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| My Sweet Boxer x Pit Bull Robbie |
- The Importance of Providing a Balanced Intake
- Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Health Benefits of Omega-6 Fatty Acids
- Selecting a Good Product
- Good Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Guideline for Typical Daily Dosage of Omega-3
- Good Sources of Omega-6 Fatty Acids
- Guideline for Typical Daily Dosage of Omega-6
- Omega-6 Fatty Acids To Be Avoided - Not Safe!
- Cautions
- Drug Interactions
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are very important for the overall health of a dog and cat. Conversely a lack of good-source omega fatty acids can create many health issues, from allergies to cancer, fur and skin problems, heart disease and a host of other problems as you will see further below.
Insufficient daily intake of Omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to or cause behaviourial problems such as stress, anxiety, depression and aggression.
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1.0 The Importance of Providing a
Balanced Intake of Omega-3 to 6
Balanced Intake of Omega-3 to 6
1.1 The Impact of a Balanced Intake
The intake of Omega-3 and Omega-6 must be balanced correctly. Failure to do so can result in health problems. An out-of-balance ratio can disrupt the balance of pro and anti-inflammatory agents in the body leading to chronic inflammation.
- Inflammation is a trigger for many inflammatory diseases such as:
- Allergies;
- Arthritis;
- Cancer;
- Diabetes;
- etc.
As the body does not store Omega-3, daily intake of sufficient Omega-3 is essential for overall health and well being.
1.2 Correct Ratio Of Omega -3 to Omega-6 Fatty Acids
- To strike the right balance - your dogs overall dietary intake (from food, supplements) should be in the range of 5:1 - meaning 5 parts Omega-6, to 1 part omega-3
- The actual ratio of supplementation of Omega 3 and 5 fatty acids will depend on what type of diet your dog is on - the reason for this variance is based on quality of diet.
- Highly Processed Food Diets
- Dry processed food (kibble) and many wet (canned) foods are too high in poor quality Omega-6 fatty acids, and low in quality Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Grain-in processed food (dry or canned)results in an escalation of poorly balanced Omega 6:3 intake - you can read more about that here.
- And making matters worse:
- Many treats - cookies, chews, etc., include very poor source Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, may contain grains and other inflammatory agents which adversely impact your dogs, cats overall daily omega 6:3 intake.
- Supplementation of fatty-acids for the above diets will need to bring the overall diet closer to the normal 5:1 intake - to do this you will need to add a good quality Omega-6, and several good source Omega-3, your actual supplementation ratio may be 1:2, resulting in supplementation of i.e. organic coconut oil + wild fish oil + hemp seed hearts or hemp seed oil + organic kefir, or yogurt.
- If you are feeding your dog raw dehydrated or raw fresh/frozen in which the meat is sourced from factory farm-raised (CAFO) animals additional supplementation with a good quality Omega-3 is recommended.
- If you are feeding pasture-raised, grass fed, or organic raw - incorporating coconut oil and a good-source omega-3 oil provides added benefit to your dogs, cats overall diet.
- Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA);
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and;
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
2.0 Health Benefits - Omega-3 Fatty Acids
2.1 Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Avoid, Control, Treat,
Remedy...
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Atopy
- Support optimum brain function
- Bone health
- Digestive disease
- Eosinophilic granuloma complex
- Excessive blood clotting
- Flea allergies
- Hair/fur problems
- Helps prevent cancer growth
- Heart disease
- Learning difficulties
- Lowers the amount of lipids (i.e. cholesterol, triglycerides) circulating in the bloodstream
- Immune-mediated skin disease
- Inflammation throughout the body
- Inhibits thickening of the arteries
- Kidney disease
- Reduces risk of obesity
- Seborrhea
- Metabolism regulation
- Military dermatitis
- Maintains fluidity of cell membranes
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| Robbie with Sarah my GSD x Husky |
3.0 Health Benefits of Omega-6 Fatty
Acids
Acids
Omega-6 Fatty Acids Help...
- Build cell membranes and support cell health
- Dry coat
- Mycoplasma
- Regulate Blood Clotting
- Seborrhea
Not All Sources of Omega Fatty Acids Are Equal...
It is also important to understand that although Omega 3 and 6 can be found in many food stuffs not all sources of these fats offer quality or safe nutrition.
4.0 Selecting a Good Product
4.1 Decide On Your Approach
It is also important to understand that although Omega 3 and 6 can be found in many food stuffs not all sources of these fats offer quality or safe nutrition.
4.0 Selecting a Good Product
4.1 Decide On Your Approach
How you choose to supplement depends on your life-style, personal priorities etc...
- Pre-blended Supplement all-in-one liquid or soft-gel
- If your priority is time-efficiency over quality than your best bet is a pre-prepared, pre-blended supplement that provides (or claims to provide) a full spectrum of omega fatty acids (3-6-9);
- This may save you time but you may end-up sacrificing convenience for quality if you do not choose the product wisely;
- If you choose the pre-blended product you will also need to decide if you are going to use a liquid supplement or a soft gel supplement.
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| Various examples of pre-blended, made for dogs and cats Omega 3-6-9 Supplements |
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| A few Examples of Organic Human Food-grade, safe for Dogs and Cats Omega 3-6-9 Supplements |
- Single Source Whole Food Products:
- You may instead prefer to use single source products that you add yourself to your companion animals food;
- This choice can provide you with more flexibility as to the quality of products as you can select the type and quality of the omega-3 and 6 you use;
- For example you may decide to use Norwegian Krill Oil for omega-3 and organic virgin Coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil for Omega-6;
- This is the approach that I use for my dogs and cats.
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| Made for Pets and Some Made for Humans Single Food Source Omega-3 Fatty Acid Oils |
4.2 Whats My Preferred Approach?
I prefer using good quality human food-grade whole food products such as Carsons Cod Liver Oil, or Nordic Naturals Krill, wild Alaskan salmon oil, organic: coconut oil, olive oil, organic tahini, flax or chia seeds, hemp oil and wild fatty fish added to my dogs and cats meals. My dogs also get avocado flesh (no skin or seed / pit!) in their daily diet - you can read here about the health benefits, and how to introduce avocado to your dogs diet.
4.3 Read The Product Label for Quality Assurance
Next it is so important to read product ingredient lists - and here is why...
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- If the label says fish oil and does not disclose the source of the fish then you are likely looking at a product that is derived from factory farmed fish;
- What
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