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When Folklore Meets Food Fad
By Narda G. Robinson, DO, DVM, MS, FAAMA
The shocking deaths from melamine-spiked pet food two years ago severely shook the public’s confidence in commercial food.
When the brutal truth came to light that Chinese animal-feed producers had been supplementing animal feed with melamine for years, this “open secret” multiplied trepidations about a range of Chinese imports, from tainted herbs to food to drugs.1-3
China’s “terrible food safety record” involved scandals pertaining to “everything from fake baby milk formulas and soy sauce made from human hair to instances where cuttlefish were soaked in calligraphy ink to improve color and eels were fed contraceptive pills to make them grow long and slim.”4
Fears of poisoning pets with food from China sparked a resurgence of interest in homemade diets. The public continues to turn to veterinarians as their primary source for nutrition guidance.5 As such, veterinarians’ advice on noncommercial foods should “ensure that the total diet provides suitable nutrients for their pet and also to ensure that the clients are aware of potential risks to their pet.”6
With several alternative canine and feline diets arriving on the scene, veterinarians need to be able to critically evaluate the rationales and nutritional adequacy of novel feeding methods. Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medical (TCVM) food therapy constitutes one such method, extracted from human folkloric feeding practices and extrapolated to domestic dogs and cats.
It entails making diagnoses and dietary prescriptions based on metaphorical descriptions of illness and magical correspondences between food energies and interactions, and arcane concepts of illness and imbalance. TCVM food therapy has thus far escaped scientific scrutiny.
A Look Back
TCVM food therapy supposedly dates to the sixth century CE. A book called “Basic Techniques for Farmers” offered information about advanced animal husbandry, nutrition and food therapy for horses and other farm animals.7 One ancient text from the 13th century suggested feeding dogs black sesame seed powder to make the coat black and lustrous, and one in 1504 said roasted pork liver made cat fur shiny and soft, according to Huisheng Xie, DVM, Ph.D., who teaches TCVM food therapy at the Chi Institute in Florida.
Regarding the differences between Chinese and Western nutritional approaches, another TCVM instructor from Florida stated, “[A]s with other fields of Western medicine that look at the body as the sum of it[s] chemical reactions, ignoring the energetic properties of the body, Western nutrition does not address the energetic needs of the body. Through thousands of years of observational studies, TCM practitioners have amassed the knowledge needed to effect food therapy in pets. After all, much of Western nutritional theory is just that, theory without much practice.”8
Much of TCVM food therapy sorts food into yin and yang categories, which can determine either their cooling or warming natures, or their moistening or drying qualities. It sounds simple and straightforward, with the goal being balance, and it certainly enhances dietary exoticism. Treating an allergic, or “hot,” dog means feeding “cooling” meats and vegetables, while feeding a “cool” cat, who is old and feeble, may warrant a “warming” diet.
Examples of “warming” meats include chicken but also cat and dog, all of which are consumed in Asia. In fact, Asian food therapy philosophy holds that “the eating of dog meat ‘enhances health and longevity.’ ” Furthermore, “Dog meat is consumed throughout the year in the second half of the lunar month, and is more popular during the winter months, as it is also believed to increase body heat.”9
Balancing Yin and Yang does not necessarily translate into a balanced diet, and even after supposedly 3,000 years of implementation, Chinese food therapy remains untested, even for humans, for whom it largely developed.10 As such, one cannot ensure that it meets standards set by human nor veterinary nutrition science to ensure a balanced, safe diet.
If folkloric nutritional approaches sufficed, one would think that malnutrition and nutritional deficiency diseases in China would have been eradicated millennia ago, or at least after food became more available to feed the masses after the Communist Revolution. Not so. According to a study on the nutritional status of the Chinese people from ancient times to the present, “The Chinese are still facing both the problem of nutrition insufficiency and nutrition excess.”11
Indicating the move toward modernization of nutrition science in China, Chinese researchers commented on the trend of dietary patterns in China, noting, “There is still a shortage of qualified nutritional scientists and technicians, and the training of nutritionists is urgent.”12 If the folkloric tradition of Chinese food therapy applied universally, the American diet of a hamburger and salty fries would not only increase our energy and nourish our blood, it would improve our digestion, support kidney function, soften masses and detoxify our systems.13-14
In fact, just-released evidence from the National Cancer Institute indicates that red meat ingestion increases mortality risk and cancer.15
Nutrition as Science
In the West, nutrition became a science 200 years ago. In 1816, Francois Magendie systematically investigated commonly accepted notions such as “Every one knows that dogs can live very well on bread alone.”
He discovered that “a dog does not live above 50 days” when fed only bread.16 About a decade later, after more research on what dogs needed to eat to survive, he wrote, “As so often in research, unexpected results had contraindicated every reasonable expectation.”17
And so, the drive to separate nutritional facts from folklore began. The struggle between facts and fads continues to this day, with some still not sure whether nutrition science is really science.18
Similarly, veterinarian nutritionists have raised questions about the nutritional value of diets fed to companion animals, specifically citing the pitfalls of homemade diets and excessive levels of dietary protein and sodium in certain preparations.19-21 Consumers need scientifically informed, plainly explained nutritional guidance.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made strides in this direction for humans by listing qualified health claims made for foods that are subject to enforcement discretion. It categorizes foods tested according to potential benefits; i.e., lowered risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, diabetes, hypertension and neural tube birth defects.
Offered by the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, this website provides a critical review of claims made for specific food items.22
As an example, the website discusses the potential value of tomatoes or tomato sauce to reduce cancer risk. The center also provides guidance on safe levels of certain nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and whether they meet or exceed minimum or maximum nutrient content requirements.
A database such as this, geared toward veterinary medicine, is just what the veterinary profession needs to counter the seemingly growing reliance on opinion and metaphor. <HOME>
Narda Robinson, DVM, DO, Dipl. ABMA, FAAMA, offers an evidential and scientific perspective on the latest trends in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine. She oversees complementary veterinary education at Colorado State University.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Barboza D and Barrionuevo A. “Filler in animal feed is open secret in China.” The New York Times. April 30, 2007.
2. BBC News, Oct. 31, 2008. “Chinese melamine scandal widens.”
3. Barboza D and Barrionuevo A. “Filler in animal feed is open secret in China.” The New York Times. April 30, 2007.
4. Barboza D and Barrionuevo A. “Filler in animal feed is open secret in China.” The New York Times. April 30, 2007.
5. Laflamme DP, Abood SK, Fascetti AJ, et. al. “Pet feeding practices of dog and cat owners in the United States and Australia.” JAVMA. 2008; 232(5):687-694.
6. Laflamme DP, Abood SK, Fascetti AJ, et. al. “Pet feeding practices of dog and cat owners in the United States and Australia.” JAVMA. 2008; 232(5):687-694.
7. Xie H. Personal communication on March 24, 2009.
8. Clemmons RM. “Feeding according to TCM. “ Obtained at Google cache page. Part of the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine Course VEM 5208, “Additional Approaches to Disease Prevention and Treatment.”
9. Wertheim HFL, Nguyen TQ, Nguyen KAT, et al. “Furious rabies after an atypical exposure.” PLoS Med. 2009; 6(3):e10000044 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000044 .
10. Kastner J. “Chinese Nutrition Therapy: Dietetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine.” New York: Thieme, 2004. P. XII.
11. Chen JD and Xu H. “Historical development of Chinese dietary patterns and nutrition from the ancient to the modern society.” Simopoulous, AP (ed): “Metabolic Consequences of Changing Dietary Patterns.” World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 1996, 79:133-153.
12. Chen JD and Xu H. “Historical development of Chinese dietary patterns and nutrition from the ancient to the modern society.” Simopoulous, AP (ed): “Metabolic Consequences of Changing Dietary Patterns.” World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 1996, 79:133-153.
13. Boudreaux M. “Traditional Chinese Medical food therapy.” North American Veterinary Conference 2003, Small Animal and Exotics. Orlando, Fla.
14. Clemmons RM. “Feeding according to TCM.” Obtained at Google cache page for .
15. Sinha R, Cross AJ, Graubard BI, et al. “Meat intake and mortality: A prospective study of over half a million people.“ Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(6):562-571.
16. Carpenter KJ. “A short history of nutritional science: Part 1 (1785-1885).” J Nutr. 2003;133:638-645.
17. Carpenter KJ. “A short history of nutritional science: Part 1 (1785-1885).” J Nutr. 2003;133:638-645.
18. Tierney J. “Is nutrition science not really science?” Science Blog, The New York Times. March 24, 2009.
19. Remillard RL. “Homemade diets: Attributes, pitfalls and a call for action.” Top Companion Anim Med 2008;23(3):137-142.
20. Chandler ML. Laflamme DP. “Pet food safety: Dietary protein.” Top Companion Anim Med. 2008;23(3):148-153.
21. Top Companion Anim Med. 2008 Aug;23(3):148-53. Review.
22. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Obtained on 032409.
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