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 DR.
DRESSLER'S DOG CANCER BLOG
Food and dog cancer: omega 6 fatty acids
Many people ask me if dog food has something to do with the development of
cancer in their pet. Before I devoted my time to studying the topic, I never
gave it much thought. Nah, I would say. Dog cancer is mostly genetic, viral, a
few carcinogens…who knows? ”There is no real cause of cancer”, I would say.
Baloney. There are causes of cancer, and they are real. Most of us vets just
don’t take the time to really investigate the literature. Due to our personal
biases, lack of motivation, no time, fatigue, or professional indoctrination, we
sometimes condemn before investigating.
A great example is dietary omega 6 fatty acid excess. Fats are grouped according
to their chemical structure. Two biggies are the omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acid
groups. Dog’s bodies, and our own, are designed to have a certain ratio of omega
3 to omega 6 fatty acids in the diet.
Too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3, and bad things happen. These bad things
are not minor, folks. Excessive intake of omega 6 fatty acids suppress cells
that are key in the body’s natural cancer fighting ability (Natural Killer cells
and cytotoxic T cells). The omega 6 group promotes inflammation, which is
critical in cancer development. They also stimulate cancer cells directly by
turning on a path in the cancer cells called PI Kinase, one of the central
signaling
events in cancer cells which make them behave like…cancer cells.
Where do omega 6 fatty acids come from? Next time you are at the grocery store,
read the panel on some popular dog foods. Look for corn (grain, oil, meal),
vegetable oil, and beef fat (lard, tallow), to name a few. Foods are put
together to be successful enterprises (profit), and omega 6-rich items are
favored for this reason.
There are ways to offset the effect of the omega 6 excess in dog foods.
Dog food and cancer: help fight this problem!
In the last post I wrote about one of the issues in most commercial dog foods
contributing to dog cancer: omega 6 fatty acid excess. This is a group of fats
that are found in large quantities in corn products, vegetable oils, and meat
products like tallow and lard, to name a few sources. Dogs in the wild eat lean
meats (imagine an antelope’s body) and digested plant matter from the prey’s
intestines. The diets we are feeding them currently are inappropriate, and in
some ways harmful.
This omega 6 fat excess sets the stage for cancer development, stimulates cancer
cell growth, and decreases the body’s natural cancer-fighting abilities.
Our dog’s bodies can better handle the omega 6 excess by providing them with
another type of fatty acid that will decrease the harmful effects of too much
omega 6. These are oils containing omega 3 fatty acids, which are found in high
concentrations in fish oils. I outline this topic in detail in the upcoming
book, but for the purposes of this discussion let’s focus on oil from sardines,
menhaden, mackerel, salmon and so on. Cod liver oil is NOT a good source for
omega 3 supplementation.
If your loved dog has a cancer at this time, you want to get as much omega 3 in
him or her as possible. Start slowly and work your way up to large amounts over
about 2 weeks to avoid an upset stomach. Give with food. For a dog about 60 lbs,
you want about 18 grams of good quality fish oil containing omega 3’s. This
usually means about 15-20 of the typical capsules daily, which is a large
amount! For double strength caps, halve the dose. Adjust up or down for the size
of your dog. The capsules can be popped and the oil mixed in food if your dog
resists eating the capsules by themselves. Watch for digestive upset (vomiting,
diarrhea, loss of appetite), and if so, stop and then later start with lower
doses increased more slowly.
Krill oil is, in my opinion, the best option for supplementing fatty acids for a
variety of reasons…
If your loved dog is not diagnosed with cancer and is on typical commercial
food, I would have you begin an omega 3 fatty acid supplement at lower doses
than those dogs with cancer. For a 60 lb dog, my opinion is a standard
supplemental dose of roughly 4-6 grams of omega 3-containing capsules daily.
Remember to start with low doses than work up over 2 weeks.
There is limited, theoretical evidence that you should stop these supplements 10
days before surgery as they may have mild blood-thinning effect. Do this as a
precaution, to be on the safe side. |
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Why trust Vital Choice?
Finding high quality Salmon can be difficult and
confusing. Is it wild or farmed? Where was it caught? How has it
been handled?
Few seafood retailers know the answers, and those that do may
not be eager to provide them. Investigations by The New York
Times and a leading product-testing consumer magazine revealed
that much of the Salmon sold as “wild” is actually farmed fish:
a fraud perpetrated to raise sellers' profits at the expense of
consumers who lack the expertise to see (or taste) through it.
Vital Choice founder Randy Hartnell spent more than 20 years
fishing for wild Alaska Salmon and other species. Added to the
careers of other ex-fishermen among our executive staff, Vital
Choice offers more than 50 years of relevant experience.
As a result, we know where to get the best, most carefully
handled wild Salmon and seafood, at the best price possible.
Less than 1% of all Alaska Salmon harvested meet our strict
standards, so you can be sure that our fish represent the very
pinnacle of flavor and freshness. The same goes for all of our
sustainably harvested seafood.
Vital Choice is proud to have earned
the endorsement of nutrition-savvy physicians like
Nicholas Perricone MD, Christiane Northrup MD, Andrew Weil MD,
William Sears MD, and Joseph Mercola MD.
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High Quality + Fair Prices = Good
Value
The prices won't be as low as some retailers selling wild Salmon
... and that's what shoppers who seek high quality and real
value will expect. Vital Choice earns about the same profit as
most retail markets, but you enjoy seafood of much higher
initial and delivered quality, at a perfectly fair price. Savvy
Vital Choice customers order larger quantities, which provide
very substantial savings.
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Unsurpassed Purity
Vital Choice seeks to support our customers’ well being, so
they offer only the purest wild seafood possible:
fish and shellfish that grow in the wild environment to which
they are so superbly adapted, free of the antibiotics,
pesticides, synthetic coloring agents, and genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) used commonly in fish farms. The seafood is tested regularly by independent labs, and the
results show that it is free of harmful levels of mercury and
other industrial contaminants. Longer-lived predator species
such as Halibut and Tuna accumulate mercury over time, so they
select only the smallest of the catch to ensure optimum purity.
See a comparison of mercury levels
here.
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The Flash-Frozen Advantage
As Jane Brody, famed food/nutrition columnist for The New York
Times once wrote, "The freshest seafood is that which has been
frozen shortly after harvest and remains that way until cooked."
Vital Choice seafood is processed and flash-frozen hours within
hours of harvest, and stays frozen solid until it arrives at
your door on dry ice, thereby preserving the fresh-caught
flavor, appearance, texture, and nutritional quality of our
premium quality fish and shellfish.
The “fresh” fish in most markets is rarely in the ideal
condition that label implies. And while many supermarkets sell
previously frozen fish, it may not have been frozen quickly
post-harvest, and typically languishes, thawed, in a display
case for hours or days, exposed to air and light: conditions
that foster bacterial growth and render delicate omega-3s rancid
very quickly.
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Organic and
Kosher Certification
Fish and other seafood are not currently part of the official
organic certification process. All of Vital Choice's other foods
are certified organic under the rules established by the US
Department of Agriculture. In addition, many Vital Choice products are certified Kosher by respected,
credible organizations like OU, “Square K”, and Earth Kosher.
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Superior Salmon, Naturally
Unlike penned, grain-fed, flaccid-fleshed farmed Salmon, Vital
Choice wild Alaska Salmon spend several years feeding on the
sea’s natural foods and straining against the strong, cold
currents of the North Pacific before migrating thousands of
miles to the headwaters of their birth rivers.
Of the millions of young Pacific Salmon that begin this
demanding ocean odyssey every year, only the strongest,
healthiest fish will reach harvest age. This is why wild Salmon
offer flavor, texture and nutritional profile far superior to
any farm-raised fish. And we select Vital Choice offering from
among the one percent of sustainably harvested wild Salmon that
meet our strict quality standards.
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Wild Salmon vs. Farmed:
Environmental and Purity Issues
Aquaculture is an increasingly important source of seafood, and
we do not oppose fish-farming when it is practiced sustainably.
But the environmental sustainability of current Salmon farming
operations is doubtful, and the nutritional profiles of their
products appear inferior.
Vital Choice fresh-frozen wild Alaska Salmon live their entire
lives free to roam the open ocean, and are only harvested as
they approach the end of their four-year life cycle. We
guarantee that all our fish come from carefully managed,
sustainable fisheries.
Alaska Salmon are endorsed as a “Best Seafood Choice” by leading
environmental organizations, including the Marine Stewardship
Council, Environmental Defense, the Blue Ocean Institute, the
Monterey Bay Aquarium and many others. In contrast, farmed
Salmon are typically rated “Avoid.”
All fish and animal foods contain at least some traces of the
industrial contaminants found everywhere in today’s environment,
but farmed Salmon contain levels of PCBs and dioxins far higher
than any other fish or animal food tested. (While even these
comparatively high levels of PCBs and dioxins are vanishingly
small, it only makes sense to minimize intake.)
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Wild Salmon vs. Farmed:
Nutritional Distinctions
The nutritional drawbacks of farmed Salmon receive far less
attention than their environmental disadvantages.
The "Omega Ratio" advantage of wild Salmon
Wild and farmed Salmon contain comparable amounts of the omega-3
fatty acids that make fish such healthful food. In fact, farmed
Salmon may contain somewhat higher levels of omega-3s.
Unfortunately, the omega-3s in farmed Salmon come from feeding
them fish meal or fish oil derived from mass harvesting of small
fish nearer the bottom of the marine food chain: a practice with
alarming implications for the future of the marine ecosystem.
And, compared with wild Salmon, typical farmed Salmon contain
much higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which already occur
in extreme excess in typical Western diets: most Americans
consume about 30 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s.
Experts recommend consuming no more than four parts omega-6s to
omega-3s: that is, an intake ratio of 4:1 or lower, instead of
the typical 30:1 ratio.
When consumed in such excessive amounts, omega-6 fatty acids
blunt the benefits of omega-3s to a very substantial extent and
can promote chronic, "silent" inflammation and the diseases
associated with it, including heart disease, diabetes, senility,
and cancer.
In fact, the intriguing results of a Norwegian study suggest
that consuming standard farmed Salmon, raised on diets high in
omega-6 fatty acids, raises people’s blood levels of the
inflammatory chemicals linked to increased risk of
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer (Seierstad
SL et al 2005).
Salmon farmers claim they’re striving to reduce the omega-6
content of farmed Salmon feed, but tests conducted in 2005 show
that average wild Salmon offer a desirable omega-3/omega-6 ratio
of 10:1, while farmed Salmon have an average ratio of 4:1 or
less (Hamilton M et al 2005).
And to the extent that Salmon farmers are able and willing to
replace omega-6-rich vegetable oils and grains with costlier
fish meal or fish oil, this will contribute to further
over-fishing of species closer to the bottom of the marine food
chain, with negative impacts throughout the oceanic ecosystem.
Vitamin D in Wild Salmon and Farmed
Research published in recent years makes it clear that vitamin D
is a much bigger factor in human health than previously thought,
reducing the risks of osteoporosis, fractures, and major
cancers.
And new findings show that wild Salmon – especially Sockeye –
are the best food sources available, by far. For example, while
a cup of milk contains only 100 IU, there are 600-700 IU of
vitamin D in a 3.5 ounce serving of Sockeye Salmon.
Farmed Salmon contain only one-quarter as much vitamin D as wild
Salmon, according to independent tests by researchers at Boston
University.
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Selecting Wild Salmon Helps to
Save Wild Salmon
The Alaska Salmon fishing industry is the chief economic force
behind the preservation of wild Salmon. But in recent years it
has been devastated by competition from the world-wide
proliferation of cheap, nutritionally inferior, environmentally
destructive farmed Salmon. As paradoxical as it may seem, to
save wild Salmon it helps to choose it over farmed Salmon
products.
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Support for Coastal Communities and a Sustainable Trade
Contributing positively to local fisher-folk, their families,
and their threatened coastal communities and environment is so
important to Vital Choice they consider it a key guiding
principle. They are strongly committed to helping promote a
sustainable social, ecological, and economic model for the
harvesting and sale of wild Salmon, and donate a portion of our
profits to advocacy organizations such as the United Fishermen
of Alaska.
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Vital Community Connections: The Causes We Help
Sustain
Vital Choice contributes a portion of their net profits to the Weil
Foundation, the Live Strong Foundation, The Monterey Bay
Aquarium, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other
causes devoted to improving the health and well being of people
and the planet that sustains us.
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What
is the difference between Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil and standard fish oils?
Most fish oils on the market are derived from
farmed Atlantic Salmon. Even those labeled "Wild" or "Alaskan" may
contain only a small percentage these oils, combined with cheaper commodity oil
rendered from farmed salmon and/or other species. Another commonly used source is Atlantic
Menhaden (brevoortia tyrannus), a small, inedible toothless fish
typically rendered in a whole, uneviscerated state (i.e., organs and all).
In contrast, Vital Choice utilizes ONLY 100%
pure wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon oil made exclusively from the heads of the
fresh Sockeye Salmon. Processing occurs in a plant located only a few steps from
where the fresh fish are offloaded, within hours of harvest. In addition to
being an extremely "green" practice, this approach also insures that any
contaminants present in the body fat and entrails are kept out of the oil. Another significant difference involves the way
various fish oils are processed. There is evidence that Vital Choice natural fish oil is better
absorbed than highly processed alternatives.
Standard Fish Oils: Distilled and Denatured
Once rendered, standard fish oils are transported and stored in
unrefrigerated 50 gallon drums, and typically undergo "molecular distillation"
to remove contaminants such as mercury and PCBs. During this process, the oil is heated to
temperatures in excess of 450 degrees F, which is well above those found to
adversely impact the structural integrity of fatty acid molecules (approx 350
degrees F). In addition to removing contaminants, molecular
distillation "denatures" the oil, altering and concentrating some molecules
while removing others. The end result is that highly refined fish oil is
extremely "pure", however many of its fundamental properties are sacrificed.
Vital Choice Salmon Oil: Whole, Unrefined,
and Pure
Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon oil is extracted at temperatures below 225
degrees F. It is then maintained in sealed, refrigerated containers at all times
between extraction and encapsulation. Vital Choice Sockeye oil does not need to be
distilled because wild Alaska Sockeye are exceptionally pure. Instead, our oil
is simply cold-filtered and encapsulated in its whole, balanced form
— a
complex matrix that includes dozens of other naturally occurring fatty acids and
phospholipids as well as potent carotenoid antioxidants. (To view the fatty acid
analysis, click here.)
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How can I be certain Vital Choice
Salmon is really wild caught?
There is indeed a lot of "bait and switch"
in the market place. In fact, we do all we can to alert folks to it. This is
because Vital Choice was founded by a long time Alaska wild salmon fisherman
whose fishing business was devastated by the impact of farmed salmon on the wild
salmon markets, including that due to fraudulent labeling. Consequently, we are
passionate about enlightening consumers about this practice, and providing them
with a reliable year-round source of truly wild salmon. You won't have to look
far on our website to find additional reassurance.
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What are the
benefits of wild-caught salmon over farmed salmon?
Wild salmon that are harvested from Alaskan waters contain no antibiotics or
other added chemicals. According to The Audubon’s Living Oceans Campaign,
“farmed salmon are fed more antibiotics per pound of ‘livestock’ than are any
other farmed animal.” In fact, 23 million pounds of antibiotics are used
annually in US animal production. Regulating the overuse of antibiotics is a
serious problem in the fish farming industry, where salmon are raised in remote
locations like Chile and British Columbia. A quick review of the “farmed salmon”
section of our Links page will provide you with compelling evidence of the need
to choose your salmon carefully.
Vital Choice wild salmon grow naturally in Alaskan waters, free of antibiotics,
pesticides, growth hormones and artificial coloring agents. These salmon are
among the purest fish found anywhere. In fact, the Alaska Division of Public
Health continues to strongly recommend that “pregnant women, women who are
breast feeding, women of childbearing age, and young children continue
unrestricted consumption of fish from Alaskan waters.”
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Is it true that some farmed fish is dangerous to eat?
We’ll leave that up to you to decide. According to the
David Suzuki Foundation, farmed salmon
can be dangerous to eat: “In an attempt to control disease and parasites among
farmed salmon, powerful antibiotics and other drugs are dumped directly into
open netcages. Salmon aquaculture uses more antibiotic per pound of "livestock"
than any other form of farming. This largely unregulated use of antibiotics—the
same drugs used to treat human infections—has already led to the development of
drug-resistant "super-bugs". This poses grave risks not only to the wider marine
ecosystem, but also to fish farm workers and to consumers of farmed salmon who
may be affected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Is wild salmon an
endangered
species?
Alaska's wild salmon runs are among the healthiest on earth. Each year, tens of
millions of Alaska salmon return to spawn in their natal rivers. Pristine
habitat and well-managed commercial fisheries contribute to the preservation of
Alaska’s most precious sustainable natural resource. In September 2000, Alaska
salmon received the distinction of becoming the first U.S. fishery to be
certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Vital Choice sells only
sustainably harvested seafood products.
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How is
Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil made?
In contrast to most fish oils,
which are extracted from whole, un-eviscerated fish, Vital
Choice Sockeye
Salmon Oil comes from the heads of fresh-caught Sockeye Salmon, not the liver or other entrails.
It is micro-filtered and encapsulated, not high-temperature
distilled, and therefore retains its natural omega-3s,
astaxanthin and vitamins A and D. The oil is periodically
tested for purity and potency by NSF International.
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Is Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil tested for
purity?
Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil supplements are tested and certified for potency and
purity by NSF International. Additional purity testing is done by Axys
Analytical Services and Covance Laboratories.
This includes testing for metals, dioxins, furans and all 209 PCB congeners.
Results from our most recent testing showed the following results:
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Total Toxic Equivalent (TEQ): 6.71 pg/g (ppt)
(0.00000671 ppm) (European Maximum Level is 10 pg/g)
• Dioxins and Furans TEQ: 3.3 pg/g (ppt) (0.0000033 ppm)
• Lead: Not detected (0.1 ppm)
• Cadmium: Not detected (0.02 ppm)
• Mercury: Not detected (0.01 ppm)
• Arsenic: 2.3 ppm (There are no reports of toxicity in man or animals from
consumption of the organic arsenic present in seafood)
• Peroxides: 2.06 ME/KG
To put the PCBs and Dioxins and Furan numbers into perspective, the World Health
Organization recommends that Total Daily Intake not exceed 2 PPT per kg of body
weight. According to this, the daily limit for a 135 lb person would be a TEQ of
about 125 ppt, or the amount present in approximately 14 1000 mg capsules, which
is many times the recommended daily dosage of 2-to-4.
Keep in mind that these limits are extremely conservative, and that there
has never been any evidence of adverse health effects from these trace levels.
On the other hand, there are literally thousands of studies establishing a vast
array of health benefits from the consumption of fish oil and omega-3 rich fish.
In addition, generations of consumers consumed undistilled cod liver oil,
which--thanks to advances in analytical technology--we now know may have
contained much higher contaminant levels--up to 30 or 40 PPT.
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How
much mercury is in Vital Choice Sockeye
Salmon Oil?
There is no detectable mercury in Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil.
See a comparison of mercury levels here.
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What is the Peroxide value of Vital
Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil capsules?
The peroxide value of our Sockeye Salmon Oil
capsules has ranged from 2.06 to 3.5 MEQ/KG.
The maximum level established by the Council for Responsible Nutrition is 5 MEQ/KG.
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Does
Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil contain Vitamins A and D?
The Sockeye Salmon
oil contains about 687 IU of pre-formed vitamin A per 1000
mg capsule. And, each 1000 mg of our Sockeye Salmon
Oil contains about 53 IU of vitamin D, in the preferred form called vitamin D3.
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What
is the astaxanthin content of Vital Choice Sockeye Salmon Oil?
The Sockeye Salmon Oil contains about 12 parts
per million (ppm) of astaxanthin, or 0.012 mg of astaxanthin per 1000 mg
capsule. It also contains zeaxanthin and multiple other unidentified carotenoids.
Astaxanthin displays extremely potent antioxidant properties in lab tests, and
exceeds the free radical scavenging power of vitamin E by a factor of 50 in
certain contexts.
Derived exclusively from wild sockeye salmon
caught in the cold, pristine waters off Alaska, this 100% PURE oil is not
blended with any inferior salmon or other fish oils. Here's why this is unique:
To achieve high ratios of EPA to DHA, commercially available salmon oil capsules
are fortified with other fish oils. One benefit of Natural Factors Wild Sockeye
Salmon Oil is that it has the lowest cholesterol levels, in contrast to the
higher levels found in farmed salmon oil.
The freshest and purest oils available, Sockeye contains the highest amount
of omega-3 fatty acids of any salmon, about 2.7 grams per 100 gram portion.
Alaskan Sockeye Salmon are relatively small, short-lived fish that feed at the
lower end of the food chain. Consequently they grow free of hazardous levels of
contaminants found in larger, longer-lived carnivorous species. After hatching
in their natal rivers, sockeye swim upstream to remote, pristine fresh water
lakes where they feed and grow for one to three years before migrating out to
the Bering Sea. During this latter stage of their lives they feed primarily on
phytoplankton and krill brimming with antioxidants and omega-3 nutrients that
give the sockeye its dramatic red flesh. Unlike farmed salmon, wild Alaskan Sockeye
Salmon grows free of antibiotics, pesticides,
synthetic coloring agents, growth hormones and GMO's. This wild harvested oil
also consistently tests free of hazardous levels of contaminants,
chemical residues and heavy metals.
It's orange color is due to the high levels of the carotenoid and astaxanthin
(occurring naturally in sockeye) that helps the eyes and cardiovascular system.
Alaskan sockeye salmon are the richest salmon species in the powerful biological
antioxidant astaxanthin, a natural caroteniod that imparts a rich orange glow to
the oil and eliminates the need for added tocopherols present in other brands.
Astaxanthin is a natural carotenoid that gives our oil its rich orange color—and
is up to 100 times more potent than Vitamin E at quenching singlet oxygen ‘free
radicals’.
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Sources
* Elvevoll EO, Barstad H, Breimo ES, Brox J, Eilertsen KE, Lund
T, Olsen JO, Osterud B. Enhanced incorporation of n-3 fatty
acids from fish compared with fish oils. Lipids. 2006
Dec;41(12):1109-14.
* Hamilton MC, Hites RA, Schwager SJ, Foran JA, Knuth BA,
Carpenter DO. Lipid composition and contaminants in farmed and
wild salmon. Environ Sci Technol. 2005 Nov 15;39(22):8622-9.
* Seierstad SL, Seljeflot I, Johansen O, Hansen R, Haugen M,
Rosenlund G, Froyland L, Arnesen H. Dietary intake of
differently fed salmon; the influence on markers of human
atherosclerosis. Eur J Clin Invest. 2005 Jan;35(1):52-9.
* Visioli F, Risé P, Barassi MC, Marangoni F, Galli C. Dietary
intake of fish vs. formulations leads to higher plasma
concentrations of n-3 fatty acids. Lipids. 2003 Apr;38(4):415-8.
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