It is not only humans who benefit from antioxidants in their diet, but animals do also benefit from it. Like humans, your pet can suffer from the damaging effects of free radicals that are so commonly associated with ageing and illness. Antioxidants neutralize these harmful compounds, and as such act as the body ‘s effective protectors. With various vitamins, minerals and enzymes having antioxidant properties, diet is an essential source of these leading players in our defence system. Vitamins A, C and E, selenium and zinc, carotenoids, flavonoids, and coenzyme Q10 are common examples of this.
Unfortunately, refined commercial pet foods may be deficient in these active compounds, as well as devoid of live enzymes that also greatly benefit your pet’s safety. Homemade, raw food diets will give your dog and cat a good dose of antioxidants. When embarking on a homemade fresh food diet, it is crucial to study the region extensively first as a nutritional balance.
Vegetables and some fruit can produce some of these active compounds in your dog’s diet, and a limited amount of these in your cat ‘s diet. In their daily meal, dogs can eat up to around 30 per cent of plant foods and are not involuntary carnivores like felines. Cats only need a tiny percentage of plant foods in their diet, around 5-10%. Be sure to blend vegetables well for both dogs and cats because they do not readily digest cellulose, and in the wild, they should have eaten the partially broken down plant foods in their prey’s guts.
Particularly high in antioxidants vegetables and fruits include broccoli, spinach, avocado, peas, blueberries and apples. Your pet’s other veggie diet choices include chard, kale, onion, watercress, carrots, cabbage, celery, beetroots, green beans, sweet potato, cauliflower and asparagus. Using a variety of vegetables and always have grass. Seeds provide antioxidant minerals like selenium (particularly high in Braxil nuts) and zinc (for example high in pumpkin and sesame seeds). They also have a high content of healthy oils and vitamin E. To larger dogs, one nut or a few seeds a day is sufficient, to cats and smaller dogs one every few days is not bad.
As a note, raw onions on your pet’s digestive system aren’t friendly, so they’re best avoided. They dislike onions, peppers, cucumbers and potatoes too. Garlic is not suitable for cats, though small amounts may sometimes serve as a natural flea repellent in your dog’s diet.
Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant and beneficial addition to both your dog’s and cats’ diet (always study dose levels before using supplements), with potent anti-ageing and disease-preventive properties. Nevertheless, vitamin C is in doubt for use as a supplement. Where many agree that vitamin c is not appropriate in cat food (because they produce vitamin C from glucose in their small intestine), there is still debate about whether it is beneficial for dogs as a dietary supplement. Some say that it is health-promoting, while others believe that dogs can synthesize vitamin C in their intestine and that any excess will cause damage to the kidneys and intestine.
Dogs can convert beta-carotene in vegetables into vitamin A, another immune-enhancing antioxidant. However, cats can not synthesize vitamin A from plant foods and must obtain this vitamin from animal sources, such as liver, in their diets.
Research has it proof that ‘old dogs on an antioxidant diet performed better on a range of cognitive tests than dogs that were not on a diet. The dogs currently eating antioxidant-fortified foods performed as did the young animals.
Other studies by Dr Rabinovitch and his ageing team at the University of Washington, Seattle (published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2004) showed that mice bred to generate high levels of an antioxidant enzyme (catalase) lived 20 per cent longer and had less heart and other age-related diseases than controls. Given the role antioxidants play in combating ageing and disease, it is essential to ensure a good dose of these protective agents is included in your pet’s diet.
Why You Should Give Antioxidants to Your Pets
1. Natural antioxidants will help the functioning of your pet’s immune system and improve its capacity to resist disease. As a result, your pet becomes resistant to viral and bacterial infections, as well as several diseases which commonly affect domesticated animals.
2. Pet antioxidants can help keep your pet in control of blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
3. One of the significant reasons why pets often get ill is the damage caused by free radicals. When left unattended, these free radicals can cause significant damage that could lead to fatal diseases such as cancer. Pet antioxidants combat and neutralize these free radicals and dramatically reduce the risk of cancer and a variety of other diseases.
4. they help clean your pet’s body to prevent toxin buildup.
5. They will help increase the metabolism of your pet and boost its vitality. Which means your pet can eat well and remain healthy for a long time to come.
6. They supplement your pet’s blood, reinforce their vital organs and promote cell growth.
Other ingredients are known for their antioxidant properties such as milk thistle, mistletoe and cat’s paw. There have been a large number of clinical studies on these herbs, and their medicinal properties have been well known. So if you’re looking for your pets’ best antioxidants, you should consider buying supplements that contain those ingredients.
Once you’ve chosen the right supplement for your pet, you can check with your vet to get his opinion on the brand. He’ll be able to recommend the proper dosage for your pet based on age, height, and health condition. It would help if you started giving your pets antioxidants after you get his opinion.
When you start offering these supplements, you can usually improve your pet’s health status within 4-6 weeks. However, you should not avoid offering these pet antioxidants until your pet health professional suggests. Holistic pet care experts recommend offering these natural supplements a daily dose of general treatment well-being of your pets.
Antioxidants are what is termed a supportive therapy. All this means is that if you are considering an antioxidant to support a sick pet, the antioxidants are not a remedy but function in addition to your veterinarian ‘s approved standard care. Supportive therapies help speed up recovery, reduce the effect of symptoms, and even in the case of antioxidants; they are an essential part of a pet’s diet.
A blend of balanced food, clean water, physical exercise and pet-antioxidants is what your pet wants to live a happy and long life.