Nutrition is the foundation of a holistic approach to health or disease. Simply changing to a fresh, whole food diet can dramatically improve health and well-being in a chronically ill patient. Many commercially prepared pet foods are now using higher quality ingredients and are naturally preserved. If using a good quality, naturally preserved commercial food, it is still good to include fresh meats and vegetables in the diet. This provides certain “life factors” that are lost when foods are processed and put in bags. Raw food diets or BARF diets are becoming more popular, and if properly used, can be beneficial. These diets are not for everyone, however, and should be used only after consulting with a trained holistic veterinarian. Vitamin and mineral supplements are often used to help correct deficiencies in the diet, or to help support organs that may be stressed or diseased.
The best source of vitamins and minerals are from whole foods, rather than what we find in a vitamin pill. Whole food sources contain the whole vitamin complex, which is necessary for the vitamin to function properly. Using high doses of vitamins or minerals without the whole food complex may actually create a deficiency state in the body.
Glandulars are supplements that are derived from organ meats, such as liver, kidney and heart. These supplements can provide many yet unidentified factors that can benefits the organs at the cellular level. These are helpful to organs that are diseased, or are under stress.
Food therapy is the use of whole foods based on their energetics according to the traditions of Chinese Medicine. A variety of foods can be added to the current diet to help address certain imbalances in the body, and can be used to reinforce herbal and acupuncture therapies.