_edited_edited.png)
Natural Nutrition
It is said “With the wrong diet, no medicine can help. With the right diet, no medicine is necessary.” This is the foundation of food therapy. Food is the most effective and simple medicine as it is naturally a part of our daily life.
For optimal body functioning, our pets as well as us, need to be nurtured well. Proper nurturing can only be achieved with a balanced diet made of fresh whole foods composed of high-quality proteins, healthy fats, and fresh vegetables, rich in essential amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.
Many of our pets’ health problems can be traced directly to deficient diets.
Food Therapy in Chinese Medicine:
In the western world food is seen as a combination of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals; in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine food therapy is seen as an integral component of treating and preventing disease in animals as food has inherent, energetic properties that strongly impact the healing process. Highly processed food is seen as lacking Qi energy whereas fresh whole food is rich in Qi.
The four energetic properties of food are:
Thermal
Hot, warm, neutral, cool, cold
Flavor
Sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty
Organ association
A food can affect specific internal organs
Meridian affiliation
Food has a definite effect on particular acupuncture meridians. Meridians are each associated with a specific organ
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Food Therapy follows the same diagnostic and treatment principles as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Based on the four food properties (listed above), a TCVM-certified veterinarian creates a specific food combination. This combination is unique to the individual based upon age, personality, geographical location, and current disharmony or disease pattern. A personalized diet is designed to return the animal’s body to balance and work synergistically with other TCVM modalities to maintain the animal’s optimal health.