Hypothyroidism & Raw Feeding

[cleptogrey]

ran across this and i wanted to share it, don't know if it's true or not....but dr. dodd's is well respected...read on and please don't shoot the messenger. i wasn't sure if it should be posted in food/dietary or health...but here it is..food for thought.

“Feeding Raw Foods to your Pets can Cause Hyperthyroidism”

WHAT? I’m sorry. Can you say that again?

Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction when one of the world’s leading veterinarian immunologists, Dr. Jean Dodds of Dr. Jean Dodds' Hemopet, Petlifeline, Hemolife & Nutriscan, announced that statement.

While attending one of Dr. Dodds’ seminars, we were going over the topic of thyroid dysfunction in pets and the current “epidemic” of hypothyroidism in dogs and hyperthyroidism in older cats going on today. As she went deeper into the subject, she brought up a study involving both raw foods and dogs. The study by Dr. Mark E. Peterson showed that feeding certain raw foods caused a previously unexpected dietary hyperthyroidism effect. While hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder in dogs, canine hyperthyroidism is rare.

How could this be? Quicker than the Roadrunner escaping Wile E. Coyote my hand flew up into the air! “How was this possible?” I asked.

Some raw food manufacturers are grinding up the neck of the beef cattle into their mixtures/pet food. Inside that neck is where you find the thyroid glands of the cow. The thyroid tissues are being ground up and mixed into the pet food. This terrible mixture causes dietary hyperthyroidism in dogs.

Moral of the story: It is suggested to make sure that if you’re feeding fresh, raw foods to your pets, be sure to find out if the neck (gullets that still have the esophagus and thyroid attached) of the cattle is included. How do you find out? Contact your local farmer or manufacturer! (Side note: There is no concern in feeding chicken, turkey or duck necks.)

Feeding fresh foods to our pets is always the way to go, but educating ourselves beforehand makes it even better. Knowledge is power.

By Pet Nutrition Blogger - Rodney Habib

For more info on the study :http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/44184852022/dietary-dog-hyperthyroidism#.U0DFnF5UVqu

— with Kathleen Brown.

Edited April 8, 2014 by cleptogrey

[Guest Lillypad]

Thanks for sharing, knowledge is in fact power. I will certainly keep this information in mind. It seems that commercial ground foods are the culprits. I do feed a raw diet, but very little commercial grind. The grind I do use is created locally. Never the less, I intend to confirm what is in the grind. I also only feed beef muscle meat and small amounts of beef organs.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Your post headline says "hypothyroidism"--but the article says "hyperthyroidism". As I understand it, hyper- is pretty uncommon in dogs, while hypo- is the one that is diagnosed so frequently in greyhounds. And it seems that Dr Dodds is attributing the uncommon hypo- to the raw food diet.

 

I wonder if they're studying whether a raw food diet including beef trachea has a beneficial impact on common hypothyroidism; that would mean that a raw food diet actually could help hypo- greyhounds.