Gut Health

HOW YOUR PET DIGESTS

The food your dog or cat eats begins to be digested as it is chewed. When the food gets to the stomach, it mixes with very acidic hydrochloric acid and gastric juices. This mixture enters the small intestine where the pancreas secretes digestive enzymes and the gallbladder secretes bile to further assist in the process of digestion. The chemical digestive process continues into the small intestine, where bacterial degradation takes place. Once the food is adequately broken down, the membranes of the intestinal mucosa absorb the smaller, simpler nutrients. The remaining food is either further digested and absorbed, or moves into the large intestine where it’s ultimately passed out of your pet as faeces.

In order for this complex process to work efficiently, the environment of the GI tract must be healthy and functioning well. The entire length of your pet’s digestive tract, when healthy, is coated with a near-perfect balance of bacteria that protects against foreign invaders, undigested food particles, toxins, and parasites. If the gut bacteria are out of balance, the environment of the gastrointestinal tract becomes unstable, which alters the process of digestion. The intestinal mucosa becomes inflamed and begins to leak the larger, partially digested substances from food particles into the bloodstream. These large complex substances are antigenic and allergenic, meaning they stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against them. This is what sets the stage for the occurrence of one or more of the disorders listed above.

WHY SO MANY PETS HAVE DYSBIOSIS

Many pets are, unfortunately, given topical or oral antibiotics for minor issues. Medications like corticosteroids (prednisone) or NSAIDs are often administered along with antibiotics. These drugs exacerbate the gut problems created by the antibiotics. Many of these same pets are also fed highly processed, commercial diets containing a long list of preservatives and additives. The simple meat proteins in most of these diets have been altered by the extreme processing that pet food undergoes. They are usually combined with plant proteins and grains. So, the resulting mix is a brew of chemically altered proteins that are very difficult to digest, process, and assimilate. The combination of grain and starch alters the pH of the stomach, preventing the digestive enzymes from performing the very first part of the digestive process. And the digestive process is a production line – if the first person in the line is not doing their job properly there is no hope for the rest of the line. Combine these high-stress foods with environmental stressors such as poor water quality and excessive chemical and drug exposure, and we’ve set the stage for many of the diseases seen in veterinary medicine today.

HEALING A LEAKY GUT

Holistic vets will tell you they see animals every day in their practice suffering from chronic debilitating diseases that have been caused or made worse by diet and digestive dysfunction. This is why we always start with the diet when setting up a treatment protocol for most of the sick pets we see. Each case of dysbiosis is unique, so a customised healing protocol must be designed for each patient based on the animal’s specific set of conditions. Most importantly, owners must recognize their dysbiotic pets have very fragile immune and digestive systems. Dysbiosis treatment involves addressing food allergies and intolerances, as well as any underlying nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption or inefficient digestion. Appropriate diet, probiotic support and nutritional supplements may be prescribed to help reduce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are an extremely important part in the treatment of dysbiosis. They re-seed your pet’s gut with good bacteria and prevent an overgrowth of bad bacteria, which returns the intestine and mucosal lining to good health. However, there are many different types of probiotics, each having its own merit and benefit. Some animals can’t tolerate milk-based probiotics. Some animals can’t tolerate probiotics derived from yeast cultures or even certain strains of non-dairy organisms - hence the importance of working with a veterinarian that understands all of these different facets of dysbiosis. In general, removing highly processed, high-stress foods from a sick pet’s diet in favour of a balanced species-appropriate, low-stress diet; plus appropriate supplements to address inflammation and yeast, if necessary, and support of other organ systems (including the liver and pancreas), can relieve symptoms, address the root cause of the leaky gut, and get the pet on the road to recovery.