WARNING- COMMERCIAL GUINEA PIG FOOD , HEAVY METAL POISONING

For years I've been warning people to the real health hazards of heavy metal contamination of foods. Cereal grains, and alfalfa in horse and guinea pig commercial dry foods, are heavily contaminated with aluminum and are causing real illnesses.
Please refer to my 3 -part article on Heavy Metal Toxicity- The Silent Killer" in my research section of this web site.

"Bruno"-death by Acute Pulmonary Edema." Bruno" was my own beloved guinea pig that I had raised as a weanling. He was a healthy 1- year old male. He loved playing with and sleeping next to my poodle, "Wolfie". You can see their picture in the dog section of this website. "Bruno's " diet consisted of fresh organic veggies and fruits supplemented with commercial guinea pig dry food (alfalfa pellets, dried tomatoes, bananas, oats, wheat and barley with Vit C added). I also put a small pinch of Ascorbic Acid in his Spring Bottled water dispenser daily. Depending on how long commercial packaged foods are kept on shelves, the Vit C content rapidly disappears.

It was after feeding from a new bag of commercial diet, that I noticed "Bruno" having respiratory problems. There was no coughing, nor discharge from eyes or nose, but a quiet, small concerted "pushing" effort in expiration (breathing out the air from his lungs.) At first he was alert, and continued eating his fresh food with relish, but after a period of one week, I noticed his breathing became more labored. I had fed about 1# of the 4# bag over this time. On the 7th day despite heroic treatment on my part, Bruno died.

The necropsy report of Bruno's body at the UC Vet School at Davis indicated no bacterial or viral infection, necrosis or inflammation, no tumor evidence but the entire lung's air sacs were filled with fluid. The diagnosis was Pulmonary Edema.

Bruno's hair Analysis revealed the following heavy metals in parts per million: Aluminum 3.84, Mercury .01, Selenium .01, Arsenic .01 and Cobalt .0009.

The analysis of the commercial diet showed 77.8 parts per million of aluminum! Timothy hay that I had been feeding him was negative for aluminum.

I was most interested in the high Aluminum levels in Bruno's tissues and his diet, although there are no tolerable levels of the other mentioned heavy metals.

During my 17 years heavy metal research involving sick horses, dogs and cats, I have found a tolerable level dosage in each animal for specific metals. This is the amount that the animal can consume in food and water, and the level in the animal's tissues, below which no pathology occurs. Above this level the animal becomes sick and pathology in the various organ systems begin to show. Usually the animal's weakest organ systems are exacerbated. So symptoms can vary from animal to animal.

In horses, with an average 1600 pound body weight , the consumption tolerance level of Aluminum is 30 parts per million. This little guinea pig, less than 1 pound body weight, was eating food containing over twice that amount. Also the tolerance level in the hair analysis of a horse is .49 parts per million Aluminum. Bruno's was over 10 times the tolerable level in a horse.

I contacted the manufacturer of the commercial diet and as I had imagined, he had no idea of heavy metals contaminating our food chain. He is going to analyse his sources of the alfalfa and cereals and will be getting back to me with this information. He asked me what he should do in the future. I recommended that he purchase only ORGANICALLY grown alfalfa, and cereals and those grown in non-clay soil to prevent exposures to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and heavy metals. Guinea Pigs are particularly chemically sensitive, that is why they are chosen as the supreme lab animal for testing.

My advice to you guinea pig owners:

1. Do Not feed any commercial dry food formulas. It is too risky and it is not needed. A lot of the commercial foods can contain the carcinogenic food preservative, Ethoxyquin as well as heavy metals. Guinea pigs are herbivores and grazers, and prefer raw fresh produce. This is their natural diet in the wilds.

2. Feed only fresh organic veggies and fruits, and Timothy Hay, or chemically free local natural grasses for bulk.

3. Supplement daily with Vit C.

This was a sad, sobering experience for me, but hopefully some good will come out of this tragedy. I am spreading the word about heavy metals health hazards and begging for research in places that did not know about this danger- my University Vet School at Davis, California which networks with other universities, on the internet that educates veterinarians , VIN (Veterinary Information Network), and to the public via my website. Maybe "Bruno" didn't die in vain.