Ava Frick

Dr. Royal Lee devoted his lifetime to researching whole food nutrients and the precise balance of vitamins and minerals that each organ requires. He recognized early on that, “The adrenals are the first glands to fail under various stress conditions, including malnutrition. Endocrine exhaustion, in general, is due to the use of refined foods.” Causes of adrenal stress are many. The stressors list includes anger, fear, anxiety, excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, light-cycle disruption, trauma, chronic pain, chronic inflammation, toxic exposure, malabsorption, maldigestion, chronic illness or allergies, and nutritional deficiencies. Left unaddressed the body over time can develop chronic maladaptation leading to adrenal exhaustion or insufficiency. This phase of exhaustion is a precursor to Cushing’s Disease. It is caused by the body’s prolonged exposure to excess cortisol levels and the loss of hypothalamic sensitivity of the inhibitory effects of cortisol. Symptoms and consequences of impaired adrenal gland function are low body temperature, unexplained hair loss, nervousness or irritability, difficulty building muscle, melanin pigmentation to skin, inability to concentrate, increased panting, tendency toward inflammation, indigestion, poor memory, alternating diarrhea and constipation, poor resistance to infection, food or inhalant allergies, inability to mobilize fat from tissue, dry and thin skin, and auto-immune diseases.

There is a mind-body connection that we know as the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which when functioning optimally, guides and controls everything happening in the body at all times whether awake or asleep. Stressors that occur in everyday life can negatively affect the mind, body, endocrine function and ultimately the immune system.
Mental stresses can be brought about by poor nutrition, life situations and body malfunction. Body stresses can be induced by poor nutrition, pain, and chronic mental stress. Endocrine function can be reduced by poor nutrition and an ailing autonomic nervous system (back to the mental and body stress). The immune system can ultimately succumb because of poor nutrition, a weak and unbalanced autonomic nervous system and pain.
This field of science was tagged Psychoneuroimmunology roughly 20 years ago but the connections were recognized much earlier by the ancient Greeks. Stress, via bidirectional interactions between the central nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system, impacts the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal (HPA) axis, can induce modulation of the immune system and, thereby defense against infectious agents and health.

 Have you ever thought about how the foods you used to eat were healthier? Over the years our soil has lost much of its nutritional value, and so has our food. We suffer; our pets suffer. Eliminating grains: especially corn, wheat, soy, and barley from the diet is a great start. There are many good grain free diets available. Also, canned diets would be preferred over dry.
The next step is to fill in the gaps with whole food nutritional supplements. Give them what is lacking, and support their special body needs. At Animal Fitness Center, we recommend Standard Process products. This company was founded in 1929 by Dr. Royal Lee. These products are very affordable, and we customize for each individual animal.
With the rising cost of health care and new generation drugs, it becomes more important to get to the base of real health. Food and nutrients can make all the difference. We can offer nutritional analysis for animals near and far.

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that I now have a blog!  So come back here for daily and weekly updates!