By Special Guest Columnist, Russell Louie – Optimum Choices, LLC
We are happy to welcome our guest author, Russell Louie, and his thought-provoking article on preventative holistic medicine.
Do you wait for symptoms to blow up or show up before taking action? A customer was using the maintenance formula of our BioPreparation product for their 19-year-old cat with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). I suggested they switch to the therapeutic formula. They asked, “Why switch if the cat is still playing with toys, jumping up on the bed, and lab tests showed no need for subcutaneous fluids yet?” In essence, “Why fix what isn’t broken?”
For Chronic Renal Failure (CRF), like most degenerative diseases (e.g., osteoarthritis, cancer, diabetes, stones, crystals, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, allergies), symptoms do not appear until at least 50% degeneration has occurred. That means the organ or body part concerned has already deteriorated 50% before you notice symptoms. Incats, by the time lab tests confirm CRF, the kidneys are already 75% gone. To holistically and nutritionally help a cat at that point, is almost too late.
Degenerative diseases are not a given for senior pets. Most can be avoided with proper nutritional care. Even genetic predispositions to health challenges can be somewhat neutralized. But any proactive measures must be started BEFORE symptoms show up and tests confirm degeneration has occurred. Another reason not to wait is the total cost of treating degenerative diseases.
If one waits until lab tests confirm a degenerative disease, the total cost to treat that disease will more than surpass any proactive holistic measures, such as improved diet and nutritional products given over the lifetime of your pet. Statistics show that 50% of natural deaths in older pets are attributed to cancer. The initial cancer diagnosis and lab tests could easily run $1,000-2,000. Together with ongoing cancer treatment, total medical bills could reach as much as $10,000. For an average 10-year-old pet, one could spend an extra $83/month over 10 years to keep your pet healthy, rather than $10,000 on cancer treatment–and still break even.
So, the question becomes, are you willing to spend extra money every month now, for better quality food and holistic products, to keep your senior pet healthier and avoid expensive degenerative diseases? Or do you play the odds and expect your pet to be in the other 50% that will not get cancer (though it may still develop other degenerative diseases)?
We tend to have two types of customers at Optimum Choices: ones that wait for symptoms to SHOW UP before taking action and those that wait for symptoms to BLOW UP before taking action. We actually had to implement a third type of shipping option, emergency overnight service, to satisfy those customers who wait for symptoms to blow up before taking action. Most holistic products do not work immediately like drugs. By the time clinical evidence of degenerative disease shows up, any hope of reversing the degenerative process is gone. That is why I suggested switching from the maintenance formula to the therapeutic formula for a 19-year-old cat already diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure.
Don’t wait for symptoms to SHOW UP or BLOW UP before taking preventative holistic measures. If you love your pet(s) like members of your family as we do, please take action now!
Margaret Auld-Louie and Russell Louie have over 85 years of combined holistic experience. You can reach them at info@optimumchoices.com or call 303-271-1649 or visit their website www.OptimumChoices.com.