During his first trip to Louisiana, celebrity veterinarian Marty Goldstein implored alumni of the School of Veterinary Medicine to use more natural methods when practicing animal healthcare.
Some of Goldstein’s clients include Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Swank, Jerry Seinfeld and Martha Stewart, who gave Goldstein a nationally syndicated SiriusXM radio talk show called “Ask Martha’s Vet.”
Goldstein will air the show from campus today from 7 to 9 p.m.
Goldstein said during his lecture at the Vet School he practices integrative medicine, or the combination of the technical and natural sides of healthcare.
“It approaches the patient from a whole perspective,” he said. “It’s not one negating the other.”
Goldstein said his reputation suffered when he first began using more natural treatments like detoxification, herb supplements and acupuncture on animals, but the demand for integrative medicine has since increased.
During his 39 years of practice, Goldstein said the biggest problems he’s seen in American veterinary sciences is pet food treatment and high numbers of vaccinations. He said he’s also seen cancer rates triple during his career.
Goldstein said many pet foods mostly contain cereals, sugars and meat that is actually only a byproduct.
“Do wild dogs eat at bakeries?” Goldstein asked. “They’re carnivores.”
Goldstein suggested that owners should feed their cats and dogs more meat or pet foods that contain mostly meat.
Vaccinations are also another possible link to health problems in animals, Goldstein said.
“Why are we calling animals every year for their shots?” he asked.
Some studies show that vaccinations make animals “immune for life,” or at least for several years, Goldstein said. He also said the same vaccination shouldn’t be used for different breeds of dogs, unlike what some vaccination companies suggest.
The preservatives in vaccinations have increased to allow for a longer shelf life, which is dangerous to smaller animals, he said.
Shots shouldn’t be given to pets when the animal is sick, since Goldstein said it would interfere with the detoxification process.
Goldstein said the immune system is an animal’s best defense, and only the immune system can heal a cut.
“It’s just so simplistic. Nature and the immune system is what heals,” he said. “We cannot replicate nature.”
“It’s just so simplistic. Nature and the immune system is what heals.”
