Pet Food Super Powers by Dr. Jane Bicks

Believe it or not, it wasn’t until nearly the 20th Century that pet food was something distinct from scraps derived from human diets. However, only in the past four decades has the emphasis on health promotion entered the mix. Some of our readers will no doubt recall the “Gravy Train” commercials of the 70’s. Pet food certainly has changed dramatically since those days!

Back in 1999, our company was born of the true revolution in health-promoting diets for companion animals. As a holistic veterinarian formulator, I’m proud to say our nourishing formulas have made a real difference for the dogs and cats who enjoy our products every day.

As many Life’s Abundance customers have witnessed firsthand, simply feeding a dog or cat appropriate nutrition can go a long way in promoting health. But how exactly does food alone help to protect wellness? In the following, we’ll explore four ways that nutrition packs a powerful punch!

Edible Immune Protection

One of the best ways you can protect your pet kid is by building up his or her immune system. The scientific evidence is clear … a stressed body has a lower immunity compared to a non-stressed individual. Veterinary behaviorists are just discovering sources of stress in companion animals. Many focus on domesticated cats, who have on the evolutionary scale only just recently made the switch to indoor living. Even though we don’t know all the things that cause stress, or even recognize all the symptoms of stress in pet kids, we do know that actively trying to improve their immunity with proper nutrition is worthwhile.

At Life’s Abundance, we were one of the first to add fruits and vegetables to our formulas. They naturally offer huge amounts of flavanoids, vitamin E, C and so much more. Antioxidants are just one of the many reasons doctors and dieticians say, “eat your fruits and veggies!” A 2002 study suggests that antioxidant supplementation can achieve sustained increases in circulating levels of antioxidants that exert a protective effect by a decrease in DNA damage, leading to improved immunological performance.

Our formulas feature guaranteed levels of Vitamin E and C, as well as guaranteed amounts of probiotics, important to gut health and immunity.

Healthy Joints

Joint health, which affects one’s ability to get around, is obviously important to your pet kid’s quality of life. Foods and dietary supplements that contain natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have been scientifically shown to promote cartilage, joint and connective tissue health. This is done by decreasing the enzymatic activity that breaks down cartilage in canine joints. These compounds, along with other synergistic ingredients, are found in Life’s Abundance Agility Supplement.

Possibly even more important to your pet kid’s joint health is maintaining a healthy, size and breed-appropriate weight. Your first clue that your dog or cat is too heavy is when you cannot easily distinguish the ribs (and the spaces between them). Measure out proper meal proportions for your companion animal, using the recommended servings as a guideline, to help maintain an ideal weight. If your dog needs to shed excess pounds, I strongly encourage you to cut back on portions and consider switching to our Weight Loss Formula for Adult Dogs. Of course, I can’t stress enough the importance of regular exercise, which also supports joint and bone health.

Sharp Minds & Shiny Coats

For cats and dogs, skin and hair condition reflects overall health and well-being. If your cat has a matted, greasy coat, or your dog’s once shiny coat has grown dull over time, these are examples of the body sending clear messages that something is up and you should schedule an appointment with the veterinarian.

To maintain healthy skin and coat, dogs and cats need to eat the appropriate ratio of fatty acids. Dogs cannot produce omega-6 fatty acids on their own, so it’s vital that they consume sufficient amounts through diet. In fact, new research is highlighting the importance of adding omega-3 fatty acid supplements to daily intake as well, but in proper ratios with other fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly important for pregnant dogs and for puppies, as they are required for brain and retinal development.

Proper Digestion from Tip to Tail

Many people don’t realize, but your pet’s digestion starts with his or her teeth! Brushing your pet’s teeth at home, coupled with routine oral health check-ups at the vet, can have a phenomenally positive effect on your pet’s health. Giving your dog a daily dental treat and safe items to chew can benefit overall health and digestion.

And that’s just the beginning of a healthy digestive system. To keep things moving along the entire tract, all Life’s Abundance dry foods are formulated with prebiotic fiber, a plant-based carbohydrate that produces fatty acids. These fatty acids provide energy to the large intestine and promote overall health of the entire intestinal system.

We live in a very exciting and fortunate time. With all these advances in nutrition and veterinary medicine, our beloved pets will benefit, living longer and being healthier.

Learn more or get started on your pet's transition to better health. 

Samples available! 

www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com

REFERENCES:

Massimino S1, Kearns RJ, Loos KM, Burr J, Park JS, Chew B, Adams S, Hayek MG. Effects of age and dietary beta-carotene on immunological variables in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2003 Nov-Dec;17(6):835-42.

Heaton PR1, Reed CF, Mann SJ, Ransley R, Stevenson J, Charlton CJ, Smith BH, Harper EJ, Rawlings JM. Role of dietary antioxidants to protect against DNA damage in adult dogs. J Nutr. 2002 Jun;132(6 Suppl 2):1720S-4S

Hill’s Recalls 62 Bags of Science Diet Adult Small & Toy Breed Dry Dog Food In California, Nevada, Hawaii

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 2, 2014 – Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. of Topeka, KS is voluntarily recalling 62 bags of Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™ dry dog food as they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The suspect product, part of a single production run, was distributed to 17 veterinary clinic and pet store customers in California, Hawaii and Nevada between April 24 and May 13, 2014. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

This voluntary recall is limited to 62 15.5 lb. bags of Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™ dry dog food with the Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) code, “Best before” date and production code shown below. This product was accidentally released, as revealed during a routine inventory reconciliation. All 17 affected customers have been contacted by Hill’s and there have been no reported illnesses related to this product to date.

Product Name	Bag Size	SKU	“Best Before” Date/ Production Code
Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed	15.5 lbs.	9097	08 2015 M094

The SKU number is located on the bottom of the bag, both side panels and on the back lower right hand corner below the UPC code. As illustrated below, the “Best before” date and production code is stamped on the top, middle of each bag.

Consumers who may have purchased any of these specific 62 15.5 lb bags of Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™ dry dog food should discontinue use of the product and immediately call Hill’s Pet Nutrition at 1-800-445-5777 Monday-Friday during the hours of 7am-7pm (CT). Hill’s will arrange to collect the unused portion of the product at its own expense at a time convenient for the consumer and will provide a full refund.

This voluntary recall does not impact any Science Diet® Adult Small and Toy Breed™ products with different “best before” dates or any other Science Diet products.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition is dedicated to providing high-quality, safe products and regrets the need for this voluntary recall. For further information, please contact Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. at 1-800-445-5777 Monday-Friday during the hours of 7am-7pm (CT).

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www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com

Since 2007 hundreds of dog and cat foods and treats have been recalled. Many of the recalls come from repeat offenders. Be a safe consumer and buy a food that has never been recalled! Since 1999 Life's Abundance has been manufacturing small lots of food and shipping the food to customers within 4-6 weeks of being made. They have NEVER been recalled and the products are formulated by a holistic vet.  Don't worry every time you purchase food or treats ~ choose Life's Abundance!  Sold online so you receive fresh food to your door! Doesn't sit in warehouses or on store shelves.

How much does it cost to feed Life's Abundance? These prices are based on autoship and the price range is due to different size bags and general feeding amounts. As you can see, Life's Abundance pricing is very reasonable for high quality, safe nutrition. Life's Abundance is a Premium Dog and Cat Food without the premium price. It is nutrient dense, so you feed less.

Dogs....

3lb dog - 11 to 13 cents a day

10lb dog - 30 to 35 cents a day

20lb dog - 45 to 53 cents a day

30lb dog - 68 to 69 cents a day

40lb dog - 79 to 83 cents a day

60lb dog - $1.13 to $1.14 a day

80lb dog - $1.34 to $1.38 a day

100lb dog - $1.56 to $1.58 a day

Cats....

3lb cat - 15 to 16 cents a day

7lb cat - 20 to 21 cents a day

12lb cat - 31 to 32 cents a day

18lb cat - 47 to 49 cents a day

**These price breakdowns include our standard $8.85 shipping. Many times you can order multiple items for that same low shipping rate!

Remember to check the feeding guidelines on your current food. Life's Abundance is nutrient dense, so you feed less.

Purchase your Life's Abundance Dog or Cat Food Here

Life's Abundance Looks Like Brand "X" ~ The Meatloaf Story

Dr. Jane Bicks, DVM, is the nationally known holistic veterinarian who formulates pet products for Life's Abundance.  Dr. Jane tells “The Meatloaf Story.” You're probably wondering why the product formulator for Life's Abundance pet products is talking about meatloaf. Read on and you'll find out . . . . 

The Story

Betty and Bill are two singles who’ve each been asked to bring a meatloaf to their social group’s get-together on Saturday. Bill has never made a meatloaf, but he knows Betty makes a good one, so he asks her for her recipe. Betty is happy to share her recipe and sends this to Bill.

Ingredients:

    2 pounds ground beef
    1/2 cup bread crumbs
    1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
    2 eggs, beaten
    1/4 cup finely chopped onion
    2 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
    1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
    1/4 cup ketchup
    2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, onion, bell pepper, salt, thyme, and marjoram in a large bowl and mix well. Shape beef mixture into a loaf. Place loaf in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix ketchup and corn syrup in a small bowl to make a glaze.
3. Remove baking dish from the oven and remove foil. Brush glaze onto the loaf. Return baking dish to the oven uncovered, and continue baking until loaf is no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Friday night, Bill suddenly remembers the meatloaf he’s supposed to make. He wants to play golf on Saturday, so he decides he better make his meatloaf tonight. Fortunately for Bill, he had picked up some ground beef when he was at the store last week because it was on sale. As far as he can tell, it’s still good ~ that gray color doesn’t really matter, does it?

Bill begins to go through the ingredient list. He’s got the beef, and the bread crumbs are easy. He doesn’t know why he was saving all those bread heels in his fridge. He just didn’t like throwing out things he had paid for, and now he can use them. The fact that they are stale and hard as rocks just makes them easier to turn into crumbs.

He has to dig around but finally finds an old can of tomato sauce. The “best by” date is two years past, but it’s in a can! It can’t go bad, right?

Darn! He’s out of eggs ~ but then he remembers. He’s got some leftover powdered egg from that hiking trip he went on last summer ~ that’ll do.

Hmm, 1/4 cup finely chopped onion ~ no fresh onion, but luckily, his mom bought him a spice rack when he went off to college (ten years ago) and he remembers a bottle labeled “Onion Powder.” It looks like about a ¼ cup.

Then 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green bell pepper—no bell pepper either. But not to fear! Bill is the luckiest man alive. It just so happens that he ordered pizza last night, or was it the night before? It had bell peppers on it and he has half a pizza left in the fridge. He manages to pick off just enough bell pepper for this recipe.

Salt is not a problem ~ but where’s that teaspoon measure? Oh well, a few dashes ought to do.

He’s got the 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme and 1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram covered ~ thanks, Mom! In go a few dashes of each.

Ketchup he has. Bill loves ketchup. Can’t have too much ketchup!

And finally corn syrup. He doesn’t quite have two tablespoons left ~ but corn oil is about the same thing, right?

Bill mixes all the ingredients together, including the ketchup, which he likes a lot, and the corn syrup/oil. He puts it in the pan and then into the oven, which he forgot to preheat. No biggie! Just turn it up a little extra.

Then Bill goes to watch the ball game. It’s a sleeper; and sleep he does ~ until he smells something burning. Bill runs to the kitchen and grabs the meatloaf from the oven. Had he remembered to cover it as the instructions said, it might not have been so black on top. Well, the glaze will cover it! Oops! The ingredients for the glaze are in the meatloaf ~ but not to worry; Bill has plenty of ketchup and corn oil.

He makes more glaze and then puts the meatloaf in the refrigerator to keep until tomorrow.

Saturday morning, Betty gets up early and goes to the butcher. She picks the choicest cuts of sirloin and has the butcher trim it and turn it into ground beef. On the way home she stops by the bakery for fresh bread crumbs and the grocery store because she’s out of corn syrup and needs a fresh onion.

When Betty gets home, she goes through her normal Saturday routine until about three hours before the get-together. She makes her own tomato sauce from the tomatoes she picked this afternoon from her vegetable garden. Then she turns on the oven to precisely 350° to preheat and gathers her ingredients. The bell pepper, thyme, and marjoram also come from her garden. The eggs she bought this morning from her neighbor who keeps a few laying hens. She combines the ingredients according to the instructions, places the loaf in the pan, covers with foil, places it in the oven, and sets the timer. Then she makes the glaze and goes to put on her makeup.

One hour later she puts on the glaze, returns the meatloaf to the oven, uncovered, and sets the timer for another 20 minutes. She goes and gets dressed. When the timer goes off, she checks the meatloaf with her instant-read thermometer ~ it reads 167 degrees. Done! She’s off to the party.

Bill’s golf game lasts longer than he expected, so he’s running late. He gets home, jumps in the shower, throws on some clean clothes, and rushes out the door. Five minutes later he’s back ~ he forgot his meatloaf. He knows he can’t take a cold meatloaf, but he doesn’t want to be too late either. He quickly puts the meatloaf in the oven and turns it up as high as it will go, all the way on broil, and sets the timer for ten minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, he grabs the meatloaf and heads out the door.

Now imagine that you are at this gathering of friends, and you have the choice of the two meatloaves. Both were made from the same recipe. If the ingredients were labeled (as on a bag of cat or dog food), the ingredient lists would be identical. Even considering the corn oil substitute in Bill’s meatloaf, the FDA allows a “temporary” substitution (up to six months) without changing a label.

So which meatloaf would you choose? Which meatloaf represents “quality”? Which one represents “freshness”? Would you know the difference between the two if all you had to go on were the ingredients listed on labels?

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Raven is an engaging entrepreneur who encourages others to celebrate pets as part of the family, as well as keep them happy, healthy, and spoiled with her online specialty pet boutique (http://www.TheGiftedPet.com), and premium pet food business (http://www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com)

For more information, please visit her Facebook page to PM her (https://www.facebook.com/TheGiftedPet), or email her at Raven@TheGiftedPet.com