To begin the healing process, some careful measures must be taken toward assuring that the skin is properly fed. Start with a critical assessment of your companion's diet, looking not just at the diversity and types of food ingredients but at the quality of each ingredient as well.

The skin is an organ which must continually regenerate itself in order to survive the constant effects of aging and bombardment from environmental elements. To do so it must receive a unique array of special nutrients and nutritional adjuncts, many of which will not be found in a typical commercial diet. At the top of this special requirement list are antioxidant vitamins (A, C and E), minerals, proteins, and especially---- essential fatty acids (EFA's).

Supplement your companion's natural diet with an essential fatty acid supplement. This might include flax seed powder or oil, fish oil, or wheat germ oil. Vitamins A, C, and E are also needed for their regenerative and antioxidant effects, and digestive enzymes are needed to maximize the digestibility of the animal's food. In terms of herbs, horsetail and gotu kola may be useful in regenerating and strengthening skin structure, and nutritive herbs such as spirulina, nettle, alfalfa, or red clover may be useful for providing trace minerals and antioxidant vitamins. Fresh burdock root is available at many health food stores, and can be grated (raw) directly into your animal's food. Burdock is considered a specific alterative for chronic skin problems. It is safe, nutritious, and will gently support your animal's liver and gall bladder. Feed as much as your animal likes.

The quality of protein you are feeding also plays a vital role here--- low-grade proteins (such as soy-based fillers and most meat-byproducts) are very difficult for animals to metabolize, and instead of being received as nutritive protein, the body must treat them as hard-to-eliminate wastes. By feeding your animal a diversity of high quality, fresh foods and the proper nutritional supplements, you will be equipping his body with the components it needs to maintain healthy skin-related functions. Without the proper nutritional components, the skin will become weak and vulnerable to the effects of the environment, its interconnected body functions will become compromised, and the entire system will fall out of holistic balance.

"FEEDING THE SKIN"
copyright, 1998
Mary Wulff-Tilford and Greg Tilford.