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That old expression, “you are what you eat,” applies not only to us, but to our pets
as well. All animals must receive proper nourishment for their body systems to function
correctly. Without fuel to drive the internal ‘engines,’ our pets will not thrive. But just
consuming food is not enough to assure the body gets proper fuel. Obviously, to
receive maximum benefit from the food they eat, our pets need to be able to properly
digest it. This sounds pretty simple and theoretically, it is. To get nutrients from food,
the nutrients have to be absorbed across the lining of the digestive tract and into the
body. But in order to be absorbed, they must first be available in a form that can cross
this lining. Obviously, your dog does not absorb his dinner whole. This is where
digestion comes in. To be available for absorption, the giant chunks of chewed up food
that hit the stomach after swallowing must be broken down into minute, digested bits.
Still sound simple? It’s not. Actually, things start to get pretty complicated at this
point. Proper digestion requires a perfectly adjusted environment with just the right
amount of acids and enzymes to digest the food, and just the right amount of motility to
move the food, and just the right amount of absorptive surface to pick up the nutrients
and move them where they belong. If any part of the digestive system is not working up
to par, food is not digested properly. If food is not digested properly, its components
cannot be absorbed correctly. If the components cannot be absorbed correctly, the
undigested food moves through to the end of the digestive tract, where it causes trouble.
Meanwhile, the body is not receiving digested, absorbed nutrients and becomes
malnourished. This in turn, leads to an unhealthy, unhappy body. The end result is a
pet does not feel, or look, its best. Because digestion is critical for absorbing nutrients,
problems with digestion result in obvious symptoms of distress, including diarrhea,
bloating, excess gas, and failure to thrive. These problems occur so frequently in our
pets that they cause many, many visits each year to veterinarians; typically
gastrointestinal problems rank among the top five reasons that dogs are brought in to
see their doctors.
So, we help keep the body healthy and happy by making sure that food is
digested properly. And we do this by giving our pets the tools to properly digest their
food. The first is a healthy mouth. Without healthy teeth and gums, correct chewing
cannot occur and the digestive process is off to a bad start. The second tool is water,
as digestion cannot occur in a dehydrated body. And the third tool is an age
appropriate, balanced diet, which supplies your pet with the proper foods to digest. This
diet should be fed in the correct amounts and frequency. And, if possible, it should
contain natural ingredients which are sources of readily available nutrients and digestive
aids. One source of these natural ingredients, often overlooked for our pets, is herbs.
Feeding small amounts of beneficial herbs is a great way to complement your
pets’ diets. They supply micronutrients, such as vitamins and antioxidants. Additionally,
herbs are digestive aids. Peppermint and parsley has been used for centuries to help
relieve indigestion, heartburn, and nausea, and to aid digestion. It is thought that these
herbs adjust the pH of the stomach, leading to better digestion. And the antispasmodic
effects of peppermint help the digestive tract function more smoothly. Additionally, more
complete digestion reduces inflammation farther down the digestive tract, potentially
helping tame the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. So herbs not only supply
nutrients, they also help the body digest these nutrients.
DogWa is a simple, effective means to supply your pets with these valuable
herbs. DogWa is a highly palatable, liquid concentrate containing extracts of parsley
and peppermint. This means the beneficial components of these herbs are readily
available for digestion and absorption. Parsley and peppermint have been successfully
used for thousands of years to aid digestion in people. Now you can offer your dogs the
same benefit – you can help their digestion with just a splash a day of DogWa.