Re: [pyrnet] Cancer and other diseases

["Linda Weisser" <lmweisser@attbi.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Barb Bowes" <bamb@monmouth.com>

<<A healthy species, in that only the strongest generally survive and go on
to reproduce. >>

Not always, of course.  Which throws a huge monkey wrench into a lot of
this.  Steven Gould speculated that often which members of a species went on
to evolve depended on who was in the right place at the right time.  In
short -- pure accident.  Hummmm

<<I agree with vaccines and better health care, processed foods I'm not
happy with.>>

If you think that nature's way is probably the "best" way but we have
changed things can you really pick and choose?  Vaccines and care ok.  Food
not.  How can we decide what has the greatest effect on the strength of the
species.  Perhaps vaccines and health care that prevent the weak and
compromised from simply dying do a lot more damage than food.

 <<In Nature, if a new challenge presented itself to a species, they would
genetically adapt or become extinct. This process would take many
generations. My point on the feeding issue is that I "think" that over the
years of feeding processed food to our dogs, we have in some ways changed
the genetics so that they are more susceptible to certain problems and
diseases.>>

The theory behind this has some validity.  However genetic changes take a
lot longer than the less than 100 years that we have been feeding processed
food.  We have not changed the genetics.  One of the reasons that genetic
make up can be slow and difficult to alter is so that radical changes do not
happen and upset the slow, steady suvival of the species.  yes, mutations
can effect rapid change but the majority of mutations are "bad" and most
results die.

<<when dogs (in this case) are not fed a more natural type of diet, over a
long period of time there are changes to their immune system and genetics.>>

This would be true only of the animal being fed that diet.  The diet may
change the immune system functioning but it will not change the genetics and
the alterations to the individual will not be inherited by its offspring.
Lysenko does NOT live !!

<< I'm hoping, that as more people feed diets closer to what nature would
provide, that immune systems will become stronger, dogs will become less
susceptible to certain diseases, and a correlation between what is fed and
the overall health of the species will be made apparent. >>

Again and again, ONLY the individual, not the species.  Evolution and large
genetic change are slow, slow processes.

<< I just think that diet plays a larger role in total health and survival
of a species than we've been led to believe by the science that is provided
us by the dog food companies. And in my mind this includes immune related
diseases, cancer, and many other problems.>>

There has certainly been  shown to be true in human diets for individuals.
Nobody has ever proposed that it is a species survival issues.  Whole groups
of people survive in good health and longevity partly because they have old,
long lived genetics and because whole groups tend to eat the same diet.

Linda