DEAR READERS: Alarm bells are ringing over recent health news postings. One topic of concern is the increased incidence of colorectal cancer in younger people, associated with high consumption of beef and processed meats high in nitrites (cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/colorectal-cancer-rising-younger-adults). Another is a report from the 2023 World Obesity Atlas that 51% of the human population will be obese or overweight by 2035, bringing health care costs of over $4 trillion (World Obesity Atlas 2023, worldobesityday.org).

These bells have been ringing louder and louder for many years and are largely ignored by government food regulators and educators. Their usual line is, "Eat more fruits, vegetables and fiber," rather than saying to reduce salt, sugar, sugar substitutes, nitrites, food colorings, preservatives and "flavor enhancers" such as monosodium glutamate. The same is true with most manufactured cat and dog foods, which contribute to obesity and its associated health consequences, notably an increased incidence of diabetes and various cancers.

More sedentary lives and lack of regular exercise for people and their pets are contributory factors. Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds such as pugs have difficulty breathing, which makes them exercise-intolerant and notably prone to obesity.

With increasing body weight from pathogenic diets filled with high-glycemic index ingredients, we see associated joint stress and generalized inflammation; these can lead to less desire to be physically active, and ultimately depression. This has opened a profitable market for Big Pharma via antidepressants and analgesics, which in turn can lead to more and more medications, causing liver, brain and other organ damage.

I have expressed my disbelief at the U.S. government's approval of the artificial sweetener aspartame, used in many "diet" sodas, that increases appetite and has other questionable side effects. Xylitol, another sweetener in many snacks and candies, has killed dogs. The sweetener erythritol has been linked to heightened risk of cardiac arrest, stroke and death in humans.

What we eat and feed to our animal companions influences what kinds of good and bad bacteria flourish in the digestive system -- the so-called microbiome. Good nutrition helps sustain and restore a healthy microbiome, which plays many vital roles in digestion, immune system function, mood, cognition and behavior. Bayer-Monsanto's herbicide glyphosate, in their widely used Roundup herbicide, disrupts this gut microbiome and is linked to the increased incidence of cancer (non-Hodgkin lymphoma) worldwide.

More members of the medical and veterinary professions are realizing the importance of a healthy microbiome, and are taking long-overdue corrective steps. Simply adding probiotics and prebiotics (more healthful fiber) to junk foods for humans and pets is not the solution, though this is now being widely promoted by the manufacturers of highly processed pet and human foods.

DEAR DR. FOX: Why don't you just be a veterinarian and write about animal care, as your "Animal Doctor" column is supposed to, rather than use it as a platform for your woke politics? -- R.S., address withheld.

DEAR R.S.: I see it as my professional responsibility as a veterinarian to address those social, economic and political issues that affect animals wild and domesticated and the natural environment we share with them.

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the term "woke" originated as a Black American slang term meaning "being aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)." It also relates to an awakening awareness of, and involvement in, environmental justice, conservation and animal rights, of which I have been a longtime advocate.

Being "woke" means caring for the common good -- including the atmosphere, land and oceans. The recent agreement by members of the United Nations to establish protected marine areas in international waters is a major step forward, strengthening the U.N. Biodiversity Conference's pledge to protect 30% of the planet's land and waters.

Those who use the term "woke" in a derogatory, disparaging way see all such bioethically enlightened initiatives as barriers to "progress" for their own vested interests. As citizens in a democracy, all Americans need to be "woke" and see through the denial and disinformation coming from the "anti-wokers." We must not shy away from using word "fascism." To help save our democracy from fascism and technocracy, all high school seniors and college students should take a course in the humanities.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I gave the medication Trifexis to my Belgian Malinois and he got ataxia. It's been more than 10 days and he is still recovering, slowly. Is there a safe alternative to these meds? Vets in this city seem clueless on this question. -- B.D., Titusville, Florida

DEAR B.D.: Trifexis (spinosad plus milbemycin oxime) is a monthly, beef-flavored tablet that kills fleas, prevents flea infestations, prevents heartworm disease, and treats and controls adult hookworm, roundworm and whipworm infections. The attending veterinarians should not be "clueless," since they can read the manufacturer's published details about the product. These details list the following possible adverse reactions: vomiting, depression, lethargy, pruritus, anorexia, diarrhea, trembling/shaking, ataxia, seizures, hypersalivation and skin reddening.

To report suspected adverse reactions, contact Elanco at 1-888-545-5973 and the FDA at 1-888-FDA-VETS.

Some breeds and individual dogs are more likely to develop adverse reactions, and it is a toss-up when balancing the risks against the benefits of eliminating heartworm and some worm species in the intestines. Updated results from the U.S. and the European Union indicate a notable increase in the number of particularly serious adverse events reported for flea and tick preventives, including seizures, aggression and death.

For more details and alternatives for repelling fleas, ticks and mosquitos, check my website entries: drfoxonehealth.com/post/companion-animal-risks-of-flea-and-tick-insecticides and drfoxonehealth.com/post/preventing-fleas-ticks-and-mosquitoes.

Rather than routinely giving drugs to kill intestinal worms, a prudent step would be having a fecal sample tested to see if medication is needed. A flea comb should also be regularly used. Perform regular visual inspections for ticks, especially between the toes and around the ears. Spritz your dog with a botanical mosquito and biting fly repellant before going outdoors when the bugs are out.

BOOK REVIEW: "Wolfish: Wolf, Self and the Stories We Tell About Fear" by Erica Berry

I was captivated by the twisting journey this young author took me on in her quest -- as a female member of a species that is both predator and prey -- to address her fears and longings through the prism of our relationships, past and present, with wolves. Erica Berry opens our eyes and hearts in her bridging of the great divide between lupophobia and lupophilia. She writes about what it means to cherish the wild, and in the process, recover our sense of self and humanity in a world we have despoiled. Our future and the fate of the Earth depend on how well we attend to the two wolves in all of us: the one driven by the love of power and the other by the power of love.

'GREEN SPACES' CAN HELP REDUCE RISK OF SOME DEMENTIAS

High levels of green space in and around residential communities are associated with reduced risk of various neurodegenerative diseases in adult humans, according to a landmark study confirming a significant benefit of environmental restoration and protection. (For details, read: "Associations of Greenness, Parks and Blue Space With Neurodegenerative Disease Hospitalizations Among Older U.S. Adults," JAMA Network Open, December 2022.) Spending time in nature has also been linked to improved blood pressure, cognition, mental health and sleep.

HOWLING DOGS REFLECT WOLF ANCESTRY

Wolves howl to guard territory and communicate with other members of their pack, and researchers at Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary found that most young dogs howl in response when they hear a recording of a wolf howling. However, among dogs older than 5 years, breeds that are more genetically distant from wolves respond with barking, while breeds that are genetically closest to wolves respond with howling. Those that howled back showed greater signs of stress, researchers wrote in Communications Biology. (Full story: ScienceAlert, Feb. 13)

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: While walking with my grandchildren in one of our local parks, they wanted to pet the squirrels. They both asked me why the squirrels always run away because they wanted to be friends with them.

I did not know quite what to tell them, other than that the animals were afraid of them, which made them feel bad. How would you have replied? -- B.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR B.K.: Children may wonder and ask why most wild animals flee when they see us and are obviously fearful. We should be honest and tell them that it is an instinctual reaction because we humans, and our humanlike ancestors before us, have been killing animals or driving them away for close to 3 million years. Children should never be encouraged to try to pet wild animals -- or unfamiliar domestic animals -- because of the potential risks of injury and disease such as rabies.

Also, explain to children that many wild animals flee because they are prey/food for other animals called predators, such as foxes that kill rabbits and hawks that kill squirrels. This is all part of what is called the balance of nature, as predators are fewer in number than their prey, whose numbers they help regulate. Humans upset this balance because there are too many of us to continue to live as predators.

Many animal species, when taken in by humans soon after being born, will become emotionally attached to us, dependent and trusting. Such trust enabled our ancestors to begin to domesticate them for various purposes, beginning about 10,000 years ago with dogs, sheep, cattle and horses. In many instances and relationships, we betrayed that trust. Animals captured from the wild, such as wild horses and elephants, have their spirits broken before they will serve us.

All these purposes and our relationships with other animals, including wildlife being "harvested" by hunters, trappers and fishers, need to be examined by all who feel affection and concern for animals. Fortunately, there are individuals and organizations dedicated to improving the care and welfare of animals domesticated and wild, and advocating for their rights, protection and conservation. The belief held by many that "God created animals for man's use" needs to be put to rest since it is the essence of speciesism -- ultimately part of the same currency as racism and sexism.

Loving concern is the antithesis of the common sentimental attitude toward animals. Many people who keep animals as pets will not think twice about eating other animals, or even wearing fur. Yet they will still claim to have a sentimental attachment to wildlife. As Black American writer James Baldwin wrote, "Sentimentality, the ostentatious parading of excessive and spurious emotion, is the mark of dishonesty, the inability to feel -- the signal of secret and violent inhumanity, the mask of cruelty."

Gratitude and loving concern toward all creatures great and small will help us break away from our ancestral past as animal exploiters and killers. This will enable the blossoming of our humanity -- of compassion, empathy and respect for all living beings.

Children need help to grow up in a culture of violence toward nature and other species. They must learn how they can make a difference and not become desensitized and accepting of the cultural norms of inhumanity, speciesism and racism. Several universities are now offering courses in humane education. One of these programs -- offered by Antioch University in partnership with the Institute for Humane Education -- includes online degree and graduate certificate options. The creator of these programs, Zoe Weil, is also the author of "The World Becomes What We Teach." (Details: antioch.edu/academics/education/humane-education-ma.)

To realize that we are all part of the cosmic miracle of life and consciousness puts the significance of our individual existence in the broader dimension of awakening our sense of kinship with all life necessary to transcend self-centeredness and anthropocentrism. Empathic sensitivity and ethical sensibility may then arise spontaneously, reducing the need for moral instruction and law enforcement.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)