Garlic Is Good For Your Dog And It Also Fights Cancer

Copyright (c) 2012 Dr. Deva Khalsa

For as long as people have been been using
garlic, they've been feeding it to their animal
companions. However, recently, the safety of
garlic for dogs has come into question.
Knowledge is a powerful thing but astute pet
owners should gather all the data before
shunning this celebrated bulb. Today, garlic is
making a strong comeback as a potent natural
remedy.

Five thousand year old Sanskrit and Chinese
medical manuscripts describe the benefits of
garlic. Garlic was also a valued staple for the
Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. In
fact, fifteen pounds of garlic was the going
price for a healthy male slave in Egypt.

Hippocrates advocated garlic for infections,
cancer and digestive disorders. The great Roman
naturalist Pliny the Elder recommended it for a
wide variety of ailments ranging from the common
cold to epilepsy, leprosy, cancer and tapeworms.

What's healthy and what's too much? Let's get
to the bottom the garlic story. Where do you
draw the line on how much garlic your dog can
get in his meal? Garlic is approved as a
flavoring, spice or seasoning for use in pet
food, yet the FDA has garlic listed in its
poisonous plant database with this link
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/Plantox/Detail.CFM?ID=16094
Studies suggest that when garlic is fed in
excessive quantities (5 grms of whole garlic per
kilogram of the dogs body weight), it may cause
damage to the red blood cells of dogs.

Drinking too much water can kill you but we all
drink water. In fact, we all know that drinking
enough water is a healthy thing to do
Considering the data presented in the study
referenced above does this mean the average
Golden Retriever at 75 lbs would need to eat 5
full heads of garlic or about 75 cloves of
garlic in a meal before there would be any
adverse effect on the red blood cells.
Similarly, a dog weighing mere 12 lbs would need
to eat 30 grams of garlic which is a bit less
than a entire head of garlic or about 8 to 10
garlic cloves in two meals a day repeatedly to
experience any adverse effects.

Case in point: do you know anyone who feeds
dogs that much garlic in one meal? Furthermore,
reported adverse affects from garlic add up to a
total non-event over the past 22 years. The
National Animal Supplement Council responsibly
records both Adverse Events and Serious Adverse
Events resulting from the use of natural
products. A Serious Adverse Event is defined as:
"An Adverse Event with a transient incapacitating
effect (i.e. rendering the animal unable to
function normally for a short period of time,
such as with a seizure) or non-transient (i.e.
permanent) health effect." 900 million doses of
garlic over a 22 year time span resulted in only
two Serious Adverse Events and these episodes
could very well have been due, not to garlic,
but to another ingredient in the mix. This
proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the
risk of using garlic is so infintessimally low
that it's simply statistically insignificant.
Here, in a nutshell is the whole truth about
garlic. So what's the moral of the story?
Perhaps, moderation is the key to good health.

GARLIC HELPS PREVENT CANCER AND MANY OTHER
DISEASES

What is significant is all the positive
research delineating the medicinal powers of
garlic. Of all of garlic's reputed benefits,
perhaps the best well known is its use as a
natural antibioitic with reports going back
through history. In fact, Pasteur noted garlic's
antibacterial activity in 1958. Modern
researchers have compared the effectiveness of
garlic with that of antibiotics and have found
that garlic has a broad-spectrum anti-bacterial
effect. Additionally, bacteria don't seem to
build up a resisitance to garlic as they do to
many modern antibiotics. While I would not use
garlic as a substitute for veterinary care and
the correct choice of antibiotics it's
antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial effects
can contribute to the healing process. Garlic
increases general immune activity along with the
activity of Killer Cells (cells that seek out and
kill invading bacteria and cancer cells).
Uncooked garlic helps to lower blood
triglycerides and choleterol making it useful
for certain breeds (Schnauzers and Beagles) that
are predisposed to this problem.

There's a secret to releasing the healing
powers of garlic. Allicin is the most powerful
medicinal compound derived from garlic,
providing the most important health benefits.
Garlic does not contain alllicin. Rather, garlic
first has to go through a chemical process so the
allicin can be released. When garlic is crushed,
an amino acid contained within it reacts with an
enzyme, creating allicin. You must finely chop or
crush a garlic clove then wait a few minutes to
allow the chemical reaction to occur.
Additionally, allicin is unstable when exposed
to air and heat so don't wait more than 20
minutes before you top your dog's meal with some
healthy raw garlic. I can't help but think of the
old fashioned home made Ceasar salad, where raw
garlic is crushed and placed in the mix just
before serving. It's healthier for me than I
previously thought!

While cooking garlic destroys allicin, other
components in the cooked or powdered garlic
continue to provide some beneficial health
effects. Compounds in garlic act as antioxidants
and help flush toxins out. If you cook meals for
your dog, it's totally safe to add garlic as a
flavoring and for improved health. (Unless you
add 75 cloves to one meal; forgive my
tongue-in-cheek. Seriously, would the average
dog even eat that meal?)

Additionally, garlic has been fed to dogs in
order to help prevent flea infestation for
decades. There are many products on the market
containing garlic for this very purpose. Both
powdered and raw garlic are effective although
raw garlic has significantly more health
benefits. When using garlic as a flea preventive
it's important to use a castile soap or detergent
free shampoo. Dogs don't sweat as humans do and
the garlic 'aroma' comes out in the oil on their
coat. It takes several weeks for the garlic
compounds to build up in the oil and a detergent
shampoo removes the oil and you're back to square
one again.

A host of studies provide evidence that the
allicin in garlic works to inhibit cancer
formation. With cancer being the number on cause
of death in dogs in the United States, let's all
get going with garlic! Buy a garlic press or
simply chop some garlic very finely and let it
sit for about 15 minutes. You can then mix it in
with a tablespoon of cooked, cooled chopped beef
or chicken and place it on top of your dog's
meal.

A recipe for perfect health support for your
dog is a serving of Deserving Pets VITAL VITIES-
the most perfectly formulated pet vitamin ever to
come on the market along with some coconut oil.
VITAL VITIES contain over 40 vitamins and
minerals necessary for good health along with
carefully chosen phytonutrients from super foods
to help stave off and prevent disease. With one
in two dogs getting cancer, it's time to be
proactive. In my best-seller book Dr. Khalsa's
Natural Dog, I have an entire chapter on cancer
prevention. Let's work together to make our dogs
healthier and happier.


----------------------------------------------------
The best-seller, 'Dr Khalsa's Natural Dog, is
described as a 'holistic bible' for dog
owners.Dr Khalsa designed the most comprehensive
and effective daily supplement on the market for
dogs using a cutting edge technology to create
glowing health in your pets.
http://www.doctordeva.com/


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