sufites in dog food and thiamine deficiency
Lots of dog foods have sodium metabisulfite Virus Undead trailer Black Christmas move
as a preservative (although they also say it is a source of vitamin K activity). Some dogs as well as people are allergic to sulfites and usually have an asthma type reaction. There are plenty of web-sites you can search to read about this. BUT…
What are the long term effects of daily sulfite ingestion to one not allergic? I have an older dog who lately has been having some strange problems that mystify veterinarians as to the cause. The worst have been two incidents of idiopathic vestibular disorder, about 6 months apart. This last one was just last week. Idiopathic means the cause is unknown. Vestibular means affecting the inner ear (however, it could just be a guess that it is the inner ear — two other causes are toxins or brain lesions). What it really means is that one loses one’s balance to the point of just falling over or wobbling a lot when one walks. That is called ataxia. Nystagmus, rapid extreme movements of the eye usually sideways, is also a symptom.
Read these two articles I found:
This one is on sulfites and the biochemical effect on the body. Look at the part that says “Effects on thiamine”.
This one is on Beriberi, otherwise known as thiamine deficiency. After reading the symptoms, scroll down to causes.
Sulfites can apparently deplete the body of thiamine within a week of wine (and sulfite) consumption. My dog obviously doesn’t drink wine, but he was eating dog food daily for all his meals that had sulfites in it. I was putting nutritional yeast on his food for the last three years which counter-balanced that depletion effect to some extent, without my realizing why I felt the yeast was needed. But I quit the yeast due to allergies (whether he has a yeast allergy I don’t know yet. I finally was able to afford allergy blood serum tests but haven’t gotten the results yet) and I wonder if years of eating this sulfite laden food has been causing some of his coat and skin problems, occasional limping problems, stiffness of joints and legs, chronic colitis, and finally two very scarey “idiopathic vestibular” events.
It sounds like my dog had a form of “dry” thiamine deficiency that affects the nervous system. Vomiting is also a symptom and he’s had chronic vomiting problems for the last three years also. Is it as yet undiagnosed allergies or is it thiamine depletion due to sulfites in his food? He’s no longer eating any sulfite dog food (and never will again). He is still recovering from this last vestibular disorder. He may have brain lesions because of it, or lesions elsewhere.
It does not help his thiamine levels if the diet is high in thiaminases such as milled rice which his food was (one of the more commercial varities of lamb & rice — it had only white rice, but had other grains, too).
Good News: If it is true — abstainence from all sulfites and a good, natural, healthy diet can probably restore his health and balance and maybe even make the lesions go away.
Bad News: No one is going to believe me or take me seriously, most especially the Medical community or the Veterinarians. Hence this blog .
Place your comment