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By Franco Cavaleri

Do Pets Need Supplements?

Your pet`s food may not be as healthy as you think

We are told time and again by manufacturers of dry bagged and wet canned food that everything our precious pet needs is accounted for in the package. It’s a wishful thought that we readily accept without much contemplation in order to justify our poor choices for their food. It’s true that most pet foods are fortified with essential nutrients, but it’s also irrefutable that the extreme processing methods used to produce these foods create irreversible damage to both the food’s inherent nutrition and the added nutrients.

Most guardians of companion animals are pleasantly surprised to see improvements in their pet’s coat lustre, skin condition, joint health and general wellness when a correctly designed supplement programme is added to the diet, and see benefits even if they’ve been buying premium brand food. It doesn’t matter what the perceived quality of the commercial food is, it cannot be fresh enough after processing and shelf storage to deliver the full benefits of the original pre-processed nourishment, just like shelved food for humans. To make matters worse, the raw animal ingredients used to make these processed foods are often compromised and low quality even before the process begins.

As much as whole raw foods are the best source of nutrition, there is another man-made challenge which has also reduced the viability of this source. The content of the meat has been manipulated because the nutritional profile derived from domesticated livestock is dependent on their feed. Meat sources from animals in the wild have a different level of nutrients that include higher mineral, vitamin and even antioxidant levels. They also generally have higher levels of naturally occurring creatine. Domestic meat sources provide different fatty acid proportions that might not be as healthy as the fatty acid profiles found in wild meat sources. Fruits, vegetables and grains used for animal feed are also nutrient-compromised due to today’s commercial practices. They are grown during faster growth cycles in chemically fertilized plots and picked earlier in their maturation phase to ripen during transit across the continent. This reduces the nutrient density of the vegetable ingredients.

Supplementation of any diet with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and polyunsaturated fatty acids increases nutrient density and the health benefits of the feed. This increased health potential is not only required because of the nutrient limitations of pet food. When we impose environmental pollution and lifestyle stresses on our pets on top of this nutritional limitation, their bodies simply cannot cope. These deficiencies and stresses set the stage for premature aging, skin disease, joint degeneration and other common ailments. We can combat these limitations with the right supplements.

Is the improvement in health and appearance of your animal an improvement beyond what is normal or is it an improvement toward that which is normal? The answer is that this improved state of health is your pet’s full life potential, or one closer to that potential. The pet’s state prior to providing the right nutritional food and supplements was a struggling state, even though it seemed to be the norm. The full genetic potential of your pet is limited by the food’s nutritional limitations.

Supplementing your animal’s food bowl daily with essential nutrients which are in their active state and are in forms that are easy to absorb empowers the animal’s cells to withstand adversity. It helps them to tolerate seasonal changes; it provides an increased resilience to allergens and toxins; and it improves the ability to restore tissues such those of the joint after they have been worn by physical activity, injury or allergens. It literally slows the rate of aging to preserve their youth.