Newsletter - March 2013
Tori hasn't done anything spectacular or very funny lately which made me wonder what I could write about here. And then I received an email from a friend who's dog bloated. Our exchange included tears, words of comfort, and a lot of hope. Unfortunately, none of that helped and the dog didn't make it. Which brings me back to Tori. Suddenly, everything she's done over the last month seems spectacular. Every bark, even ones that annoyed me seem precious;every demand she's made seems adorable and funny. I love the hairs that spike up instead of flowing down on her head; I love the sound of her little toes on the hardwood floor; I love the sound of her eating and lapping water...I love her just because.
Save $1 per bottle of Vitamin B Compound (limit: 6 per order)
Our vitamin B compound is unique. Being in a base of alfalfa, rosehips and watercress adds bioflavanoids and helps absorption. It's also quality tested with the lab results shown on the product page. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything better on the market. I say this because I take it myself and have the proof not only in the way I feel, but from my blood test results.
The Buzz About B Vitamins
Many of the diets that I analyze for clients come up short in at least one B vitamin. It's usually B1 or B2, but it's not uncommon to see others that are borderline. People are surprised when I tell them about this because the dogs usually seem fairly, or even brilliantly healthy. And that's about the time that I start to hear the buzz about B vitamins being available in all the foods, especially red meats...yadda, yadda. It's become white noise for me because I hear it almost daily, but the fact is that while B vitamins may be found in many foods, few people consider how much of any vitamin is in a food and compare that to their dog's requirement.The proof comes a few weeks later when the same dog has been fed vitamin B compound,and the owner emails to tell me how much better that dog is doing even though they thought things were just fine before. If you feed kibble, supplementing with B vitamins won`t hurt, but isn`t necessary.
If you`re feeding a fresh food diet or supplementing kibble with fresh foods, there`s good reason to feed vitamin B compound.
The functions of B vitamins are vast and critical, but when you read that one the signs of vitamin B1 deficiency is cardiac disorders, don't assume it happens overnight. That is, being deficient can lead to this problem, but it's silent in the meantime. Vitamin B2 deficiency can show up as dry, scaly skin, muscle weakness and anemia (did you think that anemia was connected to vitamin B-12 and iron only?)
We should think about the function of B vitamins rather than signs of deficiencies only. That makes the picture more clear, so you can be proactive about it.
Vitamin B1: brain function, digestion, energy, appetite, carbohydrate metabolism
Vitamin B2: enzyme functions, metabolism of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, healthy skin Vitamin
B3: enzyme functions, healthy skin, function of nervous system
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): energy metabolism, fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism
Vitamin B6: hormone regulation, taurine and carnitine synthesis, activation of genes, immune response, glucose generation
Vitamin B-12: cell formation, supports nerve structure, enzyme function
Biotin: healthy skin, utilization of other B vitamins
Choline: neurotransmitter
Folic acid: amino acid metabolism, proper function of red blood cells
Your intake of B vitamins affects you in exactly the same way, so are you getting enough? I can tell you that I wasn't even though I eat a really healthy diet. I take my vitamin B compound daily now and the difference in my energy level is obvious, but it showed up in my blood work as well. Last year's physical exam showed me to be borderline in B-12 and almost anemic. A few months later, I was back to normal levels, so efficacy was proven. Numbers don't lie.
Personally Speaking
Learn more on my blog
Monica "One trained dog equals 60 search-and-rescue workers.” Charles Stoehr