Thinking Through the Stomach and When/Why Pre & Probiotics

When it comes to wellness, people forget how much the stomach comes into play.  Behavior is affected by the stomach.  Remember, animals have lived on their gut instinct – and even if we have domesticated them and given them tile floors and a roof over their head, this stomach, this barometer, this power center is still at work for them. By the unnatural feeding systems, we have created even more challenges for these stomachs. Humans and horses both have salivary glands that start to help influence the food matter that is going into the stomach. We want to always be mindful of the pH of the gut.  PH is the potential for hydrogen.  When you have a pH of 7, it is neutral.  Below 7 is more acidic and above 7 is more alkaline.  With all of the things we do and experience, we are always going to be battling to get more alkaline.  Even those people that are treating their bodies like temples, the exposure to things that cause acidity is in the environment.  In the news! It is believed that disease can’t survive in an alkaline environment. Dogs and cats tend to eat things more whole and it isn’t until the stomach or even the small intestine that the work begins.  The stomach walls have glands that produce the acids. One of our biggest challenges is that we feed dogs and cats in the all night buffet because it is easier for us.  When you think of taking away the hunt for them, we are short circuiting some of their major enzymatic actions that take place in the stomach. Being in a “hunting mode” would be adding to the processing and metabolizing of the food.  Thus creating healthy stomach acids, etc.   I like to give my dogs and cats a little bit of exercise before they eat. Horses are grazers and can’t go too long without food.   Their system is built to be eating and processing at all times.  When we put them in barns, we are taking away their natural food source so many barns these days are on board with a vigorous feeding schedule. If a horse’s stomach is left empty, the stomach acids start to attack the cells in the stomach.  This frequently creates ulcers. Another challenge for all of our animals is lack of exercise.  This can start to shift the pH of the stomach. Another pH changer is chronic stress.  This is true for us as well. The amount of time that it takes for food to move all the way through means there is a lot of fermentation in the gut.  It takes humans 6-8 hours to digest, dogs take 10 hours to a couple of days, cats 2-7 hours just to reach the small intestine and horses are in for the long haul of 36-72 hours to digest. Because of this long process and our unnatural environments, supporting the stomach with a prebiotic/probiotic is necessary. As a Dynamite distributor (for 20 years now) I love the Dynamite Dynapro – I give it to the horses, dogs, cats and I take a shot myself.  It is a good prebiotic and probiotic.  A prebiotic has undetectable nutrients that benefit the bacteria growth in the digestive system.  A probiotic is going to feed and/or promote the sustainability of the good bacteria. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is excellent to help move things along.  Apple cider vinegar is also good for breaking up stones – mineral overloads.   ACV is full of enzymes, pectin and trace minerals. They say all disease starts in the gut.  After writing Energy Healing for Animals, I believe that behavioral issues and emotional balance could stem from the health of the gut as well. High-quality, 100% organic, whole-fruit, raw, unpasteurized, apple cider vinegar (ACV), at approximately 6.25% acidity. Made from organic, mineral-rich Idaho apples. http://dynamitespecialty.myvoffice.com/joanranquet For Horses and Dogs (okay, and me!!)  DYNAPRO Dyna Pro is a critical part of our Foundation program. Animal health depends on a thriving population of beneficial gut microbes. Factors such as stress, diet changes, chemical wormers, vaccinations, and antibiotics will cause an animal’s gut to become an unfriendly environment and will force microbes to go dormant. Dyna Pro is designed to create the ideal conditions for good microbes to come out of dormancy, multiply, and thrive so your horse gets optimal utilization of food and supplements, resulting in a vibrant animal! For Cats CATAZYMES In nature, cats will hunt and eat prey that provide enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, and other vital nutrients that get cooked out of kibbled and canned cat food. Catazymes supplements these important elements for indoor cats or cats that are not able to catch mice and birds.