Food Intolerance- Gluten, Casein, Soy, and corn

[DogtorJ]

Hi Everyone,

My name is John (John B. Symes, DVM), otherwise known as "DogtorJ" on the Internet. I have joined this forum to share some very important information with you. I have been doing medical research (both veterinary and human) for the past 5 years following my personal diagnosis of celiac disease (gluten intolerance). My subsequent recovery from a myriad of symptoms was nothing short of miraculous. BUT, the cool thing was that almost everything I learned also applied to my four-legged friends. Wait 'til you hear about some of the miraculous recoveries that have occurred from simply removing certain items from the diet. The bad news is that some of the "bad guys" are the very staples of their (and our) diet.

I will be posting a series of thread dealing with various health issues that are directly tied to food intolerance and the subsequent damage done to the intestinal tract by the gluten grains (wheat, barley, and rye), casein (from cow's milk), soy (errrrh), and corn. This is not theory but rather very important information with which I have become intimately familiar due to my own medical condition and the 5 years of research that I have done on the subject.

During my reading on celiac disease, I suddenly remembered about the Irish setter...the only breed that had been definitively diagnosed as gluten intolerant...and went to review its typical medical conditions. Bingo- a match for the problems that celiac humans suffer from. BUT, the interesting thing was that they matched those of the Dachshund, Golden retriever, German shepherd, Lab, Rottie, and other breeds that are having big trouble medically.

I immediately began taking all of my patients off of wheat and barley, the two main gluten grains in pet foods. As I learned that casein (from cow's milk), soy, and corn could all do the same harm to the intestinal villi that gluten did, I started taking all patients off of those food ingredients as well. Wow! The miracles started happening.

The response to the elimination diet- avoiding the gluten grains (wheat, barley, rye), cow's milk products (with casein), soy (errrrrh), and corn- has been nothing less than phenomenal. I am a million percent convinced that gluten intolerance (as well as casein, soy, and corn intolerance) all occur in the dog and cat, with certain breeds being severely afflicted. In fact, I have recently heard that a well-known veterinary pathologist has reopened the books on celiac disease in dogs. It is long overdue.

Again, the Irish setter was found to be a celiac years ago (in our medical texts) and serves as the poster child. But where did all of the Irish setters go??? Well, that's what happens when you give wheat to a celiac. They become very ill and often die prematurely. If we examine the "genetic" disorders of the Irish setter, we see that they were a "who's who" of what goes wrong in just about all breeds....and people. Yes, the immune-mediated food intolerances have their hands in just about everything.

Once we see the damage that they do to the duodenum AND we are finally told what the duodenum actually does, then we can all have the "revelation" that I had and write so much about on my Website. It has all become second nature to me now, as it has to some of you. I find it soooo hard to believe that everyone doesn't already know and completely understand this, especially doctors, veterinarians, and the pet food companies.

BUT, therein lies the rub. As I have written for years, I have yet to casually meet a doctor or veterinarian who has been able to tell me what the duodenum absorbs. I am NOT throwing stones here because I did not know either until I studied my own, new found friend...celiac disease. THEN, the world of medicine became my oyster and things started falling into place like the pieces of a big puzzle. (Sorry for the mixed metaphor )

The duodenum not only does not absorb "nothing", as I have been told in conversation with colleagues and doctors, but it is responsible for the vast majority of the absorption of our calcium, iodine, iron, B complex, C, and trace minerals like zinc, boron, magnesium, chromium, and more. Wow! Man, does that explain much???

For example, now anyone can see why the most food allergic dogs (the breeds listed above) have the worst juvenile bone diseases, immune-mediated diseases, and highest cancer rates. Two of the most food allergic breeds...the Cocker and Shi Tzu...hold the record for blowing discs in their back at ONE YEAR of age. That is 3 years sooner tha the average Dachshund. This should be a no-brainer for those who understand how our skeleton is made (calcium, vitamin c, "COLLAGEN"). And the cancer? Well, what drives the health and integrity of our immune systems? How about thyroid problems? Yep...where is the iodine absorbed ? Did you know that some hypothyroid dogs get better on iodine supplements alone? Now you know why, right?

As I like to say, "This is not rocket science. If it were, we would KNOW this stuff. We have landers on the moon, Mars, and now on Titan...a moon of Saturn. And yet, we still don't know what the duodenum absorbs or that it is crazy to artificially reduce a fever caused by a virus? Hmmm...". Yes, if what I write about was rocket science, we would understand all of this. Its a matter of priorities, right?

And the epilepsy stuff...WOW!!! What a cool thing. I read early on in my celiac research that celiac kids who also had epilepsy often had dramatic improvements in their epilepsy when hey went gluten-free. That caught my attention "for some reason" and I jumped into that topic with both feet. My Website chronicles the journey and outlines the diet. Countless dogs (and people) have responded to this anti-seizures diet over the past 3-4 years. I just placed a new summary-style paper at the top of my epilepsy section. Hopefully, this will make sense to all of you. If not, as I am fond of saying, then I haven't done my job...yet.

I hope this helps. I am on a lot of forums now (both human and veterinary) so please feel free to Email me rather than wait for responses on forum posts. I will try to dedicate some time to this forum, however. Doxies are a great breed and one of my all-time fav's. I want to help keep them healthy and popular as a breed. And when you see how these vital food issues are affecting their health so negatively, I think you will agree that it is high time that we start taking things out of that big ol' recycle bin we call "genetics" and put them where they belong...in the preventable category. How cool is that?

John

[Adrienne]

Some excellent information, thank you. I feed my GSD a food that is free of wheat, soy, and corn and he is doing great on it. No pano to speak of at seven months, gaining weight like he should and all around healthy. I agree that what we put into our bodies as well as our pets has a huge impact on their health further down the line. I hope everyone here takes a glance at this and absorbs the information you have so kindly posted for us.

Thanks again!

[DogtorJ]

Thank you, Adrienne. This is very important information and I am always happy to hear of someone that has recognized and already applied this. The vast majority out there have not, so you and I have a lot of work to do.

As it turns out, the German shepherd is one of THE poster children for this problem of the immune-mediated food intolerances to gluten, casein (cow's milk), soy, and corn. I "pick on" them in my first paper...the flagship paper for my site...called The Answer.http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id4.html. They are "the glaring example" of what can (and does) go wrong with a dog once this process starts taking place. You can almost superimpose their medical plight over that of the person with my condition, celiac disease (gluten intolerance).

The other trouble breedsa re the Lab, Golden retriever, Rottie, Dobie, Cocker, Shi Tzu, Poodle, and many more. The first to slip into obscurity was the Irish setter. Seen many of them recently??? They are the "only" dog in our texts KNOWN to have celiac disease. But, they are NOT the only ones, I am convinced. They were just the first in a long line of breeds to suffer under this horrific dominance of wheat-based diets. It is soooo clear in retrospect.

The bad news is that wheat is only one of the "big 4" (or the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" as I like to call them now), with the other riders being casein, soy, and corn. The threads that I am doing here should make this painfully clear. If not, readers can head to my site (below my sig) and read 'til they are conversant with this vital topic.

As always, if you or anyone has a question or comment, feel free to Emails me at dogtorj@bellsouth.net.

Thanks again for your kind support,

John

[Manchesters]

How many breeders work in association with you and report as they birth, and wean puppies? What types of dogs are involved? Have you researched Sight hounds, terriers, and other "garbage gut" breeds of dogs?

Thanks for your time!

[DogtorJ]

I don't work that closely with many breeders. I have three breeders of English bulldogs (very food allergic dogs) and one of Boston terriers that I see very regularly. My main technician now has raised and shown German shepherds most of her life so I see a lot of them. My previous technician of 7 years duration in California bred, raised,and showed Irish wolfhounds and Bernese Mountain dogs. So, I saw a lot of them.

But over the 26 years of practice, I have seen countless puppies from birth on, as you can imagine. The fact is that, when I graduated 26 years ago, the allergy lecture in school was just another lecture, not THE lecture. We had our trouble breeds...the Cocker, Poodle, German shepherd, West Highland White terrier, and a few others. Now, the Heinz 57 mutt from the shelter has serious allergies,immune-mediated diseases and cancer.

Yes, Sighthounds have their special problems and needs. That group is an interesting one, ranging in longevity of 6.7 years for the Irish wolfhound (thanks to bone cancer) to 16 plus years for the long-lived Greyhound. I love studying the different breeds 'cause it tells us so much about the role of "genetics" (and what doesn't really belong in that category) and what really happens in a breed that shortens their life. It all about the integrity of the immune system.

(I wish MDs studied veterinary medicine as much as I've studied human medicine. I think they would learn a phenomenal amount from reading about the breed-related disorders and that would really help them see the big picture.)

I'm not exactly sure what you were asking, Manchesters. If it was whether I thought some breeds were more afflicted by or more resistant to these food issues than others, I would have to say yes. But, the potential for problems is there with any simple- stomach animals (including fish and birds).

Hope this helps,
John

[Bucket]

Great post
Thanks

I have a Shepherd that has EPI and IBD. I have eliminated Soy,Wheat,Corn,Rye,Oats,Barley. Were feeding her just a Protein and Rice. She has had great improvement since the change but I just may start feeding her Raw. She just can't seem to gain any weight.

[DogtorJ]

Originally Posted by Bucket

Great post
Thanks

I have a Shepherd that has EPI and IBD. I have eliminated Soy,Wheat,Corn,Rye,Oats,Barley. Were feeding her just a Protein and Rice. She has had great improvement since the change but I just may start feeding her Raw. She just can't seem to gain any weight.

Have you considered the duck and potato diets? (IVD or Dick Van Patten). Check out this Labrador forum. I think the whole forum is going this route and/or raw. Many are doing a combination of the two to maintain weights.

Glad she is doing better.

John

[Bucket]

I did try the Natural Balance for about 3 months. The girls were not thrilled with that so I did pick up a bag of the Duck & Potato. Both my dogs turned their nose up to it. I thought it would be a hit with them.

I'm not sure what the IVD is??

What are your thoughts on Raw? Would that not be a good diet for the Celiac disease?

Innova EVO is another consideration too. No Grains and from what I read you can mix raw in with it.

[DogtorJ]

Hey Bucket,

The Innova Evo would be great IF they left the cottage cheese out. Dairy products are HIGH on the list of allergens for dogs. They would be number one if we had not taken all of the dairy out of dog food years ago (e.g. milk coated puppy/kitten chows). Wheat holds the number one spot now. But, dairy products are still way up there because of those dairy snacks given by owners (cheese, ice cream, etc), dog treats with cheese, and doggy bones with dairy and wheat. Also, Cottage cheese does contain casein, the main guy we are trying to get rid of.

Here is an interesting link for you:
http://66.218.71.225/search/cache?ei...icp=1&.intl=us

The IVD is from Innovative Veterinary Diets. It is now marketed by Royal Canin, who just bought the IVD company a few months ago. I have had great success with this food, especially for epilepsy and most dogs really like it. One of the problems with the transition from one food to another is the true addiction they had to the old food, mainly if it contains any of the gluten grains (wheat, barley, rye). The IVD comes as duck, venison, rabbit, or white fish and potato. It comes canned and dry. I have found the dogs to like the venison and potato the best. The IVD has to be ordered through a vet at this point as far as I know.

Hope this helps,
John

[Mordy]

not touching on the specifics of celiac/epilepsy, but just as a general observation: with all the food ingredients you warn people about - how come in your "food handout" you endorse so many foods made from poor quality ingredients, and those containing menadione?

don't you think it's just as important to feed something made from clean, good quality ingredients as it is to leave out the grains you oppose so much?

people can debate until the cows come home whether leaving out dairy/certain grains/whatever is good/bad, it won't ever apply to all animals exactly the same. but i think it's far more important to feed foods that are free (or as free as possible) of chemical stabilizers, antioxidants, preservatives, artificial vitamins and other harmful substances, so i really don't understand how you can endorse so many poor quality products.