This One Brain Pathway Could Change Your Dog’s Life (And Yours Too!) | Short

Hi, this is Rita Hogan, and welcome to the Dogs Are Individuals podcast. I'm a clinical canine herbalist and I've been practicing for over 20 years. This podcast is all about your dog.

Through an herbal lens.

So let's get to it and dive right in.

Hey, everyone, this is Rita Hogan and you are back for another edition of our podcast. I have been meeting people around the country and in Canada, and lots of people are telling me they're listening to the pod, which is so awesome. So welcome, welcome, everyone. Welcome to anybody new to the podcast, it's just me rambling on. I don't have any guests yet. Might do that next year. I'm not positive, but no plans on stopping the podcast. Just rambling on different types of things. Today we're gonna talk about something really exciting called the glymphatic pathway. So if you know about the lymphatics, if you don't get a copy of my book, the Herbal Dog, and if you don't have a copy of my book the Herbal Dog, you need to get one. You can go on the, let's see, Barnes and Noble bookshop anywhere you buy books. I myself am a big proponent of buying locally at your bookstore, but you can also buy on Amazon. You can buy at Indigo in Canada. It landed in Europe. I think it's about to land in Australia. So, yeah, give copies to your vets, anyone you want to know. And speaking of vets, so I've had 21 vets at my event so far. Very excited about that. That is a big goal of mine is to help teach vets how to use plants according to plant language. So totally want to do that and excited. So, yeah, if you know about the lymphatics, this is the glymphatic pathway and we are going to talk about it on this short. Before we do, I want to thank my sponsors, Real Mushrooms and Green Juju, who are both sponsors of my book tour. Would not be able to do the book tour without these two companies. I've got some other great sponsors too. Earthbuddy. Love them. For CBD and nutraceuticals and different types of really innovative products. Sean grows all of his own cannabis. Love that. Dr. Ruth Roberts, the original crock pot vet. Her and I are up to great things and love, love, love her, her and her health coaches. I am helping teach some of her health coaches about plant language and stuff. So excited about that. Coco therapy. Best coconut products on the planet. And those are just a few. But we also have Pawdega, which is a Great online shop, Fido's Bone Broth. We just. Fido's and I, they are their own company, not related to me, but I do formulate all of their products. They just came out with an allergy product we just brought to market. Awesome. Check it out. Okay, so this is a short. And. And we are shorten, shorten. So the glymphatic pathway. Okay, let's talk about it. So the glymphatic pathway is. It's basically the brain's lymphatic pathway.

Okay.

And it's called glymphatic. So it's a waste. It's a waste pathway. Just like your dog's body, the lymph. Right. It's similar to the lymphatic system.

Okay.

It was only discovered in the last decade, so people are just talking about it. And that's why I love bringing, like, traditional medicine and science based medicine together. Because science can discover things and traditional medicine can have things that work with those discoveries. And that's what I love about what I do. So, yeah, discovered in the last decade because, you know, there's a bunch of neuroscience nerds out there and integrative health practitioners that are working on these types of things, Right? They're working on these types of things. And we love this. So what does the glymphatic pathway do?

Okay.

It operates during sleep. Well, primarily.

Okay.

And non REM sleep. So it uses cerebral, like spinal fluid, which is. I think the acronym is csf. Okay. It uses this type of fluid to flush out toxins and metabolic waste in the brain. Okay. In the brain, from the brain, in the brain, all over the brain. Okay. And it relies on these things called Galileo cells.

Okay.

That's probably how they came up with glymphatic.

Okay.

G L, I A L. Okay. And that is those cells facilitate the flow of the toxins and the metabolic waste. And it involves things called periovascular. Okay, let's say that together. Periovascular channels, okay. And that carries this fluid, the CSF fluid, alongside of the arteries and veins to clear waste from the brain. And why does this matter, Rita? Why does this matter? Because, you know, I get a lot of calls about dog dementia, early onset dementia. Well, of course, there's tons of dementia in people. My mother is getting a little bit of it right now. She's gonna be 95, but I think it's her statin. So it's ever since she started this statin. Cause she had some mini strokes, they put her on a statin. We've decreased the dosage to see if her brains will. She has multiple. Her brain will start to respond to a lower statin amount. I'm not a big fan of statins, but that's between her and her doctor. And again, she's 95, doing well, so why does it matter? It matters because brain pathways are super important. The brain and the gut speak to each other. The brain and the heart speak to each other. The brain and the lungs speak to each other. And this communication pathways aren't as good without a clean glymphatic pathway. Okay, so. And that helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases. And that is super important. So that's cognition, right? Cognitive decline. We don't want that. We want cognitive clarity, right? We want access to our memory. We want our dogs to have cognitive clarity and emotional regulation to regulate how we're feeling. And this goes with to our dogs too. And it also brings down inflammation in the brain. It helps detoxify the brain. And that can be after surgery, after sickness, after a vaccine, after a flea and tick med, all of these things that you already know. Not a big fan of over vaccination, not a fan at all of flea and tick meds unless it's an absolute emergency. But it does help the brain detoxify and especially the toxins that our dogs brains are exposed to and ours. Remember, this all applies to you too. So how do we support glymphatic drainage? Well, good sleep, right? Dogs sleep well. If your dog isn't sleeping well, we got to get them to sleep. And the main time for, you know, I'm not sure about dogs, but for humans it's between 10 and 2. That's your main time of glymphatic detoxification? Usually my dogs go to bed when I go to bed, and I go to bed by 10. So there's that side sleeping. Now your dog can sleep however they want. And it's a little different in dogs. And I don't have that exact information because they're not studying dogs for this glymphatic pathway, even though they have a glymphatic pathway. But side sleeping improves glymphatic flow. I am a side sleeper. I sleep mostly on my right side. I kind of alternate with the left a little bit. I usually start off on my left, go to the right, but movement just like the lymph, right? Just like the lymphatic pathway. Move, move, move. Low inflammation diets, you know, keep the dog's carb intake down, processed carbs high Sugar carbs, high glycemic index carbs and hydration. Very, very important. So the glymphatic pathway can be stimulated and supported via essential oils through self selection. Okay. Only through self selection. You offer it to them. Right? Zoo pharmacognosi, Caroline Ingraham's work, Isla Fishburne's work, things like that. I talk about a little bit about it in my book. But the ones that help the glymphatic pathway are helichrysum.

Okay.

That supports microcirculation, repair of the blood brain barrier. It reduces neural inflammation and trauma. Lavender angustifolia.

Okay.

That helps calm the nervous system. It promotes deep sleep. Vetted. Vetted. Veer. It's very grounding. It helps promote slow wave delta brainwaves, which is important for glymphatic function. It helps with overstimulation, trauma, anxiety related sleep issues. So you can have your dog see if they want that. Remember, you only need to to order like a half a dram, not a 1 ounce bottle. You can order a half a dram, it has a reducer on it. You just take the cap off. Spikenard. Spikenard's a good one. Very sedating. Brain calming. Cobiaba definitely modulates neuro inflammation. Supports the endocannabinoid system. CBD can help with this. It's not an. I mean it is an essential oil of cannabis. Santal Wood. Right. Offer that. Remember, only self selection through the olfactory system. Having your dog smell it and then I know this is a short. So we're gonna go through some phytoembryonic therapies I love.

Okay.

Phytoembryonic therapies. I would say extra small dog one to two drops, small dog two to three drops, medium dog three to four, large dog four to five and extra large dog four to six.

Okay.

Start at the low end. Blackcurrant Ribus nigrum. That is an excellent one. It supports neurological detox and inflammation. We love that Lindenblood bud. Not blood, but linden budmentosa. Helps calm the nervous system. I could use some right now, obviously. And good for sleep. Good for vagus nerve regulation. Good for activating GABA inside the body. Helps build gaba. Ginkgo bibola, definitely. Microcirculation in the brain helps cerebral blood flow, waste removal. We love that. Olive bud, which is warming, restores energy like post inflammation or infection. Good one. Great for mental exhaustion and neurotoxicity. And rosemary. Don't use essential oil of rosemary for dogs that have seizures. But you can use one drop of Rosemary phytoembryonic therapy. If you want, just be on the lookout. But any other dog is fine. Enhances the liver, brain connection and memory. But you can use regular rosemary twigs, like the leaves and have your dog sniff them or use them as a tea. I've never seen regular plant rosemary. Causes seizure in small amounts. But rosemary really helps with sluggish brain, the liver, brain connection, memory, and definitely slow lymph and glymphatic circulation. So, you know, I would give two times a day and then, you know, age appropriate exercise for you guys. Nostril breathing. If you look at a lot of dogs, they don't breathe through their mouth all that much. They breathe through their nose like my chickens breathe through their nose. Mouth breathing is not a good thing. And with people you can do that deep nasal breathing from the dan tien below the dan tien that is below your navel. And you can alternate nostrils. It helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system and helps with that cerebral fluid movement. And then at night, low light exposure. Get all those lights out of your bedroom. If you're, if you have something in there that has a light, put a piece of black tape over it. Everything has to have a friggin light. Have you noticed? Oh my God. Turn off your wi fi, turn off your cellular phones. If you feel panicked when I say that, then I would seek counsel. Yeah, don't. If you're panicked, you just know your relationship with your phone is too tight. Okay, you gotta break away a little bit. Right, break away. But low light exposure is excellent for circadian rhythms. And then of course, just, you know, being present, being present, getting outside, breathing fresh air. That is super important for all detoxification.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Dogs are Individuals. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in your podcast app. And don't forget, sharing is caring. So if you love Dogs are Individuals podcast, share it with your friends and family who love dogs. This will help me so much. And remember, as a listener, I appreciate you much. Thanks to Resonant Media, my podcast production team. This podcast is produced by Drake Peterson and edited by Mike Fry. Any questions, email the show, go to k9herbalist.com, click podcast contact in the menu and then fill out that form and I'll answer any questions here online. Okay, so thank you so much for listening to this episode of Dogs Are Individuals podcast and I'm gonna talk to you in our next episode. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for veterinary care. This podcast doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor, veterinarian, or healthcare provider first before starting anything new, and that includes herbs. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat disease or prescribe anything. I'm a traditional herbalist providing herbal support education only. Regarding any products I may suggest the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All information presented here on the podcast is not meant as a substitute or alternative to information from your vet. Please consult your veterinary professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any production.