[Bernadette]

Hi @Jennifer Schwartz – as an animal and dog lover, my heart goes out to you. We recently adopted another dog (so we now have 3) and my focus recently has been on holistic animal health, and trying to learn as much as I can about that. What I’m realizing is how similar their health is to humans, and while turkey tail mushroom is definitely a good option, I’m happy to say that there’s also much more that can be done!

So for starters, I love that you’re offering your fur baby real food proteins like chicken and fish, and changing her dog treats (many are absolute garbage – read the ingredients. They should be pure dehydrated proteins with nothing else added!).

Have you tried adding in beef, lamb, and organ meats into her diet? Variety is important. Also make sure you’re giving her filtered water, and minimizing toxic exposures as much as possible like feeding her from a glass or stainless steel bowl instead of plastic, etc.

I recently purchased the newly published book “The Forever Dog Life” by Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib. It’s SO well done, with tons of recipes if you care to venture down that road.

I also read the book by Dr. Marty Goldstein called “The Spirit of Animal Healing”, and he touches on cancer treatment (and causes, which are primarily over-vaccinating our pets, diet, environment/toxins, and genetics). He mentions that the strongest and most effective alternative way to treat cancer is through IV vitamin C therapy.

You can try to find an integrative vet in your area who can offer this on the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (ahvma.org) website.

They would probably be able to put together a more comprehensive protocol as well once she’s been properly assessed.

Other things to consider:

Digestion:

Address her constipation asap! This is how the body naturally eliminates toxins. So this is a big priority. Dogs have microbiomes just like humans, so giving her a pre- and probiotic would definitely help.

I LOVE the product called Fido’s Flora by Adored Beast Apothecary. In addition to having pre and probiotics, it also has Larch arabinogalactan, which helps the immune system and as stated on their site “blocks metastasis of tumour cells”. It also has huvic/humic acid to help remove toxins.

A digestive enzyme can also help her break down her food better, and cause less digestive distress and improve bowel health. Also by Adored Beast, they have “Healthy Gut”. This formulation has the pre & probiotics, larch, and betaine & enzymes to help with breaking down her food better and nutrient absorption. I would rotate between those 2 products.

I would also add in a proteolytic enzyme taken AWAY from food which Dr. Marty said he’s used to help shrink and break down tumours. Here’s an example of a systemic enzyme.

Vaccine Support/Detox:

I’m going to assume she’s been given the routine annual vaccinations (which unfortunately is not usually questioned and is overly prescribed). This in reality is actually hurting our fur babies, more than it is protecting them because this industry does not discriminate between the breed’s size and weight. It’s the same vaccines given to all sizes and ages, unfortunately. And as Dr. Marty explains, the frequent and indiscriminate immunizations are weakening their immune systems. Side note – what I’ve started doing instead is measuring my dog’s titers to see if their immunity is still robust. If it is, I don’t vaccinate.

Therefore, I would also recommend something to help support vaccination (and the heavy metals it brings with it). Rebalancer by Adored Beast is something to consider as well.

Since you are giving your baby fish regularly, it would also be wise to add in a binder to help remove heavy metals from her body. Dynacol Zeolite is an option.

Supporting her liver would also be a good option. Liver Tonic has nice ingredients that are known to protect liver health (i.e. milk thistle) and aid in detoxification function (i.e. dandelion root) amongst other herbs.

Antioxidants:

Cancer cannot survive in a highly oxygenated state. Therefore reducing pro-oxidants in her body with lots of antioxidants is helpful. Turkey tail and other medicinal mushrooms like Chaga mushrooms are great additions. You can also add in phytoplankton by Adored Beast. You can find all of these options on Pawdega’s page HERE.

Hope this helps you and her!

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye feel free to share the results (crop out identifying info for privacy) if you need help with interpretation

[Bernadette]

@Sara and do you happen to know the cause of your suboptimal stomach acid? You can watch THIS video from the Gut Health Masterclass for contributing factors and then THIS video for the baking soda challenge (3 min mark) for a subjective assessment and for measuring progress. Ultimately, you’ll want to address why it’s suboptimal.

This will help SO many systems downstream because we need stomach acid to breakdown our proteins needed to make hormones, enzymes and neurotransmitters for example; we need it to absorb key nutrients like magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium, etc which are all critical for so many functions, and as I mentioned, strong acidity will help trigger the release of digestive enzymes. Strong stomach acid also acts like a “cleansing tank” to prevent pathogens from entering into our digestive tract from contaminated food/water.

Apple cider vinegar can help offer triage support in mild cases, but for those with hypochlorhydria (low or suboptimal stomach acid), they may need actual betaine HCL. But ultimately, getting to the root cause is key. Betaine HCL and digestive enzymes are helpful triage solutions while addressing the root cause(s).

Another test to determine how much stomach acid a person needs is the HCL dosage challenge. We have a handout with explanations on how to do that HERE.

[Bernadette]

@Sara reduced form is ok but my preference is in liposomal form like the one by Seeking Health.

[Bernadette]

@Sara yes – prioritising blood sugar regulation if that’s an issue for you. And also ensuring you have strong stomach acid to signal the release of enzymes.

Do you know if any of those are issues for you?

[Bernadette]

@Sara yes, with G6PD deficiency, your sister should avoid fava beans and lupin beans as they can both cause hemolytic anemia (destruction of red blood cells). Legumes in general should be avoided for the same reason.

In terms of supplements to avoid, anything in excess that can become a pro-oxidant and cause oxidative stress should be avoided. For example, avoid high dose vit C, alpha lipoic acid, iron.

[Bernadette]

@Sara all of those supplements you listed are better taken with food, especially fat soluble vitamins like D and omega-3. Therefore, it’s better to take them once you break your fast and eat a meal. Zinc should actually be taken away from food, but most people get nauseous so we usually recommend taking it with food as well.

Here’s a handout on the timing of supplements and how best to take them.

As for enzymes, if digestion isn’t compromised but just needs a little support, I recommend taking them mid-meal or after a meal to give your body a chance to produce and secrete it’s own enzymes first.

Hope that helps.

[Bernadette]

@Sara if you look at the order of the ingredients, it’s water, rice, then hazelnuts, then unnecessary sunflower oil. It also mention that hazelnut is only 2% so it’s mostly rice milk, which tends to have a higher glycemic index. So yes, it will spike blood sugar more than nut milks.

My other concern with rice milk is arsenic levels. You can wash out/reduce arsenic from rice by soaking/washing the rice, but in rice milks, I’m not sure if that’s being done.

[Bernadette]

@Sara I’ll reply one by one below:

Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant therefore it can help reduce inflammation in the body, which you’ve noticed on your skin.

NAC vs Glutathione
Glutathione is made from 3 amino acids: glycine, glutamine and cysteine. NAC (or N-acetylcysteine) is made from cysteine (and is dependent on vitamin B6) that can be used by the body to make glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant particularly concentrated in the liver.

The OAT test has a marker called N-acetylcysteine. If this marker is low, it means that you either 

don’t produce NAC or 

it is being used up because there is an increased need for NAC or

both!

Do we need both? The advantage of supplemental liposomal glutathione is that you know you are getting in glutathione in an absorbable form. NAC still needs to be converted to glutathione, but in a lot of cases, it does help raise glutathione. To form glutathione, you still need the other amino acids and cofactors. If someone is vegan, has poor digestion affecting protein breakdown, has malabsorption issues, is exposed to mold/toxins, etc., glutathione may be a better choice.

In terms of NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide), I encourage you to watch this video inside the Mold & Mycotoxin Illness course about mitochondrial health to better understand where it fits into the whole picture of how the cell functions (cellular metabolism) and the Electron Transport Chain where cellular energy is produced.

Glutathione does help neutralize free radicals and detoxify harmful substances in the liver, potentially reducing the oxidative stress caused by heavy alcohol consumption.

Some studies suggest that glutathione or its precursors (such as N-acetylcysteine, which boosts glutathione levels) can mitigate alcohol-induced liver damage. But ultimately, the best way to avoid liver damage is to reduce/eliminate alcohol altogether.

[Bernadette]

@Sara my friend Dr. Tyler Jean (previously @functionalfoods on Insta) who is all about health conscious living has an amazing downloadable guide all about New York. Here’s the link to grab that info: https://drtylerjean.com/travel-guide-nyc/

Hope this helps!

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye – their inserts are usually very descriptive about the foods/activities to be avoiding before testing.

I usually share the attached handout with clients to prepare for a MycoTox test. I’ll be sure to add this to our library for next month.

As for hair test, make sure the hair has no hair dye, hair spray, gel or other chemical hair products used and I would avoid shampooing for at least 2 days before testing, especially medicated shampoos.

I’m assuming these are tests for your brother? If so, I’m really glad to see he’s now open to getting some functional tests done! That’s a win!!

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye yes, breast milk is still the best food you can give your baby, and there’s research to show that a baby’s gut development continues until the “stable phase” of about 2 ½ years, so continuing to breastfeed until the age of 2 years is still the best choice (if possible).

If you’re considering other options however, please read through this previous post HERE.

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye unfortunately, no. Cleansing the liver should not be done while pregnant or nursing since we release toxins through breast milk which can end up in baby.

You can however gently start introducing more liver/gallbladder supportive foods into your diet without necessarily mobilizing and pushing detoxification of toxins, and easing the burden on the liver through healthier lifestyle choices.

So for example, if you’re not already prioritizing organic foods, then start there to minimize agrichemical consumption. Prioritize animal products and their byproducts. Choose organic produce from the Dirty Dozen.

If you drink a lot of coffee, reduce the number by half every week until you can switch to organic loose leaf green tea (or a brand not using plastic for their tea bags), and eventually water and herbal teas.

If you consume vegetable oils at home, switch to extra virgin olive oil for cold use, and grassfed butter and coconut oil for cooking instead.

Removing dairy and gluten fully for a few months can often reduce inflammation in many people.

Make sure you’re filtering your water, etc. A lot of these foundational recommendations are found in the Beginner’s Health Roadmap if you’d like more of these practical tips.

How much longer do you plan on nursing?

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye hmm… ok so 2 things come to mind with him not tolerating capsules/pills. First, he may need gut lining support, and then possibly stomach acid support.

Please ask him to fill in this short Upper GI assessment form (from our Programs), and if he scores 4 or higher, consider trying the baking soda challenge (skip to the 3min mark) which is a non-diagnostic tool for seeing if there’s possible hypochlorhydria (suboptimal or low stomach acid).

If the above resonates with you and him, encourage him to support his gut lining for a period of time. He can do this with food therapy like 100-150mL raw organic cabbage juice daily for a month or two. Vary the color of cabbage (red has the strongest taste, white and napa cabbage are the easiest to begin with).

Now to answer your actual question…

Here are a few powder options with minimal inactive ingredients which he can try on their own or mixed with juice:

Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate (already sweetened with monk fruit)

Seeking Health Magnesium Glycinate Powder (add to fresh OJ or infused water or smoothie since no sweetener added)

Chewable Options (with somewhat decent inactive ingredients). The majority of chewable options are magnesium citrate form which can be stimulating to the bowels, and potentially irritating to him as well in that form. This one is malate form:

Seeking Health Magnesium Malate Chewable

[Bernadette]

@Annie Sye can you please share the brands of magnesium supplements he’s tried in the past, and also what form of magnesium (i.e. magnesium citrate, glycinate, oxide, carbonate, etc). I’m wondering if it’s the type of capsule or active/inactive ingredients that’s bothering him.

“Hurt his stomach”… is it only with magnesium supplements or all capsules in general?