Have you ever considered the energetic effects that foods have on your pets' bodies? Food energy can even be used in a therapeutic manner for pets having certain health conditions.
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) food inehrently has energy categorized as Yang (warming), Yin (cooling), or neutral. Additionally, food format (dry, moist, chilled, heated, etc.) can cause commensurage changes to body tissues once it enters your pet's mouth.
One of the best examples of food energy is the effect of warming spices like red pepper, which will cause most of our cheeks to flush, noses to drip, and provide a sensation of heat in our throats and digestive tract. Another example is the cooling effects of eating moisture-rich vegetables to comfort us on hot summer days (or anytime here in Southern California).
I use Chinese medicine food energy when addressing my patients' health issue. For example, cancer is a disease where cells have abnormal DNA and divide at a rapid rate and in a manner that the body cannot turn off. As a result of cancer cell growth, tumors form that take up space, push normal tissues out of the way, create bodily imbalances, cause inflammation, and affect normal blood flow, lymphatic drainage, and nervous/musculoskeletal function. Cancer is considered to a Yang condition or one involving the principles of excess and heat.
Cooling to neutral foods and food format can help to quell some of the heat of cancer and improve your pet's quality of life. Cardiff eats proteins and moist food format as part of his cancer and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) treatment protocols.
Check out (and share) this episode of Holistic Vets where Tracie Hotchner and I cover Chinese medicine food energy for pets.
Follow this link to Radio Pet Lady Network to hear the full show: http://www.radiopetlady.com/shows/podcast-hv/chinese-medicine-food-energy/
Dr. Patrick Mahaney
Thank you for reading this article. Your questions and comments are completely welcome. Please feel free to communicate with me through Twitter (@PatrickMahaney) and follow my adventures in veterinary medicine by liking Patrick Mahaney: Veterinarian Acupuncture Pain Management for Your Pets on Facebook. Copyright of this article (2016) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.