The digestive system is one of the most important parts of your pet’s body and is essential to maintain a strong immune system for both cats and dogs. Research has indicated that 70% of a pet’s immune system lies in the digestive tract.  The main function of the digestive system is to break down food, absorb nutrients to be distributed throughout the body and prevent toxins from entering the bloodstream.  Probiotics and prebiotics, natural fiber, digestive enzymes and phytonutrients are ingredients that help facilitate good digestion and are ideal to maintain proper digestive health for your pet. Holistic Select dog and cat food recipes are formulated with our Unique Digestive Health Support System of Prebiotics, Probiotics, Natural Fiber and Digestive Enzymes because we believe total body health begins with digestive health.

1. Natural fiber:

Fiber promotes digestive regularity by helping to move food waste from the digestive tract through the colon at an optimal speed, ensuring adequate stool volume.  Examples of quality, natural fibers include oatmeal and flaxseed. Some of our fiber sources such as Beet Pulp offer double-duty digestive support, as some they are also recognized as prebiotics.

2. Probiotics:

Probiotics are the “good bacteria” essential for a healthy digestive system and a healthy immune system too. They help to improve digestibility of ingredients and are an essential part of the immune system. By feeding a diet with live probiotics applied to kibble to after it has been cooked and cooled, to assure maximum survival) you are re-inoculating the digestive tract with these healthy organisms every day to assure ideal levels in the gut.

3. Prebiotics:

Some fiber sources used in healthy dog and cat food are also known as prebiotics, which serve as the essential nutrition for the health and performance of the “good bacteria” in the digestive tract. Some examples of prebiotic ingredients to look for in your pet’s food are beet pulp and inulin.

4. Digestive Enzymes:

The body’s organs (mainly the pancreas) produce Digestive enzymes to digest (break down) the food so the intestinal tract can absorb the nutrients, which are then distributed throughout the body. When digestive enzymes are added to pet food, it helps to increase digestibility and to reduce the stress on the organs of the body.

Feeding your pets food that contains probiotics and prebiotics, natural fiber, digestive enzymes and phytonutrients will help maintain a healthy digestive tract and a strong immune system.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 5:24 pm and is filed under Pet Safety, Pet Secrets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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