1. What are supplements?

A dietary supplement or dietary nutrient is a substance added to food, usually to make it more nutritionally balanced. Dietary supplements, also known as health foods or animal health products, provide animals with more nutrients and play a significant role in preventing or treating diseases. Compared with the nutrition of the food itself, therapeutic supplements have higher nutritional content.

　2. What are the benefits of supplements for elderly animals?

Aging refers to the degenerative changes that occur after maturity in various organ systems, resulting in a decrease in the body's ability to adapt to the environment. Sites where degeneration may occur: the musculoskeletal system (muscles and bones), gastrointestinal tract (including teeth), skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, nervous system, and specialized sensory organs (especially hearing and vision). These can slow down the rate of degeneration through proper nutritional supplementation. Lesions caused by degeneration of the kidneys, eyes, liver, musculoskeletal system, and nervous system are particularly common in older dogs and cats.

Supplements can help slow this aging process. Effective use of nutritional supplements requires consideration of your pet's condition. If your pet's organ systems require support, supplement dosage selection should ensure safety, effectiveness, and balance.

3. Aging itself is not a disease. However, due to the influence of metabolic levels, elderly pets may suffer from functional decline, malnutrition, and reduced resistance. Dietary supplements change according to changes in activity level, digest and absorb nutrients and eliminate by-products and toxins. Dietary levels of protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber and mineral content may need to be adjusted based on the individual pet's condition.

4. What nutritional supplements are usually recommended for older animals?

The B vitamins (including vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12) are often recommended as supplements because they are water-soluble vitamins with low risk and toxicity. Even if the body's needs are exceeded, the excess will be excreted in the urine. . Vitamin B is used to help eliminate fatigue and improve appetite. In particular, its antioxidant effect can reduce inflammation and enhance immune function. Vitamin E can be used as an antioxidant nutrient and has a good therapeutic effect in inflammatory skin diseases.

Coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, DMG (dimethylglycine) and L-carnitine can all improve physical function or reduce the incidence and severity of age-related diseases. Coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine help improve the contraction ability of heart muscles and can be used as a drug to treat immune arthritis. Alpha-lipoic acid may promote health, help slow neurodegenerative diseases. Increasing your intake of fatty acids, especially saturated fatty acids and zinc, can help keep your skin and coat healthy and reduce inflammation. Digestive enzymes and probiotics increase the effective absorption of dietary nutrients.

5. What other supplements are needed for specific diseases?

Specific complementary treatments in certain diseases, such as gland therapy or whole tissue digestive enzymes or microbiota preparations for the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases; chondroprotectants such as dextrose to improve joint mobility and prevent degenerative joint diseases and Delay the progression of the disease. If you plan to supplement nutritional supplements for elderly animals, you can consult with professional doctors at Barbie Hall Pet Hospital for recommendations on more suitable nutritional supplements.

　6. How do I know that a single-ingredient nutritional supplement is effective?

There are many owners who blindly use certain supplements after hearing others recommend that they are effective for their pets. However, in fact, some supplements do not help your pets. Improved appearance (especially coat and appearance) and increased energy in older animals are changes that are easily observed by owners and veterinarians. In other cases, supplements have some hidden advantages. For example, supplementing a certain nutrient and combining it with other supplements changes the current physical condition of your pet. Therefore, some supplements are used alone and after a period of time, some supplements are used alone. , your pet will still experience improvements in physical condition brought about by supplements, or may not experience the above reactions after stopping using supplements.

7. How do I know the supplements my pet is using are safe?

Animal doctors have combined anatomy and physiology with animal research and generalized their knowledge, including toxicity and foreseeable side effects. With years of experience, Barbie Hall Animal Hospital has unique insights into supplement selection. Whether a supplement can guarantee quality can be judged by different sources and manufacturers. Well-known manufacturers will provide labels with detailed information about the product. Barbie Hall Professional doctors will also provide you with product information.