Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics by Mendota Pet

Your Dog Has Food Allergies? Read This:

There seems to be an epidemic of dogs diagnosed with so-called "food allergies." But is it actually food allergies or is it simply an issue of your dogs inability to digest the food it is being fed? The following article may help eliminate your dogs symptoms diagnosed as food allergies.

Digestive Enzymes

There are four main categories of digestive enzymes: amylase, protease, cellulase and lipase. Amylase breaks down carbohydrates, protease helps digest protein, cellulase breaks down fiber and lipase aids in the digestion of fats.

These digestive enzymes are naturally produced by your dog but not in nearly the quantity needed to digest most of today's commercial dog foods which contain even higher amounts of protein, fats and fiber. It is my opinion that the "race" to see who can add the most protein, fat and fiber to commercial dog food may actually be a cause of what is being diagnosed as food allergies.

Your dog needs enzymes and bacteria to digest food and in the past some of these enzymes could be found in the food itself. Unfortunately, many natural enzymes and bacteria found in today's dog food ingredients are killed during the manufacturing process. Without these necessary elements, the nutrients needed to keep your dog's skin, organs and coat healthy may be missing, once again adding to the symptoms diagnosed as food allergies.

The Role of Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes and an assortment of beneficial bacteria and yeast (probiotics) are needed to break down and transport food nutrients in the body. Killed at temperatures above 118 to 170 degrees, live/viable digestive enzymes are not available in commercial dog foods.

Enzymes are catalysts, which mean they cause an internal action without themselves being destroyed or changed in the process. Each enzyme acts on a specific food and one cannot be substituted for another. In the absence of these nutritional workhorses, the dog's ability to utilize the food it receives is greatly diminished.

Food enzymes also do a portion of the job of pre-digestion, leaving our dog's body a sufficient supply of metabolic enzymes to draw on for maintaining and strengthening the many other bodily systems. As a result, the immune system, digestive system, hormonal glands and organs are in their optimum working order.

Digestive enzymes are secreted along the gastrointestinal tract and break down foods, enabling the nutrients to be absorbed into the blood-stream for use in various bodily functions. There seems to be a finite reservoir of enzymes in the body. If various organs and glands are continually robbed of their own enzymes, which must be utilized to digest food, then eventually the body breaks down.

A good enzyme supplement maximizes the nutritional value of any diet by optimizing digestion and the absorption of nutrients. The more enzymes we provide, the more digestion will occur. Mendota Pet provides a product with live/active digestive enzymes and probiotics. By simply top feeding this natural product over your dog's food it may eliminate the symptoms diagnosed as food allergies.

Taking enzyme supplements helps prevent depletion of the body's own enzymes and thus reduces the stress on the dog's body. Your dog's overall health and quality of life will be increased. As an added bonus these enzymes also work together with the coenzymes, vitamins and minerals, greatly increasing vitamin and mineral utilization and assist in proper metabolic function.

--Tim Fisher, CEO / Founder, Retrieve Health