In its broadest sense, the immune system comprises all barriers to invaders and all systems designed to attack and destroy any invaders that get past the first line of defense.
The Skin
The skin and fur (yes, some humans have enough body hair to describe it as fur!) protect our delicate insides from the outside. Essential oils (essential fatty acids, EFAs), especially the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fats, as well as the nutrients from raw food, help to maintain the integrity of the skin. When the skin is cut, blood rushes out, flushing out most of the potential invaders, then forms a clot to fill the gap, sealing out any more bugs. White blood cells arrive quickly to destroy anything that shouldn’t be there and the healing process soon creates new skin cells under the protective scab.
Lymph Nodes
The orifices of the body are the mouth, nose, ears, anus, urethra and vulva/vagina. These are all well protected with local lymph nodes, the sentry boxes of the immune system, guarding all potential entrances. The majority of bugs enter through the mouth and nose, so there is a huge concentration of lymphatic tissue (mostly the tonsils) to guard this area.
Function Of Blood
The blood is the body’s main transport system carrying nutrients to the cells, waste products from the cells, red blood cells (oxygen to the cells, carbon dioxide from the cells), platelets (for clotting), white blood cells (immune system) and hormones. There are many different types of white blood cells (WBCs), each with a specific main function. The exact details of how it all works are very complicated, so I won’t get into that here, but will explain how to maintain a healthy immune system and why it sometimes is overwhelmed.
The Immune System Response
When an invader gets past the first line of defense and enters the body, the immune system recognizes it as foreign and launches a WBC attack on it in various ways. For example, polymorphonucleocytes (PMNs) engulf (‘eat’) the baddies, mast cells produce histamine which brings lots of fluid to the area to dilute the toxin (the solution to pollution is dilution!), natural killer cells (NK cells) inject the foreign cells (often cancer cells) with porphorin (an enzyme which makes holes in its membrane to kill it).
Digestive Leucocytosis
After years of eating processed foods, the body’s digestive ability gradually becomes exhausted and inefficient. As a result, incompletely digested food particles get into the blood where they are immediately recognized as foreign and attacked by the WBCs. The digestive process is completed by these WBCs in the blood! This is clearly not how the body was designed, but it is a survival strategy. The body has to get nutrients somehow. So the WBC count in the blood increases, especially after eating microwaved food which is so damaged, the body doesn’t even recognize it as food (tip: if you have a microwave, either give it to someone you really don’t like or throw it away!).
Toxins In The Body
So what happens now when an invader invades? The WBCs are all busy desperately trying to digest food in the blood so have no resources to deal with the invader. So the bugs get in and have a field day, wreaking havoc wherever they go. The body pushes some of the toxins (undigested ‘food’ particles) out through the mucous membranes (called vicarious elimination), mainly via the lungs and large bowels, creating symptoms like a runny nose, cough (from mucous and toxins in the lungs), diarrhoea (from toxins leaving through the bowels), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis. Toxins are also excreted via the skin causing irritation (eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis). Taking drugs to suppress these symptoms is never going to deal with the actual problem.
Strengthen Your Immune Function
The simplest way is to stop putting toxins (processed foods, drinks and drugs) in at the top end (mouth!) so the body can get rid of the toxins which have already accumulated in the body (detoxification, ‘healing crisis’ if done too fast!) and start the process of repair. For people, Juice Plus and for pets, Pet Plus, are both great ways of providing the body with the nutrients it needs so it can start to repair itself. Nourish your body with the natural raw ingredients it needs. See ‘What is fat in people and pets? How to get rid of it! for more details.
If you want you and your pets to live a long and healthy life, with few visits to health care professionals, this is the way to do it!
My rescue mini schnauzer has been suffering from what appeared to be colic, in extreme pain almost every 5-10 mins over a 12 hour period and then nothing for 6 months when the above has been repeated. My vet put him on Hills I/D and though he suffered an attack recently it only lasted for an hour – back to the vet we went, referred to a specialists vet who did various tests & ultra sound but found nothing. An exploratory op followed with the poor little fellow having to stay away for two nights. He now has approx 26 metal clips down his tummy and although good at times, he is not eating much at all save for his dentasticks (which he would kill for). The vets are now talking about transferring him to Hills Z/D food as it the easiest on the digestive system. The result of the many biopsies to his intestine an stomach is that he suffers from Inflammatory Bowel Disease – where should we go from here? Any advice would be appreciated as we are now at wits end with worry that these attacks will continue in the future. He is such an accepting little fellow he does not deserve to be suffering like this.
Hi Liz,
This is very unpleasant for all of you but is not at all rare.
This is how I have successfully treated this situation many times before.
1) Adding Pet Plus to the diet provides many nutrients and enzymes which help the normal functioning of the gut. By improving the digestion of the food in the stomach and small intestine, you reduce the amount of inappropriate, undigested foods reaching the large bowel, where they can cause irritation and contribute to IBD. The probiotics are a great help in this digestive process too.
2) After a week or so on Pet Plus, gradually change to feed raw food which automatically, by definition, contains its own natural food enzymes. As you have probably seen elsewhere on this web site, I’d recommend you start with minced meat and bone, like Prize Choice, which has nothing else added. Exchange 1/4 of his existing food with some Prize Choice daily for 2-3 days, then 1/2 and 1/2 for a few days, then 100% raw meat and bone mince.
3) Add some liquidized greens after a few days on 100% raw minced meat and bone, gradually getting up to 1/2 and 1/2 veg to meat-and-bone mince.
4) After a month or 2 on minced meat and bone and greens and Pet Plus, you could start being more adventurous and offer him a raw chicken wing after his meal. I suggest after his meal so he isn’t desperately hungry and so doesn’t wolf it down without chewing it.
5) If that goes down OK, a few days later, offer him a smaller meal, then give him a handful of raw chicken wings.
6) Next time, try raw chicken drum sticks, then maybe a raw chicken carcass, then raw meaty chunks and so on.
Never ever ever feed cooked bones. They are indigestible, brittle and utterly useless and dangerous.
Be brave. Raw is natural and is exceptionally easy to digest. If you didn’t feed it to the dog, but left it on the worktop for a few days, it would start to digest itself, without any help from the warm, wet, enzyme rich environment of the dog’s guts!
The first dog I treated with this was a bearded collie who had so much pain after eating, she was almost afraid to eat. She’s been fit as a fiddle for many years now!
Let me know how you get on.
Best wishes,
Suzi