Important: this archive article (written 2009–2016) mentions medicines, doses, poisons, emergency first aid or raw diets. It has not been checked by a veterinarian against current advice. Do not use it for doses or emergencies: call your vet or an animal poison helpline. About our articles
| Suppliments for pets III |
| Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins needed to construct every cell of every organ, bone, and fluid in the body. Eight are called essential amino acids because they cannot be synthesized by the body and must be supplied in food or supplements, and the remaining fourteen, called nonessential acids, are formed within the body by essential amino acids. For optimum health, essential amino acids must be provided in the proper balance. Amino acids are sold separately or in blends as nutritional powders or capsules. Label directions usually recommend that they be taken between meals on an empty stomach. Dogs and cats on a well-balanced raw diet receive ample amino acids. Supplemental amino acids are recommended for pets that have been eating a commercial diet (processing destroys fragile amino acids) or are recovering from a serious illness. L-taurine, manufactured in the body by methionine and cysteine, corrects the composition of bile, helps regulate blood sugar levels, keeps the heart muscle strong, and improves eye function. Deficiencies are considered a possible cause of epilepsy. Taurine is essential to all mammals, especially cats, which evolved on a taurine-rich diet. When commercial pet foods contained insufficient taurine, many cats died of heart failure. The taurine content of a typical mouse (2.4 milligrams per gram) is more than ten times that of most foods your indoor pet is likely to encounter, including beef (.2 milligram), beef liver (.1 milligram), chicken (.2 milligram), eggs (.1 milligram), and milk (.05 milligram). Clams are high in taurine (1 milligram per gram). There is no significant vegetable source of this amino acid. Raw meat, bones, and eggs are excellent sources of amino acids. A dog or cat eating a well-balanced raw diet receives all the amino acids needed for good health. Holistic veterinarians sometimes prescribe amino acid supplements for pets that have been fed commercial pet food or a home-prepared diet of cooked food, especially if they suffer from digestive problems or a chronic illness. In pets of all ages, amino acids are essential for efficient detoxification. One excellent whole-food source of amino acids is the supplement Seacure. Essential Fatty Acids Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are the building blocks of fats. Omega-6 linoleic and omega-3 alpha-linoleic acids cannot be manufactured by the body; they must be supplied by foods or supplements. Avocados are an excellent source of "good" fats, especially when accompanied by unrefined sea salt, which, according to biochemist Jacques de Langre, improves the oil's assimilation. Many dogs and a surprising number of cats adore avocados. Safflower and corn oil are high in linoleic acid, an important unsaturated fatty acid, but for every vote in favor of safflower oil, there is one against it because of its omega-3-omega-6 fatty acid imbalance. Cats don't metabolize unsaturated fats as well as dogs do because of their more restricted carnivorous diet. Pottenger's cats thrived on cod liver oil. Several holistic veterinarians report good results from feeding both dogs and cats a changing assortment of vegetable and animal oils, such as flaxseed, olive, corn, wheat germ, salmon, and cod liver oil as well as raw butter from organically raised cattle. Although flaxseed oil is so popular that some pet owners feed it as their animals' only significant source of fat, vegetable oils do not contain all of the vitamins found in fish oils or raw butter. In feeding experiments, dogs receiving only flaxseed oil and commercial pet food suffered from bone and skeletal problems. When fish oil replaced the flaxseed oil, these problems disappeared. While vegetable oils are important sources of essential fatty acids, a well-balanced raw diet for dogs and cats includes ample fats and oils from animal sources as well. Rancidity is a serious problem in fats and oils. To avoid it, keep oils refrigerated. Rancid oils destroy biotin and vitamin E, and the fats in meat and meat by-products are often rancid even before they are used in processed pet foods. Dry pet foods stored for long periods are another source of rancid fats. Obviously, an animal eating a well-prepared home diet never encounters rancidity. EFA supplements are used to treat and prevent skin and coat conditions, splitting claws or nails, heart disease, hormone imbalances, cancer, and diabetes. The most popular omega-6 supplements are made from the seeds of evening primrose, borage, and black currant; common sources of omega-3 oils include flaxseed and fish oils. Other important sources of EFAs include nuts and seeds. Gamma-linoleic acid, or GLA, another essential fatty acid, is found in evening primrose and other oils. GLA supports the body's production of hormones known as prostaglandins, which affect hormone balance. Hormones and Glandular Extracts In the wild, dogs and cats don't dine on just rib steaks and drumsticks. The first things most foxes, coyotes, wolves, hyenas, feral dogs, lions, tigers, and even domestic cats eat are the prey's digestive organs. Then they consume all the other organs and glands, including the thymus, spleen, brain, eyes, thyroid, pituitary, and adrenals. Glands contain hormones, which are substances that travel through the bloodstream to distant organs and tissues modifying their structures and functions. For example, hormones play an important role in the growth of new skin and hair; they keep black noses black and pink noses pink, prevent fur from changing color, intensify coat color, and help prevent allergic reactions. Although all of the glands in the body serve an essential purpose, the thymus is called the master gland, or the "seat" of the immune system. It produces various hormonelike substances that affect the maturation and growth of T-cells, which are crucial to the body's defense against cancer and other illnesses. Whole-thymus extracts and products derived from thymus gland tissue, such as thymic protein, have been used to enhance immunity during the treatment of all types of illnesses in dogs and cats as well as people. Hepatitis and other liver diseases often respond quickly to thymus supplements; in fact, thymus extract has cured many chronic human cases of hepatitis within a few weeks. |
| The adrenal glands lie
on top of the kidneys. Their secretions regulate metabolism and maintain
the balance of sodium and potassium in the blood. Older animals, animals
on a commercial diet, and animals under stress often suffer from adrenal
gland exhaustion or depletion. The pancreas, an organ as well as a gland, is located behind and slightly below the stomach; its most important function is to produce insulin, the hormone that breaks down sugars. Diabetes, an increasingly common illness in commercially fed animals, results from insufficient insulin production. In the brain, the pineal gland releases melatonin, the hormone that maintains the body's daily rhythms, and the pituitary gland releases hormones that control other endocrine glands. In the throat, the parathyroid gland activates bone-destroying cells, which release calcium into the blood, and the thyroid gland regulates metabolic rate and body temperature. Hypothyroid (underactive thyroid) conditions are common in dogs, and hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid) conditions are common in cats. Sex-specific hormones, including estrogen in females and testosterone in males, have a direct effect on reproductive organs and an indirect effect on other organs and systems throughout the body. The few people who feed their dogs and cats glandular supplements claim excellent results. Glandulars are not a quick fix. They require months of daily supplementation to make a difference, but they correct imbalances as no other nutrients can. These are among the easiest supplements to administer, for dogs and cats actively seek them out. I learned this when the Pet Friends Company sent samples of Pet GO glandular wafers for a dog nutrition workshop I was scheduled to give at the home of my friend Sarah Wilson. Samantha, my Labrador Retriever, escorted the sealed box from the front door to the kitchen, sniffing enthusiastically and begging for a taste of whatever might be inside. Each sample consisted of two glandular wafers in a small plastic bag stapled to an information card. I left three of the samples at home and took the rest to Sarah's house, where I put them in an upstairs bedroom with other workshop materials. I was followed by several eager cats and dogs who wanted a taste. When I returned home, I discovered that our cat Pepper had ripped open all three packages, and Sarah reported that the samples at her house had been similarly raided. This was the first time we had seen such a dramatic reaction in not one but all of our pets. It convinced us that glandular extracts supply important nutrients that are missing from the normal fare of dogs and cats, even when they're fed an all-raw diet. For best results, animal nutritionist Marina Zacharias suggests having a complete blood panel done to test hormone levels and other factors to determine which supplements would be most effective. If the animal has no apparent health problems, providing a variety of glandular supplements from organically raised, minimally processed sources on a rotating basis will supply the nutrients otherwise missing from a pet's food. Supplements made from whole glands, usually derived from cattle, contain little if any active hormones but supply unique nutrients. Other Helpful Supplements Kelp and Other Seaweeds Best known for their abundant minerals and trace elements, kelp and other sea vegetables have a nourishing and tonic effect on all of the body's systems. In the 1930s, Juliette de Bairacli Levy was the first in the West to recommend kelp as a nutritional supplement for animals. Her suggestion was greeted with scorn from the veterinary world, but opinions have changed and kelp is now widely used. In addition to correcting mineral deficiencies, kelp and other seaweeds contain alginates that soothe and cleanse the digestive tract, improve glandular function, promote rapid hair growth, and correct pigmentation, making black fur and noses truly black. They are important for healthy reproduction and protect against heart and kidney disease. For information on seaweed's safety, see pages 69-70. Any sea vegetable can be added to your pet's food. Most health food stores offer a variety of North American and Japanese seaweeds, such as nori, also known as laver; kelp, also called kombu; wakame, hijiki, and arame (which are brown); and red dulse, which contains the highest iron concentration of any food source. Agar-agar, known as kanten in Japan, is used as a jelling or thickening agent, and Corsican seaweed is sold as a worming herb. Agar-agar and Corsican seaweed come with special instructions; the other sea vegetables listed here can be powdered and added to your pet's food. Unrefined Sea Salt One of the most important supplements for any pet is saltnot any salt, but unrefined, unprocessed sea salt, which contains only 80 to 83 percent sodium chloride. The remaining 17 to 20 percent consists of moisture and up to eighty-four trace elements in the proportions needed by all of the earth's animals. Sprinkle a small amount of unrefined sea salt on fatty foods to improve digestion and assimilation. Add a pinch to each bowl of drinking water and to every meal, using more for large animals and less for small pets. A total of up to ½ teaspoon unrefined sea salt per 30 to 40 pounds of body weight every day or every other day is recommended. Do not use refined table salt, kosher salt, or sea salt that has been boiled or heated during processing. If the salt is bright white or has the familiar taste of table salt, it won't contribute to your pet's good health. Look for naturally dried sea salt that is slightly gray in color, with a taste that's different from that of table salt. |