The Grass is Always Greener
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Written by Claudeen E. Mc Auliffe Tuesday, 31 July 2007 00:00 |
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Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, and hundreds of canines are spreading across the landscape, chowing down at Mother Nature’s salad bar. For years we’ve asked the question: “Why do dogs eat grass?” I’d like to suggest some answers.
No Green Here!
Compared to the processed and concentrated food most of our dogs eat, the grass is greener. Processed food such as kibble offers few, if any, green ingredients. When it does, these, too, are in a de-natured and processed form. Have you ever seen kibble that looked green, other than if it contained artificial colorings? A number of fresh, raw unprocessed foods contain vegetable matter, which, in fact, causes the food to have a green tinge to it. But for the most part our dogs get little in the way of fresh, green foods.
A lifetime of concentrated, highly processed dog food, often made from poor quality meat products and byproducts, rancid oils and fats, and denatured grains provides as many or more calories as our dogs need, while they starve for minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, enzymes, anti-oxidants, and especially real, live food with a vibrant life force.
Magnificent Magnesium
Let’s focus on just one deficiency produced by a diet of refined foods, the mineral magnesium, which is abundant in green foods such as grass. Magnesium is the central ion in the chlorophyll molecule, and the magnesium ion is what makes plants green; their life’s blood, so to speak. By the way, we’re not so different from plants. Our blood is similar to chlorophyll, except that the central ion is iron instead of magnesium. Iron is what colors our blood red.
Magnesium does a lot of different things. After calcium and phosphorus, it’s the third most abundant mineral in bone and teeth. In fact, calcium can’t form bone without help from magnesium. Too little magnesium causes calcium to accumulate in soft tissues, contributing to the formation of arthritis. Magnesium helps break down carbohydrates and fats, and acts as a catalyst for numerous enzymes. Cells require it to produce a chemical called adenosine triphosphate, the immediate source of energy for the body’s cells, and the mineral is highly concentrated in the brain and heart, two organs which create and use massive amounts of energy. Magnesium-rich plants, such as grasses, are anti-inflammatory. Studies on rats showed that too little magnesium in the tissues contributed not only to inflammation, but also to oxidative damage from the formation of free radicals. Magnesium also dilates coronary arteries, relaxes heart muscle, and normalizes heart rhythm. It prevents eclampsia in lactating bitches. Magnesium is excreted through the kidneys, and in times of stress the body may excrete more magnesium, increasing the deficiency. But it’s also called the “anti-stress mineral,” functioning as a natural tranquilizer to relax smooth and skeletal muscle. Because of its effects on the nervous system, it’s been helpful in relieving nervousness, anxiety and hyperactivity in humans, especially when paired with vitamin B6, also abundant in green plants. Irritability, apprehension and decreased learning ability may signal magnesium deficiency.
The most common form of magnesium used in pet foods is the inexpensive magnesium oxide, an inorganic, unchelated form, which is very difficult for the dog’s body to absorb. Drinking soft water also interferes with magnesium absorption.
Look, Ma! No Worms!
So, why do dogs eat grass? Could it be they are supplementing their diets with magnesium? Or maybe they’re self-medicating. European herbalists noticed that sick dogs seemed to search out a particular species of grass with such regularity that the plant became known as “dog grass.” Many dogs vomit after eating grass; presumably it binds up toxic or undigested matter in the stomach which the animal can then expel. Dogs appear to use different grasses for different purposes, with hairy grasses being used to purge the stomach and couch grasses being used to purge the intestines and bowel of parasites. This behavior has also been observed in many other species, including humans. Wolves eat grass, expelling roundworms with the grassy droppings. All of my dogs eat green grass nearly every day it’s available. None of them have ever needed to be wormed. One of my dogs, with a history of chronic inherited digestive and immune issues, will eat houseplants if she doesn’t have access to grass, such as in the winter months.
So eating grass may not be a bad thing, and may even be beneficial. Pass the salad, please!
References
Balch, P.A., Balch, J.F. Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 3rd Ed. New York: Avery/Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2000.
Engel, C. Wild Health. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002.
Haas, E.M. Staying Healthy With Nutrition. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 1992.
Hand, M.S., Thatcher, C.D., Remillard, R.L., Roudebush, P. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th Ed. Topeka: Mark Morris Institute, 2000.
Lazarus, P. Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way. New York: Fawcett Books, The Balantine Publishing Group, 1999.
Pitchford, P. Healing With Whole Foods, 3rd Ed. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2002.
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