Antioxidants: For the last 15 to 20 years, the word antioxidant has been part of our pet vernacular. Antioxidants are widely recognized as one of the most important weapons in our battle against pet disease. All the physiological processes in pets and people require oxygen, which provides energy. Bi-products of burning oxygen, which are similar to the sparks given off by a fire, are also produced in your pet’s body each day.
These little sparks are commonly known as free radicals, and are the major cause of pet aging. In fact, free radicals are responsible for up to 90% of the degenerative pet diseases we associate with aging in dogs and cats as well as in aging in people. Antioxidants counteract the damaging effects of these everyday physiological processes in our pets.
Anti-oxidants are the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and enzymes that play a vital role in preventing chronic pet diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, liver dysfunction, dementia, arthritis, allergies and cataracts. Your pet’s body undergoes oxidative stress when the capability of these antioxidants is over whelmed or eclipsed by the number of free radicals being produced. Free radicals are continually formed in your pet’s body each day as part of their body’s normal biological processes.
In addition, various other factors add to to your pet’s antioxidant overload. This includes pesticides, pollution, antibiotics, anesthetics, flea and tick preventatives, chemicals, synthetic pet food preservatives, and foods that are fried at high temperatures or burnt.