Seizures and any nervous system disorder are obviously sourced in the brain. But modern medical science has few, if any, drugs that can cross the blood/brain barrier. From our holistic perspective, it would seem natural that Nature has provided nutrients that can cross the blood brain barrier to nourish the glands in the brain. So, why not use what Nature gave us, whole food products to feed, energize and balance the pituitary (master gland), pineal and hypothalamus glands and see what results we get?
The Kingdoms in Nature are:
Bacteria (sometimes split into two Kingdoms)
Protista (means the very first)"”includes unicellular (one-celled) and multicellular organisms, including algae, that are not part of the Fungi, Plant or Animal Kingdoms)
Fungi
Plant
Animal (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, including human)
There are some algae nutrients that are particularly beneficial that are hard to find from any other source. For example, Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) is usually only found in early mother"s milk. GLA stimulates the newborn"s immune system. So, how do adult animals get GLA if it needs to stimulate its immune system? GLA is present in seeds of borage, black currant, and evening primrose but how many eat those foods on a regular basis? The next largest whole food source (not supplements) of GLA to mother"s milk is algae. There is no other food that can nourish plants, herbivores, carnivores and omnivores like algae. Algae occupy a unique role in the food chain for all plants, animals and humans. No other food (and certainly supplement) can make this claim. Algae are not just “pond scum."
Here are some anecdotal testimonials from happy customers. These are not conclusive scientific proof
I adopted a 1 year, 4 month old, 47 pound, American Staffordshire Terrier, Skye, last December. Skye begging for food-Thanksgiving 2008She began having seizures after she went into "˜season" for the first time, at the age of about one year old. She doesn"t have epilepsy, but idiopathic juvenile seizures. An idiopathic juvenile seizure is different from an epileptic seizure, in that it is genetic and comes from one of the parents. However, the seizures can be just as violent as epileptic seizures and Skye had seizures every day and sometimes had seizures in clusters (more than one at a time). She has had as many as 12 seizures in a 12 hour period. Unfortunately for Skye, her seizures could not be controlled with Phenobarbital alone and they continued every day after she came out of season. It should be noted that a toxic dose of Phenobarbital was 45 units (of what measurement I am not sure), however Skye was on 62 units, and this still did not control the seizures.
Her breeder took her to the state university veterinarian school, as the Phenobarbital was not controlling her seizures; they added Potassium Bromide to her medication regime. However, the Potassium Bromide made her very dopey. She stumbled when she walked and her gait was very sloppy. She acted like a human drunk.
Skye was eventually taken to the University of Minnesota"s Veterinary School for tests. The breeder looked into a device, used at the Indiana University Veterinary School, used in people to stop seizures. But it has to be implanted and the cost was exorbitant and there was no guarantee that it would work. Skye"s veterinarian decided to try a long shot, Sodium Bromide, which is not used much these days. According to the vet, it was like a miracle, because the seizures finally began to be controlled.
When I brought Skye home, she had been losing hair and had a red, angry looking rash on her stomach. It had a damp aspect, like a hot spot, though she didn"t have a hot spot. This was all due to the medication she was on. After putting her on bio-algae concentrates (Spirulina pacifica, Spirulina platensis, Dunaliella salina and astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis) late last December, the rash began to disappear in two days. The rash was completely gone in about two weeks. Not only that, her hair began to grow back and filling in.
The dogs in this line tend to have curly hair, of which Skye had none when she came to live with me. So, imagine my surprise when she began to develop her own curls on the back of her neck. Not only does she now have her own curly coat, it has come in thick and lustrous and all the hair she lost due to the medication has come back.
Skye"s last seizure was November 3rd of 2007. She had never passed four months without a seizure and I am proud to state that she has now been seizure free for 14 months (as of January, 2009).
Now, you could try to tell me that it is due to the medication she has been on, but you would be wrong and this is why. The medication makes Skye ravenous for anything she can get her mouth on, and as far as she is concerned, nothing is off limits. She has eaten uncooked rice, uncooked pinto beans, and even wild bird seed. But the most distressing item she ever ate was a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms. The bag of chocolate was in a place that I never thought she could get to, but she managed. I already knew that chocolate is toxic to dogs, but for a dog with a history of seizures, chocolate is a trigger and can send the animal into a seizure. She has also eaten a bag of chocolate covered raisins (raisins are also toxic), and again they were where she had to climb to get to them.
I contacted both the breeder and the veterinarian the next day to see if there was anything I should do. They each asked me independently of each other, how many seizures she had had. I am very happy to report that she had NONE. Yes, you read correctly; Skye had no seizures whatsoever. She did have a case of raging diarrhea for two days, but no seizures. I attribute this directly to the bio-algae concentrates she is on. It has been a blessing.
Not only that, when Skye came to live with me, she was on 400mg of Phenobarbital per day and 7.50ml of Sodium Bromide per day. She is now down to 200mg of Phenobarbital per day and the Sodium Bromide is still at 7.50ml per day. Our goal is to get her completely off the Phenobarbital and though the vet is telling me that she will probably never be off medication completely, I am hopeful that someday we might be able to get her off the Sodium Bromide too.
In my personal opinion, the bio-algae concentrates are directly linked to the fact that she has been seizure free, even during an episode that should have made her have a seizure or at least become very, very ill from the chocolate. She has been on bio-algae concentrates since the 29th of December of 2007 and has been absolutely seizure free. While I was prepared to deal with seizures if I needed to, I am very grateful to you for this product, as I have been able to live without the fear of a seizure harming my little girl. Thank you so much for your wonderful product and for the joyful gift of a better life you have given my dog, Skye.
"”Ruthie Bently, Owner & Consultant, Bently"s Beasties
Mo is a 7 year old male beagle. He chases prairie dogs and gophers and has boundless energy. In August, Mo had a grand mal seizure and almost died. His owner, Gib, gave him CPR, including mouth to mouth and resuscitated him. They rushed him to the animal hospital in Basalt where he was put into a drug induced coma and given Phenobarbital in large doses. After two days they released him and told Gib that Mo would have to take the Phenobarbital for the rest of his life to avoid any more seizures. Poor Mo, he was so sad. He had no zest; his eyes were dark and lifeless. Gib knew how we had saved Cali and so asked us if we would take Mo and get him off of the drugs. I said, yes, but I was very afraid. I had done research on this and knew that Mo could have another seizure that could kill him if it did not work. I contacted Russell (OptimumChoices.com) and told him the story. He sent me documentation regarding seizures, so we ordered bio-algae concentrates for Mo. The bio-algae concentrates microalgae had saved our female dog, Cali"s life; I knew that it could work for Mo too. It was suggested that Mo use bio-algae concentrates for dogs, at 4 or 5 capsules per day in the beginning and then after two weeks we might be able to decrease the dosage of the Phenobarbital (with vet supervision) a little at a time until he was off of it. After about a month of weaning, I had gotten him down to 1/8 pill Phenobarbital per day, not much but enough that it was still in his system. He was taking 4 capsules bio-algae concentrates per day. Then the day came when I got brave and did not give him any Phenobarbital at all. I was scared and had the Phenobarbital ready to give him if I saw any signs of a seizure coming on. I waited for any changes in his day. I have to tell you, that when he would have the Phenobarbital his eyes would get really glassy and he would sit there like he wasMo & Cali begging a drug addict. He had no energy at all while on the drug, his personality was gone, and he was not the same dog at all.
(12/13/2008) I am happy to report that Mo has not had any Phenobarbital since September 20th; he is down to two bio-algae concentrates in the morning and one in the evening. I will be reducing the dosage to one in the morning and one in the evening in a week or two. He is full of life, runs up and down the mountain with his mom, Cali, eats like a horse, has sparkle in his eyes, very pink lips and is back to his old self again. I know that the bio-algae concentrates micro algae saved his life and has given him a very long lease on life. Thank you again for this miraculous product, it saved the life of our Mo, who will continue to be drug-free for a long time to come.
"”D.B.