Did you know that very small amounts of a simple little mineral does a wealth of good for your dog?  It does!

Its called Selenium and it is one of the essential micro-nutrients that is necessary for proper growth, development and health for both you and your pets bodies.

Here are some of the things that selenium does.

Orchestrates normal growth.

Regulates metabolism.

Launches successful reproductive efforts.

Boosts the immune system by neutralizing free radicals. (unstable molecules that get naturally formed in the body that can leave cells open to disease.)

Defends the body against infections. (supports the immune system by boosting the activity of white blood cells that fight infection and disease.)

This is one busy mineral. Since it has such important jobs to do, you’d want the kind that is best absorbed and available for your dog’s body to utilize. And that kind is organic selenium  – as opposed to the inorganic type – (called sodium selenite in many pet foods.)

In fact, talking about the amount of the selenium that gets absorbed into the body so that it can have the beneficial effects its suppose to have, (called its bioavailability) researchers have proved that organic selenium has 120-200% more bioavailability than sodium selenite. Go organic selenium!

You’ll be happy to know that we’ve got organic selenium in all of our dog food brands, including Pure Vita, Natural Planet and NutriSource pet foods!  And, we are one of the few pet food companies that uses organic selenium.

Our organic selenium is from a family owned company called Alltech and the patented, trademarked name of the selenium is called Sel-Plex®.

On the back of our bags of kibble, in the ingredients list, you will find the organic selenium listed as “selenium yeast” (the trademarked, brand name would not mean anything to a customer.)

Here is what the ingredient panel looks like.

Ingredients:

     minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, selenium yeast

Now don’t get your whiskers in a snitch about the word “yeast.” In the next blog article, I’ll tell you about the myths and truths about yeast and why it’s used in pet food.  There are different types of yeast out there, ones that may cause allergies in your pets v.s. the nutritional types that are highly beneficial and DON’T cause problems.  More, to come.

Here is an explanation of the name in case you want to know. It’s called selenium yeast due to the way in which it’s made. The microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, better known as  brewers yeast,  is grown in a selenium-enriched medium, it absorbs the selenium, and then converts it into the form that is……TA DA, organic selenium.  Phew. Did you follow that? I bet you did. You’re smart.

Sel-Plex® is Alltech’s proprietary organic form of selenium yeast and is the first EU-approved and only FDA-reviewed form of organic selenium.

Selenium is super important for the body – a shortage of it can cause diseases but too much of it can be harmful. So the right amount is crucial and this is why the FDA regulates the supplementation of Selenium (Se) into diets. Also, why NutriSource pet foods spends the money they do, to buy this really high quality form of organic selenium from Alltech, that is approved by the FDA.

Sel-plex® ensures that the mineral status is very high while using the least amount necessary, because, the selenium is supplied in a form that can be readily absorbed, used by the cells and stored in the body’s tissues.

So, now you get it……..this added mineral really helps your pet’s health.

It does all the things selenium is suppose to do, and Sel-Plex® works hard to maintain the overall immune system.

By feeding NutriSource dog foods with this organic selenium, you are helping keep your dog’s eyes bright and tail a-wagging.

Check out our website.

 

Full Show notes for Raising Your Paws Podcast Episode 015.

Why a Dog’s Growls Are a Good Thing & Reasons to NOT Vaccinate for Leptospirosis.

Resource for story about growling, Barking: The Sound of a Language by Turid Rugass.

Dr. Barbara Royal, DVM, CVA, website links.

Dr. Barbara Royal, DVM, CVA.

Royal Treatment Veterinary Center.

Royal Animal Health University.

Purchase Dr. Royal’s books.

Winning the Cat Food Give-Away.

Play our feline fast facts game. Answer this question, “Why does a cat claw and bite your hand when you pet its tummy?”

Send the answer to susan@raisingyourpaws.com.

The 8th person to respond will win a coupon for a free large bag of any flavor of NutriSource or Pure Vita cat food to redeem at your local independent dealer that sells our food. To find the closest store to you, see our dealer directory here.

http://www.nutrisourcepetfoods.com/where-to-buy.

See the different flavors of NutriSource cat food here.

See the different flavors of Pure Vita Cat food here.

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