Obviously we are dog parents, Daisy is the apple of our eye and we want the absolute best for her. A few months ago we noticed she started having some red spots on her stomach from itching; quickly they became raw and concerning. My mother-in-law had taken her dogs to the vet for the same reason and the first thing the vet asked her was “what are your dogs’ eating?” Turned out they were eating a dog food that had a lot of grains and the vet recommended that she change their food to a grain free option and that should clear things up. She changed their food and immediately they were fine. So we took the same approach with Daisy, minus the cost of the vet visit. We called a lady, Ms. Nancy, who had groomed Daisy before and has the heart of a saint, she rescues the sick dogs nobody wants and nurses them back to health through diet and vitamin therapy- her success stories were good enough for us. She recommended we feed Daisy the “Gucci” of dog food and of course, no questions asked, we are at the feed store buying it the next day. We had to slowly transition her food because she has a sensitive stomach but within a few days she was itching less and less and now has no dry spots on her stomach.
So why am I telling you about my dog when this should be about health and fitness? Well let’s start with the doctor. Before I began seeing my current doctor, I don’t think a doctor had ever asked me what I was eating. I had acne, thyroid issues, dry skin, acid reflux and no one ever asked what I was eating. In fact the solution to all those problems was a pill. Thankfully my mom was smart enough to tell the thyroid doctor he could “shove it where the sun don’t shine” when he suggested I start a taking a pill that I would have to take for the rest of my life, at only 15 years old. “Acne- how much dairy are you eating?” “Thyroid- do you eat a lot of grains?” “Dry skin- grains.” “Acid reflux- you could afford to lose some weight, acid reflux and weight gain have a direct correlation.” No one asked me any of these questions or shared how nutrition, or lack thereof, and health issues are directly related!
Now back to Daisy. My first response when she had an issue was to change her food, something must be wrong with her diet. She needed more expensive, natural, organic, grain free food- DONE! So how in the world do we not hold ourselves to the same standard? As soon as I knew my dog might be suffering from a poor diet I was committed to changing her lifestyle and I didn’t care how much it cost. However, in today’s society when you ask someone why they aren’t eating healthy we come up with, “I can’t afford to eat vegetables they go bad too fast, I don’t have time to cook, everyone else eats this way, etc.” Yet you can afford to go to the pharmacy every month and pay for your prescription… just saying.
Honestly it comes down to laziness and how bad you want to improve your health. Modern medicine will always have a solution for you, it is a trillion dollar a year business in the US, and they have no intention of losing your business. I hope one day everyone goes to the doctor and the first thing they ask about is someone’s diet and how to make it better- we do it for our pets with no hesitation, let’s try holding ourselves to the same standards.
So next time you have an ache, a pain or a symptom, ask yourself, “could it be something I am eating?” Our bodies are amazing healing vessels, they just need the right kind of fuel to do their job. If that isn’t enough then I want you to ask yourself…”would I do it for my dog?” 😉
PS: I do believe modern medicine has its place and we are so blessed with technological advancements but I do think it is abused and the easy way out for a lot of people who don’t want to make a healthy lifestyle change that would solve their problem instead of putting a band aid on it.
