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| Spike's update || Krampen en Stress || terug |

Mailing with Veteranarian Dr. John Symes

www.dogtorj.com

Februari and Marz 2005 were bad months for Spike. He had five episodes, four of them in Marz. Three of them right after he had been eating his dinner.
Because I was desperate I mailed Dr John Symes to hear his thoughts about food and cramping. This mailing is below.

Later I discovered the three episodes right after dinner were caused by Spike almost choking on his ground food. After this discovery I spread his food in his feeding bowl.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Dear Dr Symes,
My name is Joke Miedema, I am living in the Netherlands. My Border Terrier Spike (8 years old) is suffering from Spike's Disease (CECS (=Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome.)) Since November 2003 Spike is on a raw meat diet. Since April 2004 on a 100% raw glutenfree diet.
Spike's condition improved on this glutenfree diet. Thirty episodes in one year on his old food, against thirteen episodes in the year on the BARF diet.

I discoverded I can't feed him stomachs and necks of grainfed animals because they can hold traces of grain. Almost all the animals over here are fed grain :-((( My question: how about meat of grainfed animals? Can this be the reason the episodes still keep coming?

I have eliminated all grain (also rice, corn and soy) from his food. Last discovery was Spike doesn't tolerate beef very well (he always has bloodshot eyes when he has been eating beef) so I leave beef out as well. He doesn't get diary (products) Raw egg is on my suspect list. Can it be the egg itself or because the chicken that laid the egg has been eating grain?

I add cooked purreed veggies to his raw meat and bones. Are there veggies I have to stay away from? Spike gets raw sardines or mackarel once per week.

Spike's condition has grown worse past month. He had 5 episodes during Februari/March. He was also very ADH those weeks. He is never is very well in winter, very depressed and grumpy. Do you have any ideas about improvement? Ideas about supplements?

Joke Miedema

Hi Joke,

Great to hear from you.

Very insightful...and correct...are your connections between the grain fed animals and gluten content of their flesh. Not long ago, I read that chicken was on the list of foods that induce villous atrophy of the duodenum, a list that WAS restricted to gluten, casein, soy, and corn. Why??? Because of the gluten content of the feed being given to chickens (and turkeys, ducks, and cattle). Meats are already naturally high in glutamate, as the lists on my site show. BUT, we are clearly raising that level by feeding them grains rich in glutamate. I am glad to hear that he has responded at least in part to the diet. I have had others with this condition that have done well.

It is also easily explainable why he does more poorly in the winter...when the days are short. You may have read about the serotonin connection in one of my addendums of the epilepsy paper. This is easily understood. Their (and our) serotonin levels bottom out in December and January (with January 26th being the most depressing day of the year, according to a recent study. Duh!). But, a real dilemma occurs in some, when the days start getting longer but their serotonin levels don't go up like they should. Have you ever read that fluorescent lights, computer graphics, or cartoons can cause seizures in epileptic children. Light is very stimulating. It can act like caffeine if you watch television or work on the computer too late, can't it? Yes, light is a stimulant. If you don't have enough serotonin in your brain, some bad things can happen when too much light hits it, as in those epileptic kids. So, when the days start getting longer (after December) but the serotonin doesn't rise like it is supposed to, things like epilepsy and Spikes disease get worse. People often get manic and do bad things this time of year, like the 4 school and business shootings that were just in our news over the past 1.5 months. April is the number one month of the year for suicides and this is why. Depression turns to agitation this time of year and the latter is MUCH worse than the former condition. See that?

In addition, mercury has become a serious issue in neurodegenerative diseases. You may want to cut back on the mackerel and sardines to once a month. Our FDA now recommends that pregnant women eat no more that ONE serving of tuna per month. Wow!!! If the government is aware and involved, you know its serious, right?

The best supplements would be HUMAN vitamins and minerals and would include a multivite/multimineral (with calcium, zinc, etc), vitamin C, B complex, and some omega three fatty acids. If over 40 pounds, I use adult human doses. If under 40, I use half human doses. Of course, vitamin C and B complex are water-soluble and can't really be overdosed. Just don't use the fat solubles (A, E, D, K) as separate supplements. Have them be part of the multi. The main things to boost ARE the C, B complex and omega threes for the brain.

Try to keep the meat to veggies and carb ratio to 40% or less. In other words, don't let the meat be more than 40% of the diet. Make up the rest with veggies, fruits, and cooked potatoes. Eggs are fine. They do not have a high glutamate content even when the chickens are fed grains. BUT, the grain feeding dramatically reduces the omega three content, unfortunately...one of the reasons why humans are so horribly down in this vital, brain-sparing nutrient. Our current medical plight is very explainable, isn't it?

I hope this helps. Keep in touch,
John
Dogtor J
www.dogtorj.com
http://dogtorj.tripod.com
(Read: THE ANSWER- to "Why is the Plane of Our Nation's Health in a Death Spiral?")

Thursday, March 31, 2005
some diet questions/glutamate
Hi Dr Symes,
Thank you for your answers.

My next questions : Do you have some sort of list with glutamate levels in meat? I did a search on the internet but couldn't find such a list. I bought wild duck, hare, wild rabbit and deer for Spike, wild because they aren't grainfed like the domestic animals. But perhaps those wild animals are already high in glutamate from themselves? What about goat, kangeroo and young horse meat? What about sardines and mackarel? (I'll take your advice to feed it once per month). Is there a natural way to highten his serotonine levels? Spike is always (has always been) very depressed, growly and moody during autumn, winter and early spring. Starting in November and lasting till May.

Joke Miedema

Hi Joke,

First of all, have you had his thyroid levels checked? This is a very common secondary factor. Hypothyroidism can contribute greatly to moodiness and seizures when it occurs. Most of out hypothyroidism occurs as a result of immune thyroiditits, which can occur at just about any range, usually ranging from 8 months to 10 years, with 3-7 being a typical age of onset. However, much of our low thyroid problem comes from low iodine levels, with iodine being absorbed by the duodenum (no surprise, eh?). I usually recommend kelp supplements for my borderline and low thyroid patients BUT kelp is LOADED with glutamate and needs to be used cautiously in pets with seizures or other excitotoxin-related disorders like Spike's Disease. The seafood helps here. I would consider having the thyroid tests done if you haven't already.

Some of the meats are listed on my site, with lamb and eggs being the lowest, beef and venison being in the middle, and rabbit being the highest. I was told by a holistic vet that duck is considered a "hot" protein (no explanation offered), so it may be rich in glutamate, too. However, I have had phenomenal results using the duck and potato diet, so it can't be too bad (balanced by the fact that potatoes are soooo low).

As tryptophan is in most foods (see table below), the main way to increase serotonin is to STOP THE LEAK into the gut. This is clearly the main reason for the rampant serotonin deficiencies that people and their pets experience. This leads to a myriad of problems, including worsening seizures, sleep disorders, and other excitotoxin-related problems, even autism. Tryptophan is used to synthesize serotonin which is then converted to melatonin, the hormone secreted by the pineal body of the brain that is vitally involved in our sleep cycle. People are now starting to take melatonin more and more insomnia and some have even used it (with reported success) for seizures. BUT, the best way to increase melatonin is clearly to improve serotonin levels and the best way to do that is to stop the leakage of this vital substance into the damaged gut...the damage being done by the extremely common Big 4. Once again, all roads lead to Rome, which helps to explain the phenomenal success of the diet (the GARD).

Hope this helps,
John

These are foods high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:

*Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk - OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS AT ALL!!!
*Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS AT ALL!!!
*Seafood
*Meats
*Poultry
*Whole grains- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS AT ALL!!!
*Beans- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR EPILEPTICS OR PAIN SUFFERERS!!!
*Rice
*Hummus- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR EPILEPTICS OR PAIN SUFFERERS!!!
*Lentils- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR EPILEPTICS OR PAIN SUFFERERS!!!
*Hazelnuts, Peanuts- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR EPILEPTICS OR PAIN SUFFERERS!!!
*Eggs
*Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds- OF COURSE, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR EPILEPTICS OR PAIN SUFFERERS!!!

So, your best choice out of all of the above would be EGGS...a good source of all proteins (including tryptophan) as well as omega three fatty acids, especially if the eggs are from free-range, non-grain-fed chickens.

Dogtor J
www.dogtorj.com
http://dogtorj.tripod.com
(Read: THE ANSWER- to "Why is the Plane of Our Nation's Health in a Death Spiral?")

Friday, April 01, 2005
Food allergy tests

Hi Dr Symes,

First of all thank you for your speedy reply. Spike's thyroid levels were checked, also his liver. No abnormalitys were found only higher bile acid levels than normal.

I went to your site to check out the glutamate levels. You referred on that page to a website with information about glutamate levels in food but I could't find that page. I would like to hear your thoughts about the outcome of two food allergy tests of Spike.

The first one was taken in Feb 2003 and the second one in Feb 2005. People told me the test has no value it is only an indication with what food the dog has been in contact with. Zero is ok and 3-5 is not ok said the form I received from the lab. In spite of what people told me I left the food with 3-5 out of Spike's diet after the first test and his condition improved. From 2-3 seizures per week to once in the 5-10 weeks. I noticed lately beef didn't agree with him, the second test told the same. What is puzzling me is the corn. He isn't fed corn but the reaction is still in his blood while the reaction to other grain has disappeared. In September last year I have started to prepare the dog's food myself before I used a home made product (lamb or beef) I use a lot of grain/cornfed animals like chicken, turkey, rabbit, goose, duck and vary this with goat, lamb or beef. This is why my thoughts went to the meat of those grain/cornfed animals.

When the first test was taken Spike had been on the Kronfeld diet for a year (cooked lambsmeat and lambs liver, cooked rice, bonemeal and corn oil). Till I started to feed the Kronfeld diet he had been on kibble so most of the reactions, in his blood still must have been from the kibble fed days. After the results of the first test I started to feed Spike Waltham's sensitivity control (capelin/tapioca) for some months because he didn't do well on the Kronfeld diet anymore (now I think it also could have been low serotonine levels) Het did well on this kibble but I wanted to feed raw this is why I changed to raw in November (a ready made product) that year At the time of the second test he was on the BARF diet for 15 months. What are your thoughts about this?

Beef IgE #2 ****has become #5
Pork IgE #1 ****now #0
Lamb IgE #1 ****now #3
Duck IgE #0 ****still #0
Chicken IgE #1 ****now #0
Eggs IgE #1 ****now #0
Fish IgE #2 ****now #0
Wheat IgE #3 ****now #0
Soy IgE #5 ****now #0
Barley IgE #3 ****now #0
Rice IgE #3 ****now #0
Potatoes IgE #4 ****now #0
Corn IgE #5 ****still #5
Cowmilk IgE #4 ****now #0
Oats IgE #4 ****now #0

Joke Miedema

Hi Joke,

Sorry its taken so long to get back to you...another computer crash. Its like someone is trying to keep me from working. (smile).

On the corn reaction, if you were using ANY form of corn, including corn oil, the IgE levels will not come down. This is where the lectins come in, once again. (http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html). Also, your thought on the corn-fed animals being the source is one that I share. Some celiacs (gluten intolerants) are now reacting to chicken thanks to the large amounts of wheat being fed in the factory farms (to chickens and turkeys). So, I think your idea is distinctly possible.

Here is something I wrote a while back on glutamate levels of foods. The Website I refer to on my site that had all of these levels has shut down.

We can anticipate that there will be some epileptics...the "worst of the worst"...that will not be able to handle the glutamate in some of the other ingredients of the food. However, it is VERY unlikely that it will be the vegetable portion (see below) that will the source of enough glutamate and aspartate to cause seizures. However, the levels in meats are quite high, as shown below.

It appears from the charts below that the best epileptic diet for those "worst of the worst" would either be a vegetarian diet or one with eggs as the protein source. This makes sense for the scavenging dog. They would probably eat more eggs than wild game, wouldn't they?

But, I would still like to think that as the gut heals from the damage done by the grains (gluten-containing), dairy, and soy that the epileptic patient will replenish his stores of the necessary vitamins (and proteins?) that make up the glutamate reductase enzyme systems (such as glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase, or tranferases) and therby be able to handle the glutamate and aspartate in normal meat ingredients. The elimination of gliadorphins (wheat) and casomorphins(dairy) from the brain over the years time that they have been removed from the diet will also help. (It takes a full year for us to eliminate these morphine-like substances from our brain once completely removed from the diet.)

First, keep in mind the following levels of glutamate and aspartate in vegetables and potatoes:

Therefore, it can be seen that wheat, barley and oats have the highest levels of glutamate and aspartate. The corn plays more of a role in the malabsorption process (the "glue" process) than it does in actually contributing to the levels of glutamate and aspartate. The rice is a "middle man"...it is sticky, as they do make some minor adhesives from it and it does provide twice the glutamate and aspartate that potatoes do.

So, the best recommendation for epileptics as far as the grains go is to avoid them in general. But, it they must be included, rice would be the best choice in my opinion because corn contributes to the underlying process of malabsorption, as exemplified by the relatively high rate of corn allergies. Rice allergies do exist, but they are much less common than corn allergies, in both people and pets.

Hope this helps,

John

Dogtor J.
dogtorj@bellsouth.net
www.dogtorj.com
(Read: The Answer- to "Why is the Plane of Our Nation's Health in a Death Spiral?")

Thursday, June 30, 2005
Dear Dr Symes,

Thank you for taken the time to answer my questions! I stopped feeding Spike grainfed animals like chicken , turkey and domestic rabbit and duck at the end of Marz this year. He didn't have an episode for 11 and a half weeks. That is a very good result for him. I also removed all beef and tripe from his diet. Also ground pumpkin and carrots because I noticed his stools were yellowish and thin after eating those vegetables. At the moment I feed him lamb, foal, goat, deer, kangeroo, wild duck, hare, wild rabbit with green vegetables from the ketonic diet. Do I have another question for you. Is it ok I make a page on Spike's website with our mailing on it?
Joke Miedema

Hey Joke,

Good to hear from you again. I'm glad to hear about the recent results. I have not had other canine epileptic cases in which I stopped all feeding of grain-fed animals but it makes perfectly good sense, as we discussed. As I mentioned, we are seeing this practice benefit some celiacs...the worst of the worst, who just can't reach the state of wellness that they should with their otherwise restricted diet. When I read that they were really pouring the wheat to chickens and turkeys in the factory farms of the US, some thing started clicking. As we are all on a spectrum of affliction with these conditions, it certainly holds that the worst would react to such things.

As far as what else to do, the main other area is to support the immune system as much as possible. I send my human cases to a great book written by a woman who helped herself dramatically through natural means. I have since corresponded with her about my approach. Her name is Patricia Murphy and her book is called Treating Epilepsy Naturally and can be found on Amazon here Amazon.co.uk. She has a great section on vitamins, minerals, and other supplements, the most regularly recommended being omega three fatty acids, C, B complex, calcium, zinc, and now taurine. If you put words like "epilepsy, natural treatment" in your search, you'll start seeing sites that go into this. I LOVE these sites because they can really shed some light on what we need to do to control the really tough cases.

The great thing is that the majority of my cases do not need supplementation. The elimination diet straightens them right out. But, it is very easy to see why the worst would require more intensive care. Their brains are shot and the "opportunists" (viruses, mycoplasma) are running rampant. We have to take dead aim at the immune system in these cases to help them overcome the guys that are wreaking havoc on their glial cells. We KNOW they are there.

Whether its totally accurate or not, I like to think of epilepsy like I do a typical herpes infection...remitting/relapsing...with each flare-up doing tissue damage. If you catch an epileptic individual in the throws of an active infection, they will take longer to recover. If you catch them in between active infections, then they may stop seizing over night with the G.A.R.D. and never have another seizure as the glutamate restricted diet allows the remaining glial cells to handle the glutamate load of the new diet. Then, there are those cases that you catch in an inactive phase but continue to have flares over the upcoming months. THESE are the guys you wanna supplement in an attempt to make their immune systems as healthy as possible.

When I hear of people that have helped themselves or their pet's seizures with supplementation without a change to a low glutamate/gut-protective diet, I am very encouraged because I feel that I know why they are getting better- their immune system is improving. However, these will ultimately fail, especially if they are susceptible to the gut damaging effects of the gluten, casein, soy, and corn.

So, you may want to explore vitamin supplementation at this point. Once again, I am so glad that the vast majority respond to the G.A.R.D. alone, as then the skeptics can't say that the supplements are what did it. But I am not such a scientist that I would not tell people about the logical supplements to use. But personally, I am more concerned about the damaging effects of air pollution than I am the beneficial effects of supplements. Air quality plays a HUGE role in all neurodegenerative conditions and may be the single-most important reason for the failure of the glutamate-restricted diet over time.

Hope this helps,
John

PS. I have no problem with you posting these Emails on your site. Sounds good. I am really trying to put on a push to get people aware of this. I feel like I've been sitting on one of the greatest medical secrets of all time. Perhaps a bit melodramatic, but the implications of this research when applied to other conditions like ADHD, Bipolar disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases are immense. Thanks for your support and the time you take to spread the word.

Dogtor J.
www.dogtorj.com
http://dogtorj.tripod.com
(Read: Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn...OR...
How We Won the Battle of Helm's Deep" http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id1.html)

Hi Dr Symes,
Thank you for your answer and the permission. I have added our mailing to Spike's site section articles.

Some things I forgot to mention: Three of Spike's episodes in Marz, (right after he ate his dinner) were caused by him choking on his raw grounded food. He is a terrible gulper. After I discovered this I spread his food in his feeding bowl ;-))))

I also forgot to mention the careless way poeltry is slaugtered these days. In Januari I bought a frozen turkey for the dogs (I like to feed the whole animal). When I was preparing the turkey for grinding I discovered a large blob of turkey poop at the turkey's bottom. So I was asking myself how many poeltry is contaminated with gluten simply by a careless way of slaugtering?

Another thing I forgot: Most cramping dogs suffer besides cramping from one or more other ailments like:
borborygmus (loud intestinal noises and apparent pain)
earproblems
problems with the anal glands
skin problems/allergies
food allergies
excessive pawlicking (itchy feet)
faeces often slimy
blood in the faeces, esp. after an episode
chronic uterus problems
chronic foreskin inflammation
ADH behaviour
This morning it dawned upon me most, if not all, of those complaints, can be lead back to gluten!

I once stumbled on this saying:

"All truth passes through three stages:
First it is Ridiculed.
Second, it is Violently Opposed.
Third, it is Accepted as being Self-Evident."
~Arthur Schopenhauer (1778-1860)

It is a very wise saying, I have added it to my site because the opposition against the gluten theory is very strong :-(((

Joke Miedema

How right you are!!! And, that IS a great quote...one that I would have used more in the past if I had just committed it to memory. I think it is time to do that. :)

Isn't it amazing to see the "planets align" like that? Its like the American Indian saying (that parallels Biblical teaching) "Once you believe it, THEN you will see it." Understanding the villous atrophy of the duodenum as induced by gluten, casein, soy, and corn is a doorway into a whole "nother part of the house....a huge room that most never even knew existed. What's incredible is that its 2005 and most medical professionals don't know about his room. I didn't and I thought I was doing a pretty good job. Wow! I knew a big, relative nothing before I understood this.

But if we are on the wrong path (the "left hand path")...the one that contends that our body is a genetically flawed organism that makes constant mistakes...then we will not see the simplicity of this Truth. As long as we are bent on long-term symptomatic care that simply undoes what the body is trying to do to heal itself or warn us of the unseen damage that's occurring, then we will reap what we sow, won't we?

The proof is in the results and those results have been astounding. The cool thing is that when those results are less than perfect, there are answers as to why- some of which are still our fault while others are out of our immediate control. The latter consists of the air quality issues and the fact that we have already acquired numerous opportunistic organisms that are just waiting for us to mess up enough. They are in us...lots of them. This should not be as scary as it is motivating. We CAN get the viruses, mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast/fungi back under control IF we do enough right.

Spend some time reading about the roles of viruses and mycoplasma in disease, especially the neurodegenerative conditions. But keep in mind, they've been around for years and in us for years. They ARE opportunists. We just gotta stop giving them the bullets that they use to shoot us with. (smile).

Keep in touch,
John
Dogtor J.
www.dogtorj.com
http://dogtorj.tripod.com
(Read: Food Intolerance- Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn...OR...
How We Won the Battle of Helm's Deep" http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id1.html)

| BARF || De voeding van de hond || Gluten & testen || Rotatie dieet || Voedingsproblemen || CECS |
| Commercial dog food || Vaccination || Mailing with dr John Symes || de Nederlandse manier |
| Spike's update || Krampen en Stress || terug |