American Holistic Health Association | Consumer Product Reviews

On most pet feed labels, there will be a statement indicating that the feed is “complete and balanced” for a queer life stage of the pet (there are only two: growth/reproduction and adult).

A pet feed may be labeled as “complete and balanced” if it meets AAFCO standards. There are two methods for achieving this: (1) meeting published standards for content, or (2) feeding tests. If a feed does not meet either of these standards, it will be labeled “for intermittent and supplemental feeding only.” Such foods are fine as treats or for short periods of time, but will have to not be fed as the sole diet. Keep in mind, too, that the standards, such as they are, set only “minimums” and “maximums,” not “optimums.” Commercial pet foods are designed to be adequate for the intermediate animal, but may not be suitable for an person animal’s variable needs.

(1) Nutrient Profiles. These standards set the required amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and so forth. When adopted in 1989, they were the best data available on canine nutritional needs. New exploration was published in 2003 that provides up-to-date information, but new standards are still in the routine of being adopted by AAFCO and/or the states, and are not presently being followed by pet feed manufacturers.

Moreover, any manufacturer may synthesize a feed containing sufficient amounts of each ingredient according to the Nutrient Profiles, yet dogs may not do well on it because the standards do not address the issues of “bioavailability” of nutrients to the animal. Certain forms of vitamins and minerals, for example, are poorly absorbed from the digestive tract. A noted veterinary nutrition textbook claims that a feed may be devised from old leather boots, wood shavings, and crankcase oil that will meet the technical necessaries for protein, carbohydrates, and fats, yet would be altogether indigestible. Unfortunately, given the ingredients employed by numerous manufacturers, “Old Boot” may be closer to the truth than any individual wants to admit!

(2) Feeding Trials. These are considered the “gold standard” of pet feed formulation. However, when you look at the actual AAFCO protocols for an adult maintenance diet, a manufacturer must feed totally the test feed to only six animals for six months. (Eight animals are required at the outset; however, two of them may be dropped from the trial for non-diet-related reasons.) Foods intended for growth and reproduction ought to be tested for only 10 weeks.

Most of the large, reputable pet feed producers, such as Iams, Hills, Walthams and Purina, maintain huge colonies of dogs and cats, and test their foods on hundreds of animals over years or even multiple generations. Other makers rely on facilities that keep animals for this intent to do the studies for them.

It is easy to see how a poor quality diet could be fed for only six months without seeing averse health effects, and legitimately be labeled as meeting AAFCO standards. In fact, studies have confirmed that even foods that pass feeding tryouts may still be perfectly inadequate for long-term maintenance.

Worse still is AAFCO’s “family rule” which was to a considerable degree promoted by the pet feed industry. This rule declares that foods that are “nutritionally similar” to a feed that has passed an actual feeding test may likewise carry that claim. The “similarity” need only be that the foods have a similar calorie content. This leaves the “feeding test” label as a exclusively undependable indicator of the quality of the food, and it is status as a “gold standard” in severe doubt.

Life Stages. As noted above, there are only 2 life stages recognized by the AAFCO standards: adult maintenance, and growth/reproduction, which includes puppies and kittens as well as pregnant and lactating (nursing) mothers. Foods claiming adequacy for “All Life Stages” meet the higher nutritional requirements of growth/reproduction.

This means that there are no distinguished standards, and thence no regulatings about, feed for “senior” or “mature” pets, foods designed for “Yorkshire Terriers” or “Persian Cats,” or foods for “high performance” or “indoor” animals. These designations are strictly selling hype. Yes, the ingredients may be a little different, or the protein or fiber content may have been manipulated, but each single niche feed will have to still meet one of those same two basic requirements. A assert of “light” or “reduced calories” does have to be a sure share less calories than the feed it is being equated to, but whether such foods genuinely aid pets lose weight in a healthful manner is highly debatable.

In the next article: Natural and Organic pet foods

The American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide To

Dissatisfied with progressed drug therapies, a great deal of humans are turning to alternatives. They may use them in conjunction with orthodox medicine or as a finish alternative. This guide offers an unbiased overview of the most widely employed therapies.

From Publishers WeeklyA balanced view and comprehensive scope distinguish this guide to eight leading substitute health care approaches: established Chinese medicine, Ayurveda (Hindu healing), homeopathy, naturopathy, mind/body medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic and massage therapy, or body work. For each, Collinge, the clinical supervisor of a California cancer help center that utilizes mind/body therapy, adeptly explains the underlying principles, describes the proficiencies applied and highlights the available scientific studies. He also poses and answers a series of questions on each method’s intensities and weaknesses, it is cost, how it relates to other forms of medicine, what to suppose from the practitioner-patient kinship and how to go regarding choosing a practitioner, e.g., what training and credentials to look for. Concise case studies of persons who requires medical care who have had success with the methods are interspersed throughout. While demonstrating a without doubt or question positive attitude toward each of these substitute approaches, Collinge does not minimize the exercise of Western medicine, a stance that lends even more authority to this solidly informative compendium, which includes an broad bibliography. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalCombining well-referenced scientific proof with case reports, Collinge, a clinical supervisor at a cancer support center that uses mind-body therapy, explores the efficacy of eight types of healing systems: Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, mind/body, osteopathy, chiropractic, and massage/body work. Arguing that “no single tradition has all the answers,” he emphasizes the growing importance of integrative medicine.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From BooklistCollinge describes the key principles, intensities and limitations, and costs of, and advises on choosing a practitioner for, eight types of substitute medicine: Chinese, Ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, mind-body, osteopathy, chiropractic, and massage therapy and bodywork. The role of nutrition figures broad in various of the eight, and Collinge is also informative on the varieties and the major groupings within each type (he does, however, overlook the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine). The text includes a great deal of brief case histories and reports pertinent studies furnished by the new Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Pointing out that “clearly no single tradition has all the answers,” Collinge stresses the growing importance of integrative medicine. Many libraries will want to add his overview to reference as well as circulating collections. William Beatty

Most helpful customer reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
MyShelf.com Book Reviewer
By Suzie Housley
Each year, millions of consumers visit their family physician. Often this experience leaves them with frustration, fear, and unanswered questions. Their dissatisfaction has led many to seek out other forms of health care.

Alternative medicine has been practiced for centuries – and today its acceptance is skyrocketing. The use of alternative medicine allows the consumer the freedom to choose what type of health care they feel would help benefit their illness. They can become experts by reading a book, surfing the Internet, or attending a local seminar.

In THE AMERICAN HOLISTIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION COMPLETE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, readers will discover a more in-depth look at the various alternative therapies of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, mind/body medicine, osteopathic medicine, chiropractor, massage therapy, and bodywork.

One of the key elements of this book that I found so fascinating was the use of true-to-life success stories of people who had tried one of these time old methods and found it cured or helped with what ailed them. It even gave me the opportunity to learn the benefits and the cost of each one of the treatments. This book has been a wonderful resource in helping me write my college thesis paper. I feel anyone who is looking for a better understanding of any or all of these alternative therapies will not find a more informative book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Thorough yet very accessible guide to alternative medicines.
By A
Collinge takes the “hoodoo” out of alternative medicines and provides a very clear and practical guide to the various treatments. His inclusion of case studies is particularly effective in demonstrating what one could expect from a form of treatment. A very worthwhile reference for anyone concerned about health

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Holistic Health, but Allopathic in nature
By R. Gangi
A good book to use as a basic reference for those who believe holistic health is voo-doo or scary, but still a book that calls on the medical profession to define courses they don’t understand. A better book on holistic health, and the combined approach of body, mind, and spirit, is “Forget The Cures, Find The Cause,” which takes the reader through modalities in the alternative health field, but also incorporates the mind and spirit.