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| Health Info
» Vitamins For Pets |
Vitamins for your Pets (By:
Dr. George Obikoya)
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When
trace minerals are deficient
in our food and water, the
body's defense systems
cannot function properly.
Likewise, animals lacking
proper amounts of copper,
iron, selenium, and others,
have been found to be much
more likely to develop
diseases and have shorter
lifespans.
Most animals are usually
prescribed drugs,
specifically antibiotics and
vitamins, at times when they
are ill. However,
antibiotics kill all germs
and rarely discriminate
between good and bad germs.
When the 'good' germs are
constantly assaulted by
antibiotics, the 'bad' germs
can become super-germs which
may then become impervious
to drugs. Keeping the immune
system healthy in the first
place can vastly reduce the
need for constant antibiotic
treatment. Indeed,
antibiotics are only
indicated when the body
cannot naturally fight
against bacteria, not simply
when you have a cold but are
healthy enough to fight it
off.
Vitamins help to fortify the
immune system and also
control the body's
appropriation of minerals.
However, if there are no
vitamins and no trace
minerals, the body has no
ability to use the vitamins
to help fight disease and
therefore the vitamins are
useless. It is for that
reason that replacing lost
minerals in both your diet
and your pet's diet is
essential.
Our pets need vitamins and
minerals. Just like for us,
vitamins and minerals are
very important nutrients. In
today’s environment, they
may need them more than we
had originally thought as
current diets rob us of much
beneficial nutrients.
Vitamins perform many
important functions for our
pets. If your pets depend on
canned or dried food, it is
necessary to consider
supplementing their diet
with vitamins and minerals.
Our pets too live in a
polluted world full of toxic
chemicals. Besides, they
live closer to the ground,
closer to pollutants that
emanate from synthetic
carpets, or to cleaning
solvents used on the floor,
or to the herbicides and
pesticides sprayed in the
yard. Indeed, lawn
fertilizers have been shown
to increase the chance of
disease in dogs that play on
sprayed lawns.
Pets eat highly processed
food, possibly the most
highly processed on the
planet. Often the
ingredients are of
questionable origin. Would
you eat dog or cat food?
Many pet foods are loaded
with chemicals. Such as
artificial colors that make
the food look pretty to your
eyes. Some of them are
banned in other countries.
It seems plausible that some
pets are sensitive to such
chemicals. The food may look
good to you but it may be
causing grief for your
animal.
Did you know that
advertising claims of
"complete and balanced" pet
diets are based on uncertain
minimum nutritional
requirements designed for
maintenance of barely
adequate health, not optimum
health? Also it is hardly
comforting to know that many
vitamins and minerals are
lost in the processing or
are simply missing to begin
with.
Vitamins are classified into
2 main groups: Fat soluble
and water soluble. Vitamins
A, D, E and K are fat
soluble dissolved in fats. A
is the skin vitamin. D is
for healthy bones and teeth.
E is the antioxidant vitamin
and K is the blood clotting
vitamin. Liver is an
excellent food source for
all these vitamins.
Unfortunately you need to
ensure adequate vitamin
intake to stay healthy long
term. The B vitamin group
and vitamin C are water
soluble. This means that
they are easily lost through
cooking and processing.
However overdosing is not as
big a concern as it is with
the fat soluble vitamins.
The problem is they flush
out of your system
regularly, so adequate
intake is imperative.
The B family of vitamins is
for healthy muscle, skin and
blood. Vitamin C, the
stress, antioxidant vitamin
is a popular vitamin for us
humans. Carnivores can make
their own vitamin C but
lately it is believed that
they may not be making
enough especially in
stressful situations. Again
liver and kidney are good
food sources for pets. This
does not mean liver flavor
though!
How would we suspect a
vitamin deficiency in your
pet? Your dog or cat will
show us the signs. For
example: poor skin and hair
coat when deficient in
vitamins A and / or B; Your
pet will be anemic and
constantly tired if
deficient in vitamin B; and
will have cancer and heart
problems if deficient in
vitamin D.
Hopefully, you buy your
animal a premium quality
food: food that has no
preservatives and artificial
colors. You also may share
some nutritious extras with
your pet, things like
carrots, broccoli, whole
grain rice, oatmeal, and
yogurt.
If you want to improve your
pet's health you need to
provide better than adequate
nutrition. That means more
than what is available in
those bags of pet food. You
need to fortify your
animal's diet with extra
vitamins and minerals.
That will help strengthen
your pet internally so it
can fight off the effects of
contaminants and stress.
Supplementation may also
help your pet compensate for
possible genetic defects
that are becoming
increasingly common,
particularly among pure
breed dogs and cats. Animal
breeders supplement their
animals with vitamin and
mineral supplements. They
will tell you that pet food
is not enough to protect
animals or enable them to
achieve optimal health.
Well-meaning pet owners who
supplement their animals'
diets may, in fact, be
helping them very little,
and possibly causing
problems. This is because
many pet supplements contain
low-quality vitamins and
potentially allergenic
ingredients such as brewer's
yeast and artificial flavors
and dyes.
Minerals are vital to
digestion, growth, repair of
tissues, to strong bones,
teeth, claws, skin and hair
coat. Major minerals such as
calcium, magnesium, iron and
potassium are often present
in supplements, but often
enough, trace minerals are
often lacking. Yet they are
equally important to our
pets.
Most pet supplements also
lack vitamin C because dogs
and cats, as do most
mammals, produce their own
vitamin C internally.
However, dogs and cats are
minimal producers compared
to other animals. Vitamin C
performs many critical tasks
in your pets body. It is a
natural pain reliever and
detoxifier. It is a major
antioxidant and contributor
to immune function. And it
plays a major role in the
building of collagen, the
connective tissue that
literally holds the body
together. It is, therefore,
vital to your pet. Ensure
adequate intake of vitamin c
for your animal.
You should consult your
veterinarian on the most
appropriate vitamin
supplement for your pet and
the recommended doses of the
vitamins and minerals it
needs, as each pet is a bit
different.
A good multivitamin is the
foundation of health and
nutrition. Take a look at
our scientific reviews of
many of the popular brands
for factors such as
ingredients, areas of
improvement, quality level,
and overall value. |
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