that disease, too. Not true. Inflammatory responses over the course of several years, which happen on the cellular level, can trigger genes to express themselves in a deleterious way. Applying this to your pet, you can begin to see why improper ingestion of refined grains, gluten and simple carbohydrates are a sure-fire way of having something go awry in your pet’s cells. Your dog’s digestive system has been “coded” over many thousands of years to break down and assimilate meat, bones and other body parts. Your pet’s system doesn’t recognize “refined carbohydrates and gluten” and it becomes problematic when mycotoxins (fungi and other microbials that grow on stored grains) enter his/her system – often resulting over the course of many years which – at best – cause mild allergies, itchy skin and coat, IBS, digestive problems, etc. and – at worst – can “switch on” genes that pave the way for malignant cells to proliferate.
The old way of thinking was that “if someone in your family – mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc. – had the gene for, say, lupus (an auto-immune disorder) that you were destined to get that disease, too. Not true. Inflammatory responses over the course of several years, which happen on the cellular level, can trigger genes to express themselves in a deleterious way. Applying this to your pet, you can begin to see why improper ingestion of refined grains, gluten and simple carbohydrates are a sure-fire way of having something go awry in your pet’s cells. Your dog’s digestive system has been “coded” over many thousands of years to break down and assimilate meat, bones and other body parts. Your pet’s system doesn’t recognize “refined carbohydrates and gluten” and it becomes problematic when mycotoxins (fungi and other microbials that grow on stored grains) enter his/her system – often resulting over the course of many years which – at best – cause mild allergies, itchy skin and coat, IBS, digestive problems, etc. and – at worst – can “switch on” genes that pave the way for malignant cells to proliferate.
