A Holistic Veterinarian
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Tools of the Trade.
The other day when I had my van in for service, I noticed the fine array of
wrenches and other tools available for use by the mechanic. Since I am a guy
who feels fully equipped if I have more than one adjustable crescent wrench, I
was impressed not only by the sheer numbers of the different tools but also by
the specific applications for some of them. Given the necessary skills, the
complex engines that power today’s vehicles.
I remembered then some things I learned years ago from my good friend
and veterinary colleague, Dr. Bob Scott. Bob had a unique way of looking at
things and could translate complicated subjects into an easy to understand
broad overview using simple analogies. Here is his view of the role of minerals
in plants and animals.
Plants are basically made up of air and water. If you combine carbon, as
from carbon dioxide with oxygen and hydrogen (also from air or water) you
have the basic building block for starch, sugar or carbohydrates. Add
nitrogen to this basic formula and you have an amino acid or a basic building
block for protein.
If you burn a plant thus reducing it to ash you are left with that part of the
plant that came from the soil … usually around 5 %. Therefore, 95% of the
makeup of plants comes from air and water, combined together by the sunshine
generated miracle of photosynthesis.
Minerals are nature’s “tools” that enables this process to proceed. They
are basic to the enzyme systems that catalyze the storage of the sun’s energy
into the chemical bonds within the plant itself. The major elements are the big
wrenches and the smaller ones are the trace minerals. All are essential. Any
deficiency or imbalance limits the production and the quality of the crops
grown. If some elements are lacking in the soil they will be lacking in the
crop. If they are lacking in the crop, they will be lacking in the animal that
eats the crop.
When an animal consumes plants the same tools used by the plant to combine
the CHO & N to store energy are needed to break down chemical bonds and
release energy to power the metabolic processes of life and production. If
the plant doesn’t have enough built-in tools (minerals), extra tools must be
provided. Most of our soils are so depleted in minerals that it is almost a
given that some sort of mineral supplementation is necessary, especially to
arrive at the high levels of productivity that we strive for today. Without the
mineral tools proper digestion and assimilation of the energy in the feeds simply
does not take place
Even without computers, animals are smarter than man when it comes to
balancing their individual needs for the elements of nutrition, especially the
major, minor and trace minerals. Providing a choice in mineral supplementation
allows the animals to pick the tools they need without being totally locked-in to
only the tools recommended by the computer.
Most farmers probably wouldn’t think much of a mechanic that tried to
overhaul a tractor with a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a couple of crescent
wrenches. Unfortunately, in their role as animal caretakers, some livestock
men seem to think that a cheap sack of high calcium minerals and a trace
mineral salt block are all the tools needed by our livestock to fully utilize the
energy stored in our feeds. They are wrong!
The other day when I had my van in for service, I noticed the fine array of
wrenches and other tools available for use by the mechanic. Since I am a guy
who feels fully equipped if I have more than one adjustable crescent wrench, I
was impressed not only by the sheer numbers of the different tools but also by
the specific applications for some of them. Given the necessary skills, the
complex engines that power today’s vehicles.
I remembered then some things I learned years ago from my good friend
and veterinary colleague, Dr. Bob Scott. Bob had a unique way of looking at
things and could translate complicated subjects into an easy to understand
broad overview using simple analogies. Here is his view of the role of minerals
in plants and animals.
Plants are basically made up of air and water. If you combine carbon, as
from carbon dioxide with oxygen and hydrogen (also from air or water) you
have the basic building block for starch, sugar or carbohydrates. Add
nitrogen to this basic formula and you have an amino acid or a basic building
block for protein.
If you burn a plant thus reducing it to ash you are left with that part of the
plant that came from the soil … usually around 5 %. Therefore, 95% of the
makeup of plants comes from air and water, combined together by the sunshine
generated miracle of photosynthesis.
Minerals are nature’s “tools” that enables this process to proceed. They
are basic to the enzyme systems that catalyze the storage of the sun’s energy
into the chemical bonds within the plant itself. The major elements are the big
wrenches and the smaller ones are the trace minerals. All are essential. Any
deficiency or imbalance limits the production and the quality of the crops
grown. If some elements are lacking in the soil they will be lacking in the
crop. If they are lacking in the crop, they will be lacking in the animal that
eats the crop.
When an animal consumes plants the same tools used by the plant to combine
the CHO & N to store energy are needed to break down chemical bonds and
release energy to power the metabolic processes of life and production. If
the plant doesn’t have enough built-in tools (minerals), extra tools must be
provided. Most of our soils are so depleted in minerals that it is almost a
given that some sort of mineral supplementation is necessary, especially to
arrive at the high levels of productivity that we strive for today. Without the
mineral tools proper digestion and assimilation of the energy in the feeds simply
does not take place
Even without computers, animals are smarter than man when it comes to
balancing their individual needs for the elements of nutrition, especially the
major, minor and trace minerals. Providing a choice in mineral supplementation
allows the animals to pick the tools they need without being totally locked-in to
only the tools recommended by the computer.
Most farmers probably wouldn’t think much of a mechanic that tried to
overhaul a tractor with a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a couple of crescent
wrenches. Unfortunately, in their role as animal caretakers, some livestock
men seem to think that a cheap sack of high calcium minerals and a trace
mineral salt block are all the tools needed by our livestock to fully utilize the
energy stored in our feeds. They are wrong!
