Email from Dr Aine Seavers,
Hi All,
It has come to my attention from clients in general that the internet is currently pushing coconut oil as a treatment – topical and oral – for so many ailments.
This oil must not be fed to Basenjis of any age but especially the old and especially in cold weather when we are most at risk of the dogs throwing ‘strokes’ or CVAs.
Coconut oil has always been associated with hardening of the arteries and clots – something most dogs are not at risk of – but they can be and I suspect Basenjis do have this problem due to low normal thyroid and high normal cholesterol and haematocrit.
The reference below is from the 1970s which shows you how long this has been known but yet ignored by Dr Internet!
“Thrombosis in association with atherosclerosis induced by dietary perturbations in dogs R Mahley, AW Nelson, VJ Ferrans, DL Fry ABSTRACT :
The distribution, severity, and complications of diet-induced atherosclerosis in dogs can be altered by changing the source of fat in the diet. Thrombosis and thromboembolic disease associated with atherosclerosis occurred with diets containing beef tallow and lard of coconut oil but were absent in dogs fed cottonseed oil as a source of fat. Experimental animals with and without thrombosis are of value as models in elucidating the role of platelets and thrombostatic mechanisms in atherosclerosis.”
MAY
2015