(Newswire.net — July 15, 2014) Birmingham, AL — The family dog – we love them dearly. But could it be they are also good alternatives to medicine? The research shows some surprising answers.
The interest in natural remedies and alternatives to drugs has continued to grow as people have learned the hard way that it may not be the right solution due to harsh side effects or other issues that are sometimes worse than the original ailment.
Enter the family dog.
Research is pointing the way to more natural solutions for our ailments and the family dog apparently is one alternative medical solution with no side effects.
The dog not only provides hours of fun for children who love to play dress up and even dance with their dog, but the research shows that children who grow up with pets suffer far less allergies and respiratory illnesses than those who don’t.
And that’s not all.
It’s helping to solve an array of health issues baby boomers are facing as they age.
It seems the feeling is that too much hard work and no play does indeed make Jack a dull boy evidenced by the growing number of adults seeking lifestyle changes. It also makes Jack susceptible to stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
So what does all that have to do with the dog you ask?
In fact, it’s possible that the family dog can help prevent many diseases including:
- Stress related illness
- High Blood Pressure
- Cardiovascular disease
- High Cholesterol
- Certain kinds of cancer
How so?
Take stress and anxiety for starters. One pilot study of 95 people was undertaken to determine the relationship of owning a pet to increases in spontaneous laughter, a natural way to relieve stress. What they found was that those who owned a dog laughed more than those who owned a cat. What’s more, those who owned both a dog and a cat laughed the most!
Not only can laughter help you to relax, but owning a dog can make you happier. Some doctors who specialize in alternative medicine are even prescribing a pet as an alternative for mild depression.
Could it be that your pet can also help you lower blood pressure and incidence of cardiovascular disease at the same time?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 67 million American adults have high blood pressure (1 in 3 adults), making this one of the top health issues in the nation.
In one CDC article, they offered the advice that owning a pet can decrease cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.
Another study by NCBI (The National Center for Biotechnology Information ) on the one year survival of patients who had been discharged from a coronary care unit and also had animal companions, found a high correlation between having a dog (or a pet) and survival rates.
Though the study was small, the results were significant:
Of the 39 patients in the study who did not own a pet, 28 were alive and 11 died in less than one year after discharge from the hospital. However, the most interesting result of the study was that of those 53 who owned a pet, only 3 failed to survive.
That means 50 out of 53 patients were alive after one year.
It is significant news indeed.
High cholesterol, considered a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, seems to be reduced by playing with the dog or cat.
The Delta Society, a non-profit dedicated to advancing human health through positive interactions with pets, is another organization that backs this up by sharing research that indicates that having a pet can lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels.
There’s more good news for pet owners.
A study was carried out by scientists at the University of California in San Francisco and Stanford University. The researchers conclude that owning a cat or dog can cut the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This type of cancer affects the lymphatic system and is estimated to strike over 70,000 people in 2014 according to the National Cancer Institute.
The reason, they believe, is that pets can help protect against cancer by boosting the immune system.
Web MD, a popular website that covers all sorts of medical conditions, reports that in children “higher levels of certain immune system chemicals show a stronger immune system, which will help keep them healthy as they get older.”
In addition to all these health benefits, it seems that owning a dog will make you more social.
The director of Autism Service Dogs of America, Pris Taylor, was quoted as saying “many children with autism can’t relate to a human, but they can relate to a dog.”
Another study of 339 pet owners in Western Australia showed that pet ownership increased the perception of friendliness and sense of community which enables more frequent social interaction.
If you want to make new friends, just try walking a dog and see what happens.
Add to that the health benefit of getting more exercise as you walk the dog and you’ve got a natural remedy that can have positive effects for both mind and body.
The long and short of it is that dancing with the dog just might be one of the best natural remedies and alternatives to medicine that’s easy to love.
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