Okay, time to start a 2013 thread on the uses of Grapefruit Seed Extract, sometimes abbreviated GSE (and more recently abbreviated GFSE, so as not to be confused with a totally different compound: grape seed extract). Whichever abbreviation you use in this thread, please make sure you are writing about this substance: GRAPEFRUIT Seed Extract.
And that was probably the least complicated part of this post!
I adopted 2 cats, who came from a stress-inducing situation that helped create their immuno-deficiencies. It's likely that vaccinosis compounded the problem. The sicker one will be 2 yrs in December, and has chronic respiratory and pruritic symptoms that suggest one or more of the following: form of URI, URD, asthma, allergy, parasite, pulmonary/thyroid disease). After 7 and a half months of being on some level of Zithromax, I finished tapering him off 2 weeks ago. His symptoms began to return, and I did a search for ways to help boost kitty immune systems, which led to some very old (2004) threads on GFSE, one of which I attempted to re-start, and which gives the background for this current thread/post:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/31431/grapeseed-extract-for-cats (except that the title is an error -- the thread is actually about GrapeFRUIT seed extract)
As promised, I've been researching, and probably have way more info than anyone needs. I collated most of it into several pdfs, and hope I'm able to / allowed to insert them into this post, or a series of posts on this thread (still pretty new to the forum and finding my way). I also finally developed some opinions I feel confident sharing, but don't want my conclusions to be mistaken for factual advice -- most of the published "claim-type" statements about GFSE are not substantiated with medical research and so few allopathic vets could support giving GFSE internally to cats. Nevertheless, there's a lot of intelligent anecdotal evidence, as well as testimonials, that reinforce the notion that GSE is an effective and successful means of treating various feline illnesses, even virus symptoms.
I'll give my personal conclusions first: I am going to use GSE, conservatively, on my cats. (I am also starting to look into Colloidal Silver). When my sicker cat gets his PCR-URD test, if it comes back positive for herpes, my goal will be to cure/eradicate the herpes. GFSE alone won't accomplish this. Step one for me was nutrition: raw diet/ appropriate supplementation (details in my background post). Once the right nutrition was in place, and the cats were being given the tools to fight their own battle, I was ready for step 2: finding and using the right holistic/natural treatments -- instead of drugs that so often suppress the animal's own immune system in the process of "treating" the symptoms. I stopped using a steroidal eye drop for conjunctivitis, and replaced it with a homemade saline eyewash that uses goldenseal or eyebright to heal the infection / swelling. It works. And in the wake of the Zithromax, we are hanging in there! But as the runny nose threatens to get worse, and the eye discharge is increasing, I don't want to run straight back to antibiotics if I don't have to (a PCR test might determine otherwise, which will be fine if that's the case). But I do want to give my kitty's immune system a safe, natural boost, if one exists.
This is where GFSE comes in. It's billed as an anti-microbial and fungicidal that is effective on quite a number of illnesses. Most online content about GSE consists of either bold "claims" (technically, it's not legal for makers of non-FDA approved substances make outright claims, thanks to the big pharma lobby, but who are we kidding -- the language promoting GFSE does everything in its power to suggest claim after medicinal claim), or the stories--some reliable, some not so much--of people who've used GSE. There are also some juried medical articles.
This is where it gets a little messy: sorting out the misunderstandings/misstatements, fine details, formulas and dosages.
So, though we can't determine a set of "legally true" GSE info, can we at least figure out what's SAFE? Thankfully, yes. And then some.
Next post: Part 2.
Argh, it's 4:30 a.m. -- time to rally!
And that was probably the least complicated part of this post!
I adopted 2 cats, who came from a stress-inducing situation that helped create their immuno-deficiencies. It's likely that vaccinosis compounded the problem. The sicker one will be 2 yrs in December, and has chronic respiratory and pruritic symptoms that suggest one or more of the following: form of URI, URD, asthma, allergy, parasite, pulmonary/thyroid disease). After 7 and a half months of being on some level of Zithromax, I finished tapering him off 2 weeks ago. His symptoms began to return, and I did a search for ways to help boost kitty immune systems, which led to some very old (2004) threads on GFSE, one of which I attempted to re-start, and which gives the background for this current thread/post:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/31431/grapeseed-extract-for-cats (except that the title is an error -- the thread is actually about GrapeFRUIT seed extract)
As promised, I've been researching, and probably have way more info than anyone needs. I collated most of it into several pdfs, and hope I'm able to / allowed to insert them into this post, or a series of posts on this thread (still pretty new to the forum and finding my way). I also finally developed some opinions I feel confident sharing, but don't want my conclusions to be mistaken for factual advice -- most of the published "claim-type" statements about GFSE are not substantiated with medical research and so few allopathic vets could support giving GFSE internally to cats. Nevertheless, there's a lot of intelligent anecdotal evidence, as well as testimonials, that reinforce the notion that GSE is an effective and successful means of treating various feline illnesses, even virus symptoms.
I'll give my personal conclusions first: I am going to use GSE, conservatively, on my cats. (I am also starting to look into Colloidal Silver). When my sicker cat gets his PCR-URD test, if it comes back positive for herpes, my goal will be to cure/eradicate the herpes. GFSE alone won't accomplish this. Step one for me was nutrition: raw diet/ appropriate supplementation (details in my background post). Once the right nutrition was in place, and the cats were being given the tools to fight their own battle, I was ready for step 2: finding and using the right holistic/natural treatments -- instead of drugs that so often suppress the animal's own immune system in the process of "treating" the symptoms. I stopped using a steroidal eye drop for conjunctivitis, and replaced it with a homemade saline eyewash that uses goldenseal or eyebright to heal the infection / swelling. It works. And in the wake of the Zithromax, we are hanging in there! But as the runny nose threatens to get worse, and the eye discharge is increasing, I don't want to run straight back to antibiotics if I don't have to (a PCR test might determine otherwise, which will be fine if that's the case). But I do want to give my kitty's immune system a safe, natural boost, if one exists.
This is where GFSE comes in. It's billed as an anti-microbial and fungicidal that is effective on quite a number of illnesses. Most online content about GSE consists of either bold "claims" (technically, it's not legal for makers of non-FDA approved substances make outright claims, thanks to the big pharma lobby, but who are we kidding -- the language promoting GFSE does everything in its power to suggest claim after medicinal claim), or the stories--some reliable, some not so much--of people who've used GSE. There are also some juried medical articles.
This is where it gets a little messy: sorting out the misunderstandings/misstatements, fine details, formulas and dosages.
So, though we can't determine a set of "legally true" GSE info, can we at least figure out what's SAFE? Thankfully, yes. And then some.
Next post: Part 2.
Argh, it's 4:30 a.m. -- time to rally!
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