CARE OF COWS WITH A DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© August 2020, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc.
All information in this article is for
educational purposes only. It is
not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health
condition.
Contents
Health Of Cows
Three Methods
Of Care
The
Development Method
2.
BASIC CARE OF COWS - FEEDING
Basic Foods
Water For
Drinking
Supplementary
Foods
Isolated
Nutrient Supplements
Finishing
3.
BASIC CARE OF COWS - LIFESTYLE
Fresh Air
Cleanliness
Crowding
Warmth
Dry, Clean
Bedding And No Concrete
Drugs And
Vaccines
Unsafe Locations
Music For Cows
Love Your Cows
Understanding illness - Layers Of
Illness:
- Basic Causes
- Second Layer
– Metabolic Disturbances
- Superficial
Layer - Symptoms And ÔDiseasesÕ
Common Symptoms
- Infections,
including Pneumonia
- Reproductive
Problems
- Fractures
- Parasites
- Eye Problems
- Premature
Aging
- Liver
Toxicity
- Sluggish
Weight Gain
- Overweight
- Low Milk
Production
5.
HAIR MINERAL BIOPSY TESTING
- Case
Histories
6.
THE DEVELOPMENT METHOD OF SUPPLEMENTATION
More About The
Development Method Theory
Retracing
Hybrids
Homeopathy
Vaccines
Falsely
Labeled Grass-Fed Or Organic Beef
**********************
Cows are the most important livestock animals in the world. Over a billion people depend upon cows
for milk, butter, meat, hide and other products they provide.
However, most cows around the world are not healthy. This is mainly due to being fed grain
instead of their natural food, which is grass. It is also due to widespread use of drugs and vaccines,
which are needed if the cows are fed incorrectly. On some farms, conditions are also crowded and unsanitary.
THREE
MODELS OF CARING FOR COWS
There are three methods of caring for cows. It is important for farmers and ranchers to understand the
differences between them. They
are:
Model #1. Conventional drug
veterinary care. This is the care that 99% of cows
receive. It is very inadequate, in
our view. It is the least
preventive in nature and the most toxic of the three methods. It is what we call a diagnose-and-treat
and remedy
method.
It is causing:
- Serious diseases in cows such as pneumonias.
- Diseases in the human beings who eat their products, including
cancers, heart disease and others.
- For the reason above, it is leading to a reduction in the
consumption of cow products, which is not good. Some are calling for a ban on all cow products today, which
would be a disaster, in our view.
- Conventional cow care also damages the soil and grazing lands,
contaminating them with drug residues.
- Water supplies around the world are becoming contaminated with
antibiotic and other drug residues.
- It is a major cause of antibiotic resistance, a worldwide problem
that threatens everyoneÕs health.
Model #2. Holistic, natural or organic cow
care. This is better than conventional veterinary care. It is more preventive and less toxic
than Model #1 above.
It is an expansion of the diagnose-and treat method with an:
- Expanded number of diseases or problems. These include imbalanced saliva pH, for example.
- Expanded number of assessment methods. These include various urine,
blood and saliva tests.
- Expanded types of remedies.
For example, it uses natural remedies for infections to reduce the need
for antibiotics.
It also focuses on
better nutrition, a better lifestyle for cows, greater cleanliness and avoiding
crowding and other unhealthy practices.
Still unhealthy.
However, it still requires antibiotics and, at times, other drugs and vaccines
because cows handled naturally are still not healthy. Among other problems, they are still too yin, a term borrowed from macrobiotics, quite
toxic and often nutritionally depleted, even if they are pasture-raised.
We view natural or organic cow care as a hybrid method between model
#1 and model #3.
Model #3. The development
method. This is another leap forward. It is a relatively new system of
healing that is not based upon diagnose-and-treat and not based upon the use of remedies.
History. Instead
of diagnose-and-treat, model #3 derives from the stress theory of disease and
the theory of the oxidation types.
The stress theory of disease is the work of Hans Selye,
MD, a Canadian physician and researcher who lived from 1907 to 1982.
The word stress has found its way into common usage. However, the essence
of the theory – the stages of stress – are still not
recognized by medical doctors or veterinarians almost 70 years after the theory
originated.
The theory of the oxidation types is the work of George Watson, PhD, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles
from the 1960s to the 1980s. It is
somewhat obscure research, but very important because it dovetails perfectly
with the work of Hans Selye.
Features. The
main features of the development method are:
- Cows must be fed their
natural food of grass.
- It requires a few simple, but precisely balanced nutritional
formulas. These are to correct
very specific metabolic imbalances.
They can be put in licks and the cows will choose which ones and how
much they need.
- It requires avoiding certain products that are yin or toxic. These include most drugs and vaccines,
molasses, spent brewers mash and most all vitamin, mineral, herbal and essential
oil supplements except the ones mentioned above.
- It requires hair mineral testing of a few cows to determine their
stage of stress, especially if a cows are ill. The test may also reveal problems with the water, the feed
or other types of problems. This
is a biopsy test that is identical to the soil analysis test that all farmers
use.
- It causes an unusual phenomenon called retracing. This idea is known in chiropractic science, but not in
conventional medical or veterinary care.
We mention it here because if one is not aware of it, one will become
confused using Model #3.
We have helped research this method, but it is newer and not taught. A few farmers in New Zealand and Australia
have used it successfully, and that is all.
The method is discussed at length on this website in the context of
human health care. The principles are
the same for cows and other animals.
The only difference is the ideal mineral values that are used to make
the assessments.
MAIN
FOOD – PASTURELAND OR FORAGE
The correct basic food for cows is fresh pastureland grasses. Rye, wheat, oats and other grasses work
very well.
Large grazing areas.
Ideally, cows need a large area in which to graze.
Rotation. Rotating
fields prevents overgrazing and gives cows added variety in their diet. It also allows manure and urine to be
processed correctly without overloading an area.
Choosing
their food. Pasture has the added advantage that if
the grass is plentiful, the cows can choose which plants to eat. This is important because choosing
their food allows:
- better nutrition
- balancing their body chemistry and healing
their bodies. Most cows can do
this, both hybrids and heirloom varieties.
Without a
lot of diversity in the plants cows can use for grazing, one will have sick
cows. On most farms, instead of providing enough variety in
grazing plants, ranchers use a variety of drugs to control diseases. This is horrible for the cows and for those who
will eat their products.
Improving
grazing lands. An excellent idea is to improve
pastures by planting plants that cows like to eat and that add nutrition to
their diet. Examples are lambsquarters, smooth pigweed, burdock, milk thistle,
dandelions, tulip poplars, multilfora rose and
lespedeza. Do not plant crabgrass
because it tends to take over a field and ruin it.
Others are food seeds such as broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots and sunflower. One can buy a bag of mixed seeds for
cow grazing areas. The cows help
by spreading the seeds in their manure.
HAY
OR SILAGE
The second best type of feed is silage, or dry hay. This is a standard feed in wintertime
if fresh grass is not available.
Hay is a dry food that is too dry by itself. It is acceptable for cows as long as there is enough water
to mix with the hay. Hay varies a
lot in quality, depending on where it was grown. Hay is also not green grass, by any stretch. For all these reasons, it is not as
good as pasture.
CORN,
SOY AND OTHER GRAINS OR LEGUMES
This is the least desirable food for cows. It is hard on their digestion and causes digestive problems,
in all cases. It may produce a
sweet-tasting steak with marbling, but it is not healthy meat. For development, the less grain and legumes
a cow eats, the better.
WATER
FOR DRINKING
If cow are fed on pasture land, then water is less critical because a
healthy cow will get a lot of moisture from the grasses it eats. However, if cows are forced to eat
silage or grains, then the cow must have a lot of water to balance the dryness
of these foods.
Sadly, many cows have no choice but to drink poor quality water. At times, a low-quality
well water can be mixed with some better quality water such as rain water
collected properly. Even a small
amount can help cows tolerate poorer quality water.
Common problems with water.
Iron and manganese. This
is a common problem in many wells.
Water that is high in iron and/or manganese needs filtering. Otherwise, cows that drink it will
suffer ill health, at least to some degree.
The iron and manganese are usually in a form such as oxides that are
stimulating and not biologicially available. We call these forms of minerals the amigos
because they are found together.
They are discussed in the article entitled Iron,
Manganese And Aluminum – The Amigos. They are quite toxic and one of the scourges of cows.
Other toxic metals. This
is another problem of some water supplies. Some can be filtered out, but not all of them, by any
means. These are hard to identify
because standard water testing does not test for all of them. A comprehensive hair mineral test will reveal most
problems with water.
Toxic
chemicals. This problem is worse in areas such as
America, where pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and other drugs have been
used for years. Testing is costly
and can miss many chemicals.
However, we believe that overall, toxic chemicals are not as bad a
problem as are toxic metals and high levels of minerals such as iron and
manganese.
Superphosphates or nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. An enormous problem with water in
agricultural areas such as the American heartland is the presence of residues
of N-P-K fertilizers in the drinking water supplies. These are not easily filtered out, and they sicken many
cows. They are also oxide and
other irritating forms of minerals.
Other water problems. These
include 1) an imbalanced pH, either too low or too high, 2) a very high mineral
content, and 3) infestations with parasites, bacteria or other germs.
Use of rainwater or snow runoff for cows. If a
cowÕs drinking water is contaminated with iron, for example, giving the cows
some rainwater is helpful. The
cows do not need a lot of rainwater, and even a little helps them offset the
effects of toxic metals in their regular drinking water.
When collecting rainwater, be sure that all gutters, conduits and
storage tanks are made of plastic, not metal. This is because rainwater will absorb oxide forms of
minerals easily from metal pipes and metal gutters.
FOOD
SUPPLEMENTS
Sugar
beets. Cows benefit from a few
food supplements. One of the best
is sugar beets.
One or two sugar beets every day are a superb addition to a cowÕs
diet. Among many other nutrients,
they contain a significant amount of trimethylglycine. This nutrient is a powerful methyl donor. It helps the brain and greatly enhances
the cowÕs ability to detoxify all kinds of toxins through the liver.
We find that all cows, as well as human beings and many other species,
benefit from extra methyl groups.
This is true regardless of what a medical test indicates about the state
of methylation in the animalÕs body. For details, read Methylation.
Extra
fat. Some cows need extra fat in their diets. These cows are fast oxidizers. This is a term from development science. It is a common condition of cows today,
though not of all cows. It means
that the thyroid and adrenal glands are stressed, and usually overproducing
their hormones. Such cows require
more fat in the diet. For details,
read Fast Oxidation. Later in this article is a discussion of how to tell if a
cow has a fast oxidation rate.
Fats. To
supply extra fat, animal fats are excellent, but costly. These include chicken skin, suet or
others. Oil supplements for cows
that we recommend are flaxseed oil or hemp oil, in particular. If your cows enjoy regular corn in the
diet, it may be because they want the corn oil, not all the starch.
Supplements
to avoid. We do not like adding molasses or spent brewery
mash to cowÕs diets. These
supplements are rich in some nutrients such as iron in molasses. However, they are unbalanced and too yin in
macrobiotic terms.
Feeding molasses to cows will overload a cow with iron, which damages
its health and can lead to iron storage diseases that can kill a cow. Cows will eat these supplements to
supply many nutrients, but it does not mean that they are best. Having more natural foods to graze is
best.
ISOLATED
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS FOR COWS
Without a few simple nutritional supplements, most cows are sickly
today because most soils, and therefore the grasses, are low in vital
nutrient. Among these are zinc,
calcium, magnesium, iodine and, in some cases, others.
The two ways to decide upon which supplements to
feed to cows are 1) guesswork and 2) testing.
Guesswork is very unreliable. We never recommend it. It is almost always harmful for cows.
Testing does not have to be costly or difficult if one uses the
development method discussed later in this article. This method uses a hair mineral test, which is a tissue
biopsy. Blood, urine and other
tests cannot provide the same information. The development science section of this article discusses
supplementation in more detail.
Cows can
select supplements. Unlike human beings and most other
livestock, cows will usually choose supplements fairly well if given a
choice. A horrible practice at
most factory feeding operations (CAFOs) is mixing
vitamins in with a cowÕs ration so the cows must eat it. Cows do not like this.
Supplements
to avoid. With the development method, it is of
the utmost importance to avoid giving cows almost all vitamins, minerals and
other supplements. This cannot be
emphasized enough! It is true even
if the supplements produce symptomatic improvements. The problem is they unbalance the body at deep levels and
can easily prevent more permanent healing.
Supplements to avoid include most herbs, most vitamins and minerals,
and all homeopathic remedies. The
latter are toxic and should never be used. We know this is not what the books say. A section later at the end of this
article discusses this in more detail.
FINISHING
This is the feeding of beef cows near the time of slaughter. It is a method of altering the taste of
the meat and for fattening the cows so the farmers will make more money when
the cow is slaughtered due to the extra weight of meat.
Methods.
Feedlot cows may not need finishing because they are fed grain most of
their life and become fattened early on.
Grass fed cows can be shifted to fields where they will eat more
high-carbohydrate grasses and less high-protein grasses. This will add some weight and help get
rid of the gamey taste of true grass-fed beef. They may also be confined and fed grain.
Another method in cold climates is to put the cows outside in the cold
and they will eat more food and higher carbohydrate food in an attempt to stay
warm. This will fatten them and
produce a less gamey taste to the meat.
We do not recommend finishing.
It harms the animals and the beef, in all cases. However, it is standard practice in the
beef industry.
Important lifestyle factors for cowsÕ health are:
FRESH
AIR
Pneumonia is a problem for all cows that are not
healthy and/or not handled well. A
simple preventive measure is to make sure cows get enough fresh air. This means to be out of doors, if
possible, or to ventilate barns.
Out of
doors in the winter. This can cause lung problems for cows
if the temperature is below about 50¡ F. in this case,
there is no way to avoid breathing the very cold air. Cows must heat up this air by breathing too slowly or it
irritates the lining of the bronchial tubes and lungs, which can lead to
disease.
Heat
exchangers. The best idea is to use heat exchangers
in order to keep the barn warm if the winters are cold. These bring in fresh air, but keep the
barn warm at the same time. They
cost more than leaving the door or windows open, but they are better for cows.
CLEANLINESS
Cows like clean surroundings.
The fields are fairly clean although most cows do not like all the bugs
and small creatures that sometimes bite them or hang on their hide.
The worst places are usually crowded barns in the winter. These are often quite contaminated with
urine, feces and other uncleanliness. Try to avoid such conditions. Barns should be designed so they can be
cleaned or moved to new locations if they donÕt have a floor so that filth does
not accumulate.
CROWDING
Crowding cows in feedlots, in particular, tends to spread diseases and
makes cows very nervous.
Temporary confinement for testing or milking is usually okay. Prolonged confinement in crowded barns
or feedlots with a lot of other cows is unhealthy. It can be dangerous if disputes arise between cows. Overnight confinement is not bad and
much better than being out of doors on a cold night.
WARMTH
Cows require an outside temperature of at least 50¡ F. or 10¡ C. When the temperature dips below this
temperature, cows mount a fight-or-flight response that speeds up their
metabolism in order to generate more heat. This is okay if it occurs once in a while. However, if it continues, as occurs
during the winter season in many locations, it depletes calcium, magnesium and
zinc, among other vital nutrients.
For details, read Understanding Stress.
Cows in a fight-or-flight situation burn more calories, so they will
eat more to keep up their weight.
This is hard on their digestive system and wastes grass or other feed. It is like racing a car motor to heat
up the engine on a cold morning.
Doing this for a few minutes is okay. However, prolonged racing of the motor wears out the motor
and wastes fuel.
Chronic cold exposure also affects cowsÕ disposition. It makes them more skittish and harder
to work with. They may just be
angry with you, even if they appear calm and happy. The worst situation is staying out all night on cold winter
nights. Please try to avoid
leaving cows out all night in very cold weather or in unheated barns in very
cold weather.
DRY,
CLEAN BEDDING AND NO CONCRETE
If cows are in barns in the winter, the bedding must be kept clean and
dry. Otherwise, there will be
disease.
Also, cows much prefer sleeping and lying on the earth rather than on
concrete. Keep cows away from
direct contact with cold and hard concrete, which they do not like.
DRUGS
AND VACCINES
Hybrid cows are not healthy animals. Heirloom cows are naturally healthier and require less
medical care if fed and treated properly.
However, all cows, if fed correctly and given a development program,
will usually not become ill with infections and other problems. They also will not need vaccines and
other medical interventions that are often quite toxic.
The widespread use of antibiotics, female hormone shots and other
toxic veterinary practices damage the health of cows more than one might
imagine. In addition, drug
residues in the meat and dairy products reduce the quality of the products and
damage the health of those who eat these products.
UNSAFE
LOCATIONS
Do not allow cows to sit, stand or walk through damp, muddy soil or
ponds, or any unsafe locations.
Doing so can lead to hoof diseases, parasitic infections and other
serious health problems.
COWS
RESPOND POWERFULLY TO MUSIC
We believe that cows like upbeat simple music such as some salsa music
and some light classical music.
They may enjoy guitar music very much, for some reason.
An unusual use of music is that on cold days or nights, spirited music
such as salsa music can actually help cows relax and keep warm.
LOVE
YOUR COWS
Cows love people and need peopleÕs attention. If possible, do not just leave your
cows alone in the fields for days.
Try to attend to them, ask them how they are feeling, and listen for
answers. You may be surprised that
they will speak to you and tell you their observations and their needs. To tune into cows and other animals
better, we suggest following a development program for human beings.
Cows heal
humans and other animals. Cows always help the humans who take
care of them. Some are wonderful
healers. This is another reason to
spend time with them. Cows also
heal other farm animals that are nearby.
A.
UNDERSTANDING ILLNESS - LAYERS OF DISEASE
Development science has given those of us who
research it many insights about health and disease. One of these ideas is that illness develops in layers,
although this is not taught to veterinarians. For simplicity, we have divided the process of becoming ill
into three layers or stages, as follows:
The most basic problems. These
are:
- Vital mineral deficiencies.
- Accumulation of toxic metals.
- Accumulation of toxic forms of vital minerals.
- Stress from errors such as crowding, too much exposure to cold, use
of medical drugs and vaccines, and giving cows improper food and improper
supplements.
The next layer. The
combination of the above results in unbalanced oxidation rates, low tissue
sodium/potassium ratios, and other key biochemical imbalances in the bodies of
most all cows today.
The surface layer. What are called ÒdiseasesÓ are just the surface symptoms of the
deeper layers mentioned above.
In light of this way of looking at health and disease, we can now
discuss a few common health conditions.
We will use the examples below to teach some of the basic principles of
development science.
B.
COMMMON HEALTH CONDITIONS
INFECTIONS
Cows are prone to many infections when their bodies are out of
balance.
High tissue iron.
This is very common among cows.
It predisposes cows to infections, especially bacterial infections. Toxic forms of iron feed the bacteria. Iron also replaces bioavailable
copper, which is protective against fungal and other infections. This is the reason copper sulfate is
added to swimming pools and even some wells, lakes and streams as a sanitizing
agent.
Low hair tissue sodium/potassium ratio.
When this ratio is less than about 0.5:1, cattle are more prone to
infections. The low ratio
indicates reduced electrical charge of the cells. This reduces an animalÕs natural protection against invading
organisms. When we correct this
ratio with a development program, the tendency for infections decreases.
PNEUMONIA
This is one of the most common problems of
cows. Causes are:
- A body chemistry out of balance with a low ratio of sodium
to potassium in the tissues. This
is the most important cause.
- Inadequate
or incorrect diet.
- Breathing
very cold or stale air.
- Too much
sitting and not enough exercise.
Correction with antibiotics.
Conventional farms use antibiotics by the ton. This always damages the cows and shortens their life.
It also damages their products.
The antibiotic habit should be illegal because it is abused to such a
degree. The problems with it are:
- Harm to cows, including shortening their lives.
- Damage to their products, which causes beef and dairy intolerance or
allergies and many other diseases in humans.
- The growth of antibiotic-resistant bugs that could threaten the entire
beef and dairy industries one of these days.
- Greatly increased cost of raising meat and dairy products. Newer antibiotics are much more costly
and often even donÕt work that well.
Food allergies to beef and dairy products among
human beings. This problem is escalating, especially
in products from hybrid cows.
Antibiotic use is the main source of the problem. Other contributors are feeding cows
grain and legumes and pasteurization of dairy products.
These food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities are important
because they lead doctors to believe that cow products are not healthful, which
is not true. Organic and grass-fed
meat and dairy products are better, but not good enough because these cows are
also fed plenty of antibiotics.
Prevention of pneumonia. This
is best, and need not be too costly. Prevention of pneumonia is easy if one knows how to do it and is
willing to treat cows correctly.
Prevention
requires:
- Feeding
forage, not just grains and legumes.
The more forage or silage in winter, the better. The more variety of
plants in the fields, the better.
- Balancing
the body chemistry with a development program. This is explained later in this article.
- Tail
reflexology. This is rubbing and pressing
on certain areas of the tail that reflex to the rest of a cowÕs body. We are just beginning to research this
simple, non-toxic and safe method of balancing the body chemistry.
- Red heat
lamp therapy to the lung area.
This is another simple, safe and often effective
method we are researching.
- Do not rush
to antibiotics. This is important
because it is often a knee-jerk response of farmers and ranchers today.
Natural methods of correction of pneumonia. Methods include herbs such as enchinacea,
golden seal, burdock root and other plants. Natural supplements are vitamin A, oregano and other
essential oils, and a development science product called Limcomin
or its equivalent.
Oegano
oil and all the essential oils are very yin and most are somewhat toxic, which
is not helpful over time. Vitamin
A, if it works, is excellent but costly.
REPRODUCTIVE
PROBLEMS
Impregnation. Many
cows have difficulty with impregnation.
This particularly occurs when the hair sodium/potassium ratio drops
below about 0.5:1. This is
associated with infections in the ovaries, fallopian tubes or uterus. A development program will correct this
problem.
Calving.
Difficulty calving is common, especially in hybrid cows. Reasons for this include that the
calves are too yin
in macrobiotic terms. A result is
that the calves are too large to pass easily through the vaginal canal. This causes the need for pulling, a
very painful procedure for a cow.
Another reason for calving problems is reduced flexibility of the
vaginal tissues. This is usually
due to replacement of zinc in connective tissue with cadmium. This reduces the flexibility of the
tissues.
A friend of the authorÕs owned a surgical glove factory in New
York. We visited and he explained
to me that if he wants more flexible gloves, he adds a little more zinc to the
plastic mixture. If he needs
stiffer gloves, he adds more cadmium to the mixture. I commented that this is the same as what goes on in our
body tissues.
Hardeners. Cadmium is called a hardener in development science. It is, indeed, a very hard and very tough metal. The body uses it to shore up weak
tissues.
Crutches. In
development science, hardeners such as cadmium are called crutches. Crutches are not good to have, but by stiffening weak tissues
they may keep weak animals alive, just like crutches one might use if one
breaks a leg.
Less-preferred
minerals. When an inferior mineral replaces a
superior one, such as when cadmium replaces zinc, the phenomenon is called
replacement with a less-preferred mineral.
Look-alikes. In
the case of cadmium, it can replace zinc in certain enzymes because cadmium
atoms ÒlookÓ just like zinc atoms to many enzymes. The reason for this is that zinc and cadmium have the same
number of electrons in their outer electron shell. You can see this easily by consulting a standard periodic
table of the elements. Cadmium is
in the same column as zinc on the periodic table of the elements.
This look-alike quality allows cadmium to ÒfitÓ into some enzyme
binding sites where zinc belongs.
When zinc is in short supply, which is all over the earth, this
replacement process can allow some enzymes to continue functioning, although at
reduced efficiency. In other
words, cadmium is a replacement for zinc.
When an animal becomes chilled from exposure to cold temperatures, zinc
is lost. This creates a deficiency
and the animal will use cadmium to stay alive. However, the Òreplacement partÓ causes problems because it
is not the Òfactory originalÓ part or preferred mineral. This is how bodies stay alive when
nutritional deficiencies arise.
Another analogy is that cadmium is like a key that is not the correct
key to open a lock. However, it is
similar enough that it fits into the lock and may work to some extent.
Once
again, if a cow becomes stressed for any reason, it eliminates some zinc from
its body in order to go into a fight-or-flight reaction. This
effect is part of all acute stress reactions.
Unfortunately, cadmium also stiffens the tissues, hardens the arteries
and does other damage.
A second problem is that as long as the wrong ÔkeyÕ is in the lock, the
right key cannot be put into the lock to make the lock function properly. In the animal or human body, this means
that just giving an animal zinc will not solve the
problem, although it will help prevent its continuation.
This is why when animals are stressed by cold exposure or for other reasons, they are often doomed to problems for the rest of
their lives. A development program
can reverse this, but it takes time and effort for the animal to accomplish the
replacement of cadmium with zinc.
Figuring out how to do this was one of Dr. Paul EckÕs breakthroughs in
the 1970s. How it is done is
explained in the Cadmium article on this website. The same principle is used to remove
many toxic metals and toxic compounds of vital minerals such as iron oxide,
manganese oxide, hexavalent chromium, and others.
FRACTURES
Lead often replaces calcium in the bones of cows and weakens
them. This occurs and may be
needed because stressed cows all develop calcium deficiencies. Part of every fight-or-flight reaction
is a loss of calcium from the tissues.
The soils of earth also are deficient in calcium for the same reason
– they are stressed. This makes
it hard for the cows to replenish their calcium quickly. Many farmers ÔlimeÕ their soils every
year to put back some calcium and magnesium. We do the same thing to cattle in the development method of
healing, using calcium supplements.
Lead is a less-preferred replacement mineral in the bones of cows. This replacement, however, is not due
to a look-alike situation as is the case with cadmium and zinc. Instead, it is due to other qualities of
lead that allow it to settle in the bones. A development program will slowly remove the lead from the
bones, strengthening them and reducing the tendency for fractures.
Fractures are also sometimes due to weakness of the protein matrix of
the bones. This involves zinc
deficiency and copper excess.
These minerals are vital for the double bonds that give strength to
connective tissue such as collagen that form the protein matrix of bones.
PARASITES
Infection with parasites is an ongoing problem with unhealthy
cows. Veterinarians prescribe deworming drugs.
However, these are all toxic and usually do not get rid of all the
parasites. They just reduce the
numbers of parasites to a more manageable level.
Development programs eliminate parasites by a different method. They strengthen and balance the cowÕs
body chemistry until parasites cannot live in the body. This takes longer, but once it is
accomplished the parasites are gone forever. Re-infection does not occur, unlike the situation with deworming drugs.
This difference can save a rancher a lot of money by not having to buy deoworming drugs and labor.
Some ranchers use bentonite or other clay
products to eliminate some parasites.
These can help, but all clay is very high in aluminum, a highly toxic
metal. We do not recommend its use
as it sicken cows.
EYE PROBLEMS
The eyes of cows and other animals contain more zinc than most other
organs, except perhaps the male prostate gland. A zinc deficiency due to stress reactions leads directly to
eye problems such as irritation, infections, visual disturbances, retinal
detachment and others. As
explained above, stress reduces a cowÕs zinc level and can do so quickly.
PREMATURE AGING
Aging is associated with the buildup of oxide forms of iron,
manganese, aluminum and often copper in the body. These compounds are called the amigos in development science
because they are often found together on hair mineral biopsy tests.
We also sometimes call them the irritants. The amigos irritate the tissues and cause oxidant and other
kinds of damage that ages the body prematurely. They also find their way into the meat and make beef
irritating to the digestive tract of many human beings. For more details,
read Iron, Manganese And Aluminum – The
Amigos.
The amigos are difficult to avoid if a cow is stressed. The reason is they serve as crutches that
stimulate the adrenal glands of a stressed cow to keep the glands functioning
adequately.
Removing the amigos from the body of a cow or other animal is quite
difficult. Modern veterinary or
medical science does not have the ability to do this. In humans, bleeding is still used to lower toxic levels of
iron but this is not done to cows.
Removal requires minimizing stress and a development program will then
cause their removal. This is the only
methods we know of to eliminate the ÔamigosÕ once they
lodge in a cowÕs body. Their
removal has a rejuvenating effect on a cow or other creature, causing improved
energy, better digestion, as well as many other health benefits. This is how development science de-ages
animals and human beings.
LIVER TOXICITY
Three main types of liver toxins often ruin the health of millions of
creatures. Identifying them is not
part of modern veterinary science, but is basic in the development method. Veterinarians measure liver enzymes, biilirubin and perhaps other liver markers in the
blood. However, none of the three
classes of toxins discussed below elevate liver enzymes or trigger other
standard indicators of liver damage unless their levels are extremely high. Until veterinarians look for them in
hair biopsy samples, they are not liable to find them.
- The
ÔamigosÕ - metal oxides, metal carbonates and other toxic forms of minerals
that we discussed above. These are a serious problem for most
cows today, even those that are well cared for.
- The aldehydes such as acetaldehyde and others. These are mainly the result of fermentation of food in the intestinal
tract of an animal. They can also
find their way into the bodies if an animal or human eats food that has been
fermented. It is a problem, for
example, with feeding cows brewery waste products. It is one reason we donÕt like this feeding scheme. If exactly the right method is used to
ferment foods such as milk products, few aldehydes
will be produced. However, this is
not done often enough. As a result, millions of
humans and many cows on earth have excessive aldehydes
in their livers. They are potent
toxins and difficult to remove, even with development science.
- AGES or
advanced glycation end products. AGES
form when sugars mix with fats, oil or proteins. In human beings, they also arise during high-temperature
cooking such as roasting, broiling, frying or baking, including frying
meat. Much better is to cook
at lower temperature and with water, with methods such as pressure cooking or steaming.
In cows, AGES arise because grain fed to cows is broken down to sugar
in their intestinal tract. If
there is too much, which is inevitable because grain is not the natural food of
cows, some of the sugar combines with proteins and fats in the cowÕs stomachs
to form AGES.
AGES are also powerful toxins that are also quite difficult to
remove. A development program will
remove them, however. Modern
medicine and veterinary science does not know how to remove them and most
veterinarians are not even aware of their existence.
CHRONIC
HEPATITIS
The
presence of the liver toxins discussed above cause many cases of chronic
hepatitis among cows, other animals and human beings. It is a viral hepatitis that may elevate liver enzymes
somewhat, but not as much as occurs with some other kinds of hepatitis.
Veterinarians may try gamma globulin shots and even toxic anti-viral
drugs. However, healing it with
medical or veterinary methods is difficult. Most veterinarians tell animal owners that it wonÕt hurt
their animal too much. However,
this is not quite true. Hepatitis
weakens the entire animal and impairs digestion, protein synthesis, and toxin
removal.
In many cases, the only way to heal this type of hepatitis is to
remove the liver toxins – the ÔamigosÕ, aldehydes
and AGES. It then goes away on its
own. No remedies of any kind are
needed. This is another benefit of
a development program. This is
part of what we call the basic cleanup of an animal or human.
SLUGGISH WEIGHT
GAIN
One
reason for sluggish weight gain is that cows that are stressed cannot eat as
much. Eating is a parasympathetic
activity. Stress forces animals
into a sympathetic nervous system pattern that literally Ôturns offÕ their digestive
system. Stress literally shuts
down the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and severely
inhibits digestion. Appetite
decreases and digestion slows to a crawl.
For example, in the winter in colder climates, it can take until noon
or after for a cow to warm up enough to become hungry. In winter, cows exposed to the cold
also stop eating earlier in the afternoon because they become cold as soon as
the sun begins to wane, inhibiting their digestion.
For this reason alone, exposure to the cold weather of winter
thoroughly unbalances a cowÕs metabolism.
It requires at least a month or longer to hopefully correct
the situation when warmer weather arrives in the spring. A development program can help, but it
cannot overcome the problem of cold exposure.
OVERWEIGHT
Cows, like human beings, should not be fat. Lean is healthier, even if the meat is tougher. Causes for overweight cows include:
1. A yin
condition. Yin is a Chinese word meaning expanded
and ill, today. For more on this
subject, read Yin Disease and Yin And Yang Healing on this website. Yin in cows is caused
by feeding grain, use of medical drugs and vaccines, and giving many vitamin
and mineral supplements.
Cold weather is also very yin and exposure to it also makes cows more
yin.
2. An
excessively fast oxidation rate. This is the result of stress. It causes sodium and water retention,
and higher insulin and cortisol levels that fatten
cows.
3. In a
few cases, thyroid problems cause excessive weight gain. This
is more common in human beings than in cows, but it occurs in some animals, as
well.
4. Other
causes. These include inflammation, liver toxicity, kidney weakness
and heart problems. These,
however, are less common causes for abnormal weight gain.
LOW MILK
PRODUCTION
This problem is becoming more common. It is due to impaired health, low hormone levels, mammary
gland infections and malnutrition.
Milk production usually increases when cows follow a development program
(see the case history later in this article).
V. HAIR MINERAL BIOPSY TESTING OF COWS
WHAT
DOES THE HAIR MINERAL BIOPSY MEASURE?
It measures the level of three groups of minerals. They are:
1. The macrominerals or electrolytes. These are calcium, magnesium, sodium and
potassium. These are the most
critical for setting up a development program.
2. Trace
minerals. These are iron, copper, zinc,
manganese, chromium, selenium, cobalt, molybdenum and lithium. Some laboratories also measure a few
others. However, less is known
about the others and testing is not necessarily accurate.
3. Toxic
metals. These are lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and
nickel. Some laboratories measure
others such as beryllium, antimony, uranium and others.
WHY
HAIR TESTING?
For the development method of correcting body chemistry, one needs a tissue biopsy. Hair gives a reading of the cells and the
interstitial spaces or spaces between the cells. This has proven to be the most accurate method to set up
development programs.
Hair is also an excretory tissue. This
means that the body often moves toxic metals and other chemicals into the hair
in order to eliminate them. The
interpretation of the test takes advantage of this fact.
Hair testing is fast, very simple, and inflicts no pain. Animals are completely unaware of
testing, which helps them relax and is safer for those taking the hair sample.
Hair testing is also very accurate and reliable when done correctly. Thus far, we are unable to use blood,
urine or other common types of tests for setting up development programs.
HOW
IS THE TEST PERFORMED?
The hair sampling procedure is given below. At the testing laboratory, the hair sample is first cut into
very small pieces. Then it is
dissolved in nitric acid overnight.
This dissolves the protein of the hair. The next day a carefully measured amount is placed in a
computer-controlled mass spectrometer or induction-controlled plasma instrument
for measuring the mineral content.
IS
IT A NEW METHOD OF TESTING?
No. Mineral analysis
using spectography has been around for hundreds of
years. Newer, computer-controlled
spectrometers have made it much more accurate, which is required to set up
development programs. It is a
standard method of mineral analysis and is identical to soil testing. Hair mineral testing is widely used for
environmental monitoring.
WHY
DONÕT VETERINARIANS USE IT MORE OFTEN?
Veterinarians donÕt use it because:
- It is somewhat new compared to blood and urine testing.
- They follow the drug medical model of healing, which uses mainly
blood testing for assessment.
- Interpretation is more difficult than with blood and urine
tests. Most vets are not familiar
with it at all.
HOW
DOES ONE INTERPRET THE TEST?
The hair mineral test can be interpreted in three basic ways:
1. Some just look at the toxic metal levels. This is a very crude use of the test, but it may indicate
that something is poisoning your herd.
For example, some bovine supplements are high in aluminum or
mercury. Some soils are also too
high in aluminum. At times, a
water supply is causing poisoning with a toxic metal such as lead if there was
formerly a factory or mine located on the land.
2. Some look at all the minerals and then use replacement therapy. This means that if a mineral level is
low, they will supplement with that mineral. If a mineral is too high, they may try to reduce the cowsÕ
feeding of that mineral. This
method of using the test is popular, but not very successful and possibly
dangerous.
3. We interpret the test by the method developed by Dr. Paul Eck. We find this method to be far superior
to replacement therapy. It
requires measuring the oxidation rate, the stage of stress, the metabolic type
and other data about the animal.
To do this requires calculating four ratios, as explained below. We also look for about half a dozen
patterns of mineral imbalances that tell us about specific disease conditions
or tendencies that are present.
Basic use of this method is quite simple. With cows, only a few patterns are really needed. These are discussed later in this
section of the article.
HOW
MANY COWS NEED TO BE TESTED AND HOW OFTEN?
We suggest testing three or four cows to obtain a reliable
idea of the general health and problems of a herd. More can be done, if needed, to check problems with
individual animals.
Repeating the test every three to six months is helpful to assess
progress. The test can repeated up to once every two-three months because the hair
needs to grow out before retesting.
HAIR
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Materials
required. A sharp pair of
scissors and a small, clean paper envelope in which to put the sample.
Location.
Sample the hair from the head, ideally as close to the brain as
possible. This will give the most
accurate results. If sampling the
head hair is not possible, sample the hair along the spine, as near as possible
to the head.
Cleaning. Once
you decide on the location for sampling, clean the area with a little rubbing
alcohol. Do not use water or
hydrogen peroxide for cleaning because they will wash out some of the
water-soluble minerals. These are
vital for accurate test results.
Cutting. Cut
the sample as close to the skin as possible. This will give the most current results. Cut off the long end of any hair that
is longer than about one inch long.
Do not submit long hair for mineral biopsies because the ends of long
hair can be several months old, giving less accurate results. The shorter the hair sample, the more
accurate will be the results.
Packaging. Put
the sample in a clean paper envelope.
Do not put samples in plastic bags because the hair sticks to the
plastic and is less easy to handle.
How much? The
laboratory requires 125 milligrams of hair. This is about a full tablespoon of hair.
Which lab? The
testing laboratory must not wash the hair at all for accurate results. At this time, we can only recommend
Analytical Research Labs in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. They may not want to accept samples from cows, however. There is a way around this if you
contact this author.
Almost all mineral testing labs wash the hair, which wrecks the
accuracy of the water-soluble mineral readings. Beware that most mineral testing labs do not do accurate
testing, even though they manage to meet government licensing standards.
Cost. The
test costs about $45.00. Some labs
will send an interpretation at additional cost. We do not use these for cows.
Balancing
the ratios. The four ratios that one calculates on a hair mineral test are:
- The calcium-potassium
ratio and the sodium-magnesium ratio together give us the oxidation rate.
- The sodium/potassium
ratio indicates the electrical balance of the cells. The ideal ratio is about 0.6. A lower ratio is not desirable.
- The calcium/magnesium ratio tells us about the diet and lifestyle of
an animal. Recall that for accurate hair
readings, the hair must not be washed at the laboratory.
The method is quite simple to use. It is explained in more detail in a number of articles found
at www.drlwilson.com. These articles use the human normal
values, but the principles are the same.
We offer training for anyone interested in learning it.
MINERAL
BIOPSY PATTERNS OF COWS
Common mineral patterns seen with cows include:
Fast
oxidation. This is very common. Mild fast oxidation is normal. Very fast oxidation is due to excessive
stress. This can be due to zinc
deficiency, a diet too low in fat or oil, infections, inflammation, exposure to
cold weather or some other stressor.
Slow
oxidation. This is uncommon in cows and indicates
poor health.
Four highs pattern. This is an inflammation pattern.
Four lows
pattern. This is when the first four macrominerals
– calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium – are all low. It is rare in cows and indicates very
poor health.
Low
sodium/potassium ratio. This is common and indicates weakness
of the adrenal glands, a tendency for infections, often
reproductive problems, and excessive tissue catabolism.
High sodium/potassium ratio. This
is associated with acute stress, inflammation or anger.
High calcium/magnesium ratio. This is usually caused by eating too much grain or other
carbohydrate food.
Elevated levels of iron, manganese, aluminum and
perhaps other minerals. These
are the oxide forms of minerals that are often excessive in cows and other
animals. For details, read The Amigos.
Poor eliminator patterns. These
are very low levels of the ÔamigosÕ or of toxic metals. They indicate difficulty eliminating
toxic metals and maybe due to other imbalances such as liver or kidney
problems.
Low zinc. This
is common in areas where the soil is low in zinc. These areas are the Western world, and Australia, in
particular, although low zinc exists throughout the world, to some degree.
CORRECTION
OF MINERAL IMBALANCES
Correction may require a change in feeding for grain-fed animals. In addition, several formulas of
supplements are needed. These can
be placed in large bins and the cows will usually take what they need.
Successes. In
our experience, a development program can correct most illnesses of cows. We have had good success with herds in
Australia and New Zealand with mastitis, reproductive problems and damp hoof
problems.
IDEAL
HAIR MINERAL VALUES FOR COWS
Development programs are very precise. For this reason, we are less interested in mineral ranges
and more concerned with ideal biopsy values. The ideal mineral values vary somewhat with the breed, but
should be close to those listed below.
First tetra:
Calcium = 210-220 mg%
Magnesium = 105-110 mg%
Sodium = 50-55 mg%
Potassium = 100-120 mg%
Second tetra:
Iron = 18-20 mg%
Copper = 1-1.2 mg%
Manganese = 1.4-1.6 mg%
Zinc = 20-22 mg%
Third tetra:
Selenium = 0.062-0.066 mg%
Chromium =
0.02-0.025 mg%
Vanadium = 0.04-0.05 mg%
Boron = 0.02-0.025 mg%
Other
minerals:
Phosphorus = 25-30 mg%
Sulfur = 250-280 mg%
Cobalt = 0.02-0.021 mg%
Molybdenum = 0.001-0.002 mg%
Lithium = 0.001-0.002 mg%
Toxic metals:
Lead = greater than 0.05 mg%
Mercury = greater than 0.03 mg%
Cadmium = greater than 0.008 mg%
Arsenic = greater than 0.004 mg%
Nickel = greater than 0.4 mg%
Aluminum = greater 0.6 mg%
CASE
HISTORIES
In November 2012, we reviewed the hair analyses of three grass-fed
dairy cows in Australia. (Click
here to view a photo of these animals.) They are part of a herd of several thousand. All of the cowsÕ mineral charts
revealed:
* A fast
oxidation rate
* Four highs
pattern
* Normal to
low sodium/potassium ratio
* Good
calcium/magnesium ratio
* Low zinc and
low copper
* Elevated
aluminum, iron and chromium (these are oxides or ÔamigosÕ)
* High
manganese in some of them, but not all (possibly from the soil)
All the cows were having reproductive problems. There were too few pregnancies and
calving was often difficult. Also,
milk production was low. In some
of the herd, weight gain was also sluggish.
The
hair tests indicated that the cause was low zinc in the soil, and perhaps low
copper, along with too much iron, chromium and aluminum (amigos). This is typical of depleted soils on
earth.
The entire herd was given access to licks containing three different
formulas to balance the abnormal mineral patterns seen on the tests. They were also given accesss to supplements of calcium and magnesium, and
zinc.
After five months on this regimen, reproduction problems diminished,
weight gain improved, and milk production also improved. One rancher said he had saved about
$40,000 in veterinarian bills in one year.
Repeat mineral analysis on the herd five months later revealed that
the four highs pattern had gone away in all the animals and all were in a slow
oxidation pattern with a low sodium/potassium ratio.
This represents a temporary calming down of the animals we call retracing. Basically, their stress level was lower
and they were in a recovery mode.
Some of the other imbalances were still present such as low zinc.
VI. THE DEVELOPMENT METHOD OF SUPPLEMENTATION
This article contains the practical application of the development method of healing. The theory is explained in separate articles such as Development Theory, Part I and Advanced Science, Part II
.
Copper. Cows in America, in particular, may need extra copper. Copper sulfate is usually good.
MORE ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT METHOD
These cannot
be seen by most people, so the concept is not well accepted. However, it is real
CERTIFICATIONS
There are a number of certifications
that ranchers can apply for to let people know how they raise their cows. This is a tricky subject because the
certification is only meaningful if accompanied by frequent surprise
inspections, and consumers may not be able to discern which certifications are
meaningful.
Some certifications have to do with
animal welfare. The best of these
are the Animal
Welfare Approved and the Global Animal Partnership certifications. Several others are not as good.
Other certifications have to do with
how animals are fed. They include:
NO hormones
NO antibiotics (Drugs can be used if
an animal is ill but not used routinely, preventively or prophylactically. If they are used, there must be a
waiting period of perhaps a month before the animal is processed.
NO animal byproducts
Grass Fed
Organic
- Vaccines
are not needed if cows are fed correctly and follow a development program.
- Residues of
the toxins always find their way into the products such as beef and dairy
products.
- Vaccines
add unnecessary cost.
FALSELY ADVERTISED NATURAL, GRASS FED AND ORGANIC PRODUCTS