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Numbers Do Not Always Tell the WHOLE Wholistic Story

Traditional veterinarians rely on one-dimensional tests (blood, urine, etc.) and draw their conclusion based on those numbers. While out-of-the-normal range numbers are certainly cause for concern and may suggest an additional course of action is needed, we have found they do not always tell the WHOLE "wholistic" story. Here are some examples.

Our elderly cat's "numbers" were in the high range suggesting Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) or Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). When we told our holistic vet our cat was fed an exclusive raw diet they said, "Oh, in that case these 'high' numbers are fine." Studies have shown that blood values of healthy, adult dogs (and we assume cats too) fed only dry kibble are typically lower than those fed raw food, especially the hematocrit, BUN and creatinine numbers. On average, these values were higher in the raw fed group than for the dry kibble fed group. Here are some references:

So, high-protein raw food, freeze-dried raw food and even holistic canned food may produce higher numbers in one-dimensional tests compared to the average pet fed all dry kibble that are typically used to calculate laboratory’s "normal" ranges.

Another example is when vets will look at adrenal or thyroid blood values in the normal range and conclude those glands are working fine, when the pet is clearly exhibiting low adrenal symptoms and/or hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms. A holistic vet will also look at other blood values and observed symptoms to draw a more complete holistic diagnosis. Dr Alfred Plechner is one such vet. He found a hidden adrenal gland defect causes the adrenal glands to not manufacture enough cortisol hormone or the cortisol produced is bound (inactive). Cortisol is a powerful anti-inflammatory and helps the body deal with stress and infections. This defect, in turn, causes a domino-effect producing too much estrogen and not enough thyroid hormones. When the endocrine (hormonal) system is out of balance, the end result is low antibodies and a poor immune system. Instead of relying on a single adrenal blood value, Dr. Plechner developed a special blood test to detect this hidden defect in the adrenal glands—his Basic Endocrine-Immune One blood test measures cortisol, total estrogen, thyroid hormones T-3 & T-4, and IgA, IgM and IgG antibodies. If the cortisol level is low, estrogen level high, thyroid hormones low and antibodies are low, he suspects the animal has this hidden defect. The standard veterinary blood test will not detect this imbalance. Dr. Plechner suspects many unresolved health conditions in our pets are a result of this hidden endocrine-immune system imbalance. These can include but is not limited to:

• Cancer
• Obesity
• Allergies
• FeLV, FIP, FIV in cats
• Autoimmune disorders
• Kidney and liver disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Aggressiveness and strange behavior in both people and pets
• Hyper sensitivities to food and insect bites (flea, tick and mosquito)
• Chronic bacterial, viral and fungal infections
• Unresolved illnesses unresponsive to conventional therapy

More details on this revolutionary holistic concept can be found on our Silent Epidemic web page. These are just two examples of why relying on single blood test numbers may not tell the WHOLE "wholistic" story.

Since we are not vets, we ask a series of questions before giving our "wholistic" suggestions. Such wholistic questions can include:

1. How did you acquire your pet?

2. What type of food do you feed?

3. Do you give more than the required rabies vaccine?

4. Do you give heartworm medication and/or use flea & tick treatment?

5. How long have the symptoms been occurring?

6. Did anything change around the time the first symptoms appeared?

7. What other health challenges are there in the past and present?

The answers to the above questions give us a "wholistic" scenario to compare to all our other clients whose pet has similar conditions. We would ask similar questions of our human clients as well, to get a complete "wholistic" picture of what might be going on in the WHOLE body, rather than rely on a single blood test value.