Holistic Feeding Principles of TCVM

Holistic Feeding Principles of TCVM

We’re here to demystify and simplify feeding your dog using the holistic feeding principles of TCVM—Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. TCVM is a medical system that uses various techniques to treat animals. It’s an adaptation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has been used in China for thousands of years to treat humans. TCVM has four main components: acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage (Tui na), and food therapy. 

OUR FOCUS: FOOD THEORY FOR DOGS

The Theory of Five Elements

The foundation of TCVM is the balance of internal energy. When a pet is in balance, it has good health. Out of balance leads to disease. To help determine which diet best suits a pet, we use the model of the Five Elements: Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth. Each element is associated with organs, colors, tastes, and seasons. Categories include personality traits, physical body, behaviors, and predispositions. The categories are seemingly limitless. They provide a framework that aids one in making food choices for their pets that will most benefit them at a given time. 

Elements Support or Control Imbalances

Finding balance denotes symptoms of excess and deficiency within each element’s properties. The Five Elements are interconnected through various interacting cycles and are associated with specific organ systems. 

Feeding our formulations based on a pet’s element (their constitution) can support or control imbalances. They may nourish and support or restrain or control another element through the properties of ingredients working as a whole.

Biodynamic Nutrition

We use biodynamic nutrition, which connects the types of foods we serve our pets and the benefits they bring to the different regions of the body— not exclusively, but there may be a propensity. In this regard, we include an element of animal protein, organs, fat, bones, roots, leaves, and even fruit within each meal. 

To pursue wholeness, we work with Integrative veterinarian Dr. Judy Morgan to formulate special diets that aid in dogs’ overall well-being through chosen ingredients based upon TCVM Holistic Food Therapy.

Therapeutic Diets that Aid in Dogs’ Specific Needs 

Dr. Judy Morgan’s Constitution Diets are five uniquely crafted recipes symbolically represented as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. 

Each diet has a distinct set of carefully selected ingredients, which together have holistic healing properties that aid in restoring, balancing, and maintaining proper health, targeted for a pet’s specific needs. 

Deficiencies and Excesses Within the Body

Constitutions Diets are created for pets with particular deficiencies and excesses based upon the profiles of the Five Elements. Each element is associated with organ systems and a specific trait, personality, or “constitution” of a pet. These profiles outline personality traits and predisposed health concerns and have organs associated with its element. The theory holds that balance between the elements is necessary for health, and imbalances can lead to physical and behavioral disorders. 

How to Determine Which Diet to Feed

The beautiful option of feeding our holistic diets is that one can feed based on a pet’s constitution - their element, season, purpose - food energetics, or rotate in any diet: we always recommend diversifying nutritional profiles. 

Identifying Your Pet’s Element

We recommend starting with determining your dog’s personality traits with a questionnaire that describes your pet in a series of categories. This will help identify which Constitution Diet best suits their needs. Dr. Judy Morgan’s personality quiz will help you evaluate your pet’s issues and examine symptoms of excesses and deficiencies to recommend the best food choice(s) to support your pet’s balance. To learn more about pairing your dog’s profile to their element and our recommended Constitution Diet, visit AllProvide Pet Personality Quiz

Once your pet’s profile is identified, one or several constitution Diets can serve that specific pet’s needs. 

Food Therapy Based on Season 

External or environmental factors are another aspect of feeding a pet’s needs. With the change of seasons, there’s a dramatic shift in temperature and moisture. Food has energic properties categorized as cold, cool, neutral, warm, and hot. Cooling diets are beneficial to hot and humid weather, as warming diets are good for cold and damp.

TCVM considers the seasonality of foods, their energetic thermal properties, and how they relate to the body’s organs and systems. Our diets use carefully selected ingredients to address this. For instance, we add warm, nourishing foods like butternut squash, sweet red peppers, chicken, beef, carrots, and ginger to recipes that need warmth energetically or to balance a recipe.

Yin Yang

You’ve heard of this philosophy: interconnected but opposite. Yin and yang come from the thought that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites. The 2 principles are yin —the female, cold, dark, passive power, and yang— masculine, warm, light, and powerful. The balance of yin and yang influences health and order within an individual, pet, society, and the entire universe.

Applying Yin-Yang to Food Energy and Season

Cooling foods are often associated with yin energy— winter. Yin foods are cooling, salty, bitter, and sour, have descending energy, and build body fluids and blood. Yin conditions are cold, interior, and deficient.

Warming foods are often associated with yang energy—Summer. Yang foods are warming, sweet, pungent, energizing, and have ascending energy. Yang conditions are hot, exterior, and excessive. 

Autumn - Metal - Beginning of Yin (Yin within Yang)

Winter - Water - Full Yin

Spring - Wood -  Beginning of Yang (Yang within Yin)

Summer - Fire - Full Yang

Late Summer - Earth - The balance of Yang and Yin

SUMMARY

Finding Balance

Simplify feeding your dog using the holistic feeding principles of TCVM. By understanding which element represents your pet’s constitution, we can recommend diets that support the deficient element or counteract an excess element to restore balance. Restoring and maintaining balance among these elements is vital to your pet’s optimal health and well-being. Feed based on their specific needs and purpose, seasonal diets that align with the energy of the current season, or a food’s energetic properties. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, the key with TCVM is to tailor your pet’s diet at a given time and rotate to fit their unique nutritional demands. The essence of this practice is to present a variety of essential nutrients, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to your pet, nurturing a diverse gut microbiome and enhancing their overall health. 

⭐️ Order Dr. Judy Morgan's Constitution Diets or any of our recipes today! Visit www.allprovide.com