Animal Naturopathy:
The Eight Laws of Health

For Beyond 50's “Natural Healing” talks, listen to an interview with Lezia Munn. She is an Animal Naturopath in Oregon. She'll talk about the optimal and not optional ways to keep your pet healthy, based on the laws of Nature. They involve care through nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperament, air, rest, and trust.

Pet Care Based on Nature's Laws

An acronym to easily remember the Eight Laws of Animal Health is N.E.W. S.T.A.R.T.   

N - Nutrition -This is the cornerstone of the teachings of Animal Naturopathy.  Our animal companions must eat what they were designed to consume in order to thrive. 

Cats are obligates, so they must eat fresh, raw meat.  As opposed to dogs, they will not eat road kill and will not bury it to eat later.  Dogs are carnivores and scavengers. 

For cats and dogs to thrive, a raw diet is best because their food is enzymatically alive to assimilate the nutrition within it.  Canned and dried food (kibble) is enzymatically dead and can create a poor immune response, leading to disease.  When their immunity is strong, they can ward off invading viruses, allergens, pathogens, parasites, bacteria and fungus.

E - Exercise - Animals are meant to move daily.  The benefits include staying strong; better elimination of toxins; enable muscles to grow and stay supple; release pent up energy and stress; and keep them calm.

Small to large animals need lots of exercise.  Walking them on a leash and letting them play in the yard is insufficient.  It's best to let them run at their own pace in order to raise their heart rate to meet their specific exercise needs.

If your dog is barking at everything, chewing and digging, it's a behavioral sign of lack of exercise.  And, if your dog is properly exercised, they tend to sleep all day vs. being awake and active all day.

The benefits of exercise include improved elimination; regular elimination; less aches and pains in older carnivores; improved brain function so they'll respond better to us; good circulation of oxygen to the heart and lungs; improved muscle tone; improved insulin absorption to lower the blood glucose concentrate; and allows the lymph to do its job (of delivering nutrients, detoxifying the body, and fight infections).

W - Water - Give pure, fresh (filtered or bottled) water daily in a clean dish.  Don't put fresh water on top of an old water supply. 

When you transfer a dog or cat from a diet of kibble to a species appropriate raw diet, they will need less water. 

Cats are desert animals (through their ancestral lines from Egypt and Africa), so they don't require much water.

Carnivores have a high percentage of water in their body: Blood has 83%, muscles have 75%, brain has 95%, and their lungs have 90%.  The proportions are high because the water helps them to cleanse their body of toxins; keep their organs and joints moist; and allows for the passage of nutrients.

S - Sunshine - Sunshine is required in the colon to convert it to Vitamin D.  Getting 2 hours daily is a good amount. 

Both sunshine and Vitamin D supports the immune system; lowers blood sugar levels and cholesterol; uses calcium and phosphorous; increases red and white blood cells, which destroys the terms on the skin; increases circulation; helps to eliminate toxins; and essential to the brain functioning well.

T - Temperament - Practice moderation and balance.

A - Air -They must have pure, fresh air daily.  It is not intended for our animal companions to be enclosed indoors all of the time.

R - Rest -The best kind of quality rest for them is in an area where there is no noise from electronics or appliances. 

T - Trust - Nature's laws are simple and matter.  You must trust in the previous 7 laws of health.

*To contact Animal Naturopath, Lezia Munn in Oregon, she can be reached by email: moonlighthomeopathy@comcast.net and phone: (503) 350-0865.

**For an Animal Naturopath near you, visit www.animalnaturopathy.org.

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