My pet has an eating disorder, HELP they won't eat!

EAT!

Digestion is the key to health. We often gage one’s physical or mental health based on one’s appetite. Several factors can influence one’s digestion, and the majority of the ones we experience our pet’s also experience.

The ability to break down food into usable nutrients and excrete the rest is believed to be the foundation of health according to many traditional medicine scholars. We know we need enzymes that are stored in the pancreas, acid that is released from the stomach, bile that is created in the liver and stored in the gall bladder, and a healthy balance of bacteria from the stomach all the way to the colon for optimal digestion health. If either of these systems are affected and not corrected, you may notice fatigue, weight loss or gain, mood changes, loose stool, diarrhea, constipation, pancreatitis, gall stones, and several other symptoms that can sometimes lead to an emergency visit.  

You can imagine that since digestion is so important there was a lot of research into which herbs could help strengthen and even correct imbalances in the gut. There is a base, four herb formula that is the foundation of many commonly used formulas to help restore optimal digestion. It includes Ginseng (Ren Shen), Atractylodis (Bai Zhu), Poria (Fu Ling), and honey baked Licorice root (Zhi Gan Cao). The herbs are extremely safe and very well tolerated by humans, animals, and even children which is why they are so commonly used together. 

Stress can impact your cat or dog’s digestion just like it does with us!  You can eat all the healthy, whole foods you want but if you’re stressed out, whether its your boss, in-laws, or your owner has been gone for a few days, you may notice you or your pet’s digestion has suffered. Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and changes in appetite are possible signs showing the digestion is not optimal. When we experience stress, our sympathetic nervous system is activated. This takes energy and circulating blood away from your digestion into your extremities in case you have to run or fight.  Swimming right after eating is an example of this. Treading water requires a lot of energy as does your digestion. Doing both at the same time will often lead to stomach cramping regardless if it’s gluten, dairy, and whatever else-free.

Appetite is a good indicator of overall health, mental and emotional! When we feel ill we may not want to eat; nervousness and depression can impact our appetite as well. It’s very much the same with our pets. Appetite and overall general digestion power is reduced during chemo and radiation as well. Our stomach cells are some of the fastest cells that replicate and are usually the first effected from the side effects of cancer treatments. 

Making sure your pet’s digestion is one of the key pillars for longevity. EAT has the base four herb formula and a few other safe herbs that focus on optimizing your cat or dog’s health. EAT can also help increase your pet’s appetite!