 by R. L. Wysong, B.S., D.V.M.
Over time, companion animals and
microbes have reached an intricate
state of coexistence through
mutual adaptation. All warm-blooded animals
are profoundly dependent on the
microbial world. Despite the inclination to
regard microorganisms as the enemy, the
majority of these tiny life forms favor
cohabitation and cooperation—not conflict.
While some microorganisms are villains,
others, termed probiotics, can and do play a
very beneficial role in maintaining health.
Probiotics are pro-life. They are friendly
microorganisms such as Aspergillus oryzae,
Streptococcus faecium and Lactobacillus spp.,
which help establish beneficial intestinal
flora. Not only are such organisms important
in limiting populations of pathogens,
maintaining a beneficial enteric pH and
synthesizing nutrients, but they are rich in
enzymes.
Pet animals (and humans) are virtually
the only creatures to eat consistently diets
in a processed, non-raw, denatured,
enzyme-devoid state. Heat, used in almost
all processing, dramatically alters nutrients:
vitamins are inactivated, enzymes
destroyed, primary bonds of proteins are
broken, perverted and carcinogenic combinations
of carbohydrates and proteins are
created and minerals are complexed, rendering
them unavailable.
Enzymes are virtually absent in every
processed product but replete in every natural
raw food. This stark contrast is
believed to be the cause of pancreatic
enlargement in pets and perhaps a root etiologic
cause of myriad degenerative diseases.
Fermentative probiotics supply an
array of active enzymes that spare pancreatic
enzymes and can result in decreased food
intake when probiotics are added to
processed products.
Intestinal probiotics, particularly bacteria,
play an important role in determining
the digestive mechanisms and general
health of all animals. Disease may be related
more to an organism’s inability to resist
illness than to the actual presence of a
microbe. Even tragic scourges have been
shown to be ameliorated not because of
antimicrobials, but rather as a result of the
restoration of balances through hygiene and
dietary improvements.
Proper balance of friendly bacteria in
the digestive tract is critical, not only
after birth (inoculated through nursing),
but also when animals are being treated with
antibiotics. Because of their sometimes
broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity,
antibiotics often kill the normal desirable
microflora of the intestinal tract. Potentially
pathogenic bacteria may then fill this void.
In addition to antibiotic overuse, a variety
of other stresses can adversely affect
intestinal microflora populations. These
stresses include: sudden food changes, the
use of a variety of pharmaceuticals, emotional
trauma, psychological stress, the
ingestion of chemicals in food and water
(many of which are designed to inhibit bacterial
growth, e.g., chlorine, benzoic acid,
parabens, sorbates, propionates, sulfites,
acetates, nitrites, etc.), pollution, excessive
noise, travel, a change in the environment,
continual artificial light and excess positive
air ions. In essence, just about anything
that changes the natural, quiescent, homeostatic
state can create stress, disrupting
gastrointestinal flora.
The constant infusion of “friendly”
organisms in the diet—as it happens for
animals in the wild through contact with
the mother’s milk and then from natural
food sources—helps prevent the colonization
of disease-producing bacteria such as
salmonella, E. coli, shigella and others.
Probiotic bacteria implant on the mucuscoated
walls of the intestine and prevent
colonization of pathogenic or “unfriendly”
microbes by competitive exclusion.
In addition to the inhibition of
pathogens, probiotics are believed to exert a
variety of subtle effects that can enhance
overall health and disease resistance. In
exchange for the nutrients and comfortable
environment provided by the host (symbiosis),
probiotics biosynthesize vitamins, essential
amino acids, fatty acids, numerous
enzymes and unidentified growth factors.
Some probiotics also have the capability of
inactivating carcinogenic intestinal betaglucouronidase
and nitroreductase. Probiotics
also encourage appetite and facilitate the
thorough breakdown and absorption of food
substances. Results of probiotic supplementation
include less food consumed, increased
energy, stabilized digestive functions, better
resistance to illness, improved skin and coat,
improved behavior and accelerated recovery
from disease.
Poor health resulting from microbial
imbalance means unnecessary suffering
and disease. Probiotics (pro-life), as
opposed to antibiotics (anti-life), can
enhance the immune system, inhibit
pathogens, decrease disease recovery time
and create an overall improvement in
health. The rationale for routine use of probiotics
in processed pet foods has been
proven through many years of clinical and
home use. Probiotics represent a safe and
effective alternative to pharmaceutical
methods, which introduce toxic chemicals
foreign to biological experience. Probiotic
usage is a rational, preventive approach to
health care without contraindication.
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