DIATOMACEOUS EARTH - WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a non-toxic, safe substance made up from crushed fossils of freshwater organisms and marine life. The fossils are ground to a fine powder, the consistency of talcum powder, and has no smell or taste.  DE is extremely rich in silica - a mineral whose list of beneficial health effects continues to grow as more research is carried out.

DE is very inexpensive and readily available.  Just search eBay and you'll find many sources of food grade DE available.  I buy in bulk because it's more cost-effective, and I never want to risk running out of this stuff.

It is important to buy food grade DE for consumption - non-food grade DE can have various metals in it which are not good for health and should not be ingested by animals or humans.

The list of benefits is extremely long, so I'll only list a few.  These are benefits for animals and/or humans (yes - I take it regularly too!):

• Removes all internal parasites, including intestinal worms and heartworms - no need to use chemical wormers if you give your animals DE;
• Promotes hair/fur growth/prevents hair/fur loss; promotes hair and fur health;
• Some people have testified their grey hair has lessened or disappeared completely;
• Relief of arthritic and joint pain in some animals/people;
• Promotes healthy nail growth;
• Prevents symptoms of colitis and irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's Disease;
• Promotes digestion and stomach health;
• Promotes full absorption of dietary nutrients;
• Relieves constipation and diarrhoea;
• Remarkable increase in energy;
• Relieves insomnia;
• Weight loss (or weight normalisation);
• Reversal of G.O.L.P.P. symptoms (Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis Polyneuropathy) **More about this in another post on this blog;
• Promotes bone and tooth/gum health;
• Greatly enhances the immune system;
• Reduces the absorption of, and helps with elimination of aluminium and other heavy metals - promotes neurological health;
• Promotes heart health;
• Promotes wound and burn healing;
• Eliminates flatulence; 
• Detoxifies;
• Promotes health of all internal organs, including the pancreas - can greatly reduce symptoms of pancreatitis and diabetes type 2;
• Doggie skin problems and bad smell;
• Relieves symptoms of Lupus

And the list could go on.

Some of the beneficial effects of DE are evident immediately, while other effects take a little longer to manifest - but manifest they do.  As time goes on, you'll notice more and more health benefits - big and little health issues that disappear, sometimes without your noticing.

But the best thing is, your animals will FEEL better - no more tummy upsets, no more constipation or diarrhoea, no more itching, no more smelling or farting, no more patchy or course fur, no more lethargy, no more immobility, no more gagging or long breathing recovery after exercise... Even if you do nothing else for your animals, do one GREAT thing and buy some DE and give it to them and you'll be amazed at their increase in general health and the decrease in vet bills.  Give it to your dog, your cat, your horse, your guinea pig, your rabbit, your ferret - any animal at all.  And don't forget to give it to yourself!

 

Best to build up the amount you give your animals over a week or two.  We give our dogs (German Shepherd and Golden Retriever) two tablespoons per day.  I myself take two tablespoons per day.  Cats are a lot fussier about their food, so just introduce about a third of a teaspoonful in their food at first until they are no longer suspicious.  Increase it as you wish, but cats shouldn't need more than a heaped teaspoonful per day.  For humans - I take two heaped tablespoons full per day.  

Note:  Since taking DE, I've had additional hair growth at the nape of my neck - possibly hair that stopped growing some time ago due to the aging process.  And although I wasn't bothered by the increase in hair loss before, I definitely have thick hair again now, and it's very shiny too. 

I don't really have experience with dosages for other animals - but you can safely estimate the amounts based on those given for dogs and cats.  Horses can be given a lot more.  Try Googling for information.

I did find some testimonials on a website belonging to a seller of DE - http://www.earthworkshealth.com/pets-animals-testimonials.php .  There are testimonials for humans on this site too.  All of these testimonials (and there are many) make a very interesting read. I buy my DE from sellers on eBay.

And if you do go ahead and give DE to your animals, please do send me a brief testimonial and I'll publish it here.  We need to share what we learn so that animals everywhere can benefit.  Thanks and all the best!

PERMANENTLY ALLEVIATING COLITIS/IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

ATHOS

Athos, our German Shepherd, came to us as a "medical placement" from Battersea because he is elderly (12+ years old), and he has colitis.  The colitis caused him great discomfort and, as is typical of colitis sufferers, he alternated between constipation and diarrhoea, often resulting in spontaneous bowel evacuation.  He was on a very specific diet when he came to us which seemed to keep the condition under control - trouble was, the diet wasn't doing anything at all in sustaining general good health and we weren't happy with the idea of feeding him the two brands of tinned food for the rest of his life.  Also, I always prefer to get to the root of the problem and fix it, rather than just control the symptoms.

We have been feeding our dogs unprocessed food (mostly raw, with cooked vegetables, etc) and various supplements since 2007, and we have found that this diet performs miracles regarding the reversal of many canine health issues, including mobility problems.  So we wanted to feed Athos on this healthier diet as well (Athos also suffers from hip dysplasia).  The change-over allowed us to experience (oh what joy! - not) exactly what happens when a dog with colitis is fully symptomatic and we had to come up with a solution to his problem very quickly!  

Turns out, yet again, that the "old ways" are the best.  We gave him food grade diatomaceous earth (sometimes called "Fuller's Earth") in his food and the constipation and diarrhoea stopped immediately.  Athos also seemed to be a lot more comfortable, which was made evident by his increased energy and playfulness.  He just looked happier.  His fur is now softer, and he's managed to put on a little weight so he now looks very healthy and strong. 

Another great thing about giving diatomaceous earth to dogs is that their stools become very easy to clean up - neat packages with less smell.  (Hope you're not eating your breakfast while reading this).  

We gave Athos and Bryn a tablespoon of D.E. twice a day for a couple of months, then changed the regime to two tablespoons in their evening meal only. 

Athos was fully symptomatic in October and was given his first doses of D.E. then.  Since October, he hasn't had a single "accident" and his bowel movements are regular and normal in texture.  We can now feed him absolutely anything without any ill effects.

And...both Bryn and Athos used to suffer from severe, room-clearing, noxious and nauseating flatulence.  I am very happy indeed to report that this problem has disappeared also, although it took a while longer to go than their other symptoms of digestion problems.  But it was well worth the wait!