How to Find a Good Quality Natural Pet Health Supplement For Your Cat Or Dog

Thinking about giving your pet a daily natural pet health supplement? Millions of pet owners around the world do this every day. In this article, you'll learn why this is an important step and what to look for in an effective supplement.

If you want to know if a daily supplement is necessary for your pet, just take a look at our environment. Our planet is more polluted than any time in history. Our drinking water contains chemicals and so does our food. The quality of our food is another sad story. In the last three decades, studies have shown that mineral-deficient soil has given rise to less nutritious food. Not to mention the fact that many commercial pet food brands make their food from cheap grains and fillers along with dyes and chemicals.

The toxic load of living in such a world cannot be underestimated. This is just one of the many reasons that giving your cat or dog a natural pet health supplement is important. Other reasons include the ability to increase energy, build immunity and fight disease as well as improving your pet's overall health and longevity.

So now that you understand the importance of a daily supplement, let's talk about how to find a good one. Like anything, there are many supplements on the market and some are better than others. What you want to look for is a formulation that contains quality herbs that animals will chew on in the wild if allowed to roam. Animals instinctively know what is good for them.

These herbs include Mistletoe, Cat's Claw, Echinacea, Astralagus and Milk Thistle. Together these herbs build immunity, flush toxins from the liver, tissues and other organs, help fight cancer (with important antioxidants) and increase vitality, respiratory and circulatory health. A formulation such as this is the most effective natural pet health supplement that you can buy today.

In addition to giving your pet a good supplement, make sure to provide healthy food. Many of the commercial brands that are popular today are little more than junk food for pets. This is why it is important to read the label carefully. If the brand that you buy contains cheap grains (like corn meal) other fillers, dyes and chemicals, shop for a healthier brands. You can find good quality pet food in your grocery store or at your local health food store.

Next, make sure your pet gets plenty of water to hydrate and flush toxins from the body. Install a tap filter, so you are not giving your pet the chemicals in city water that is added by the water treatment plant. Finally, make sure your pet gets lots of attention and daily exercise.

Giving your dog or cat a daily natural pet health supplement is part of a daily prevention plan to ensure that your pet stays healthy. Of course this same supplement can also be used as treatment to fight disease, especially diseases that suppress the immune system. Since pets cannot make their own health decisions, it is important for loving pet owners to do all they can to give their furry friends the gift of a long and happy life.

Choosing the Right Natural Pet Health Supplement - A List of Do's and Don'ts

Many homeopathic veterinarians believe that giving a dose of a quality pet health supplement can be an important part of a dogs wellness plan. It's important to select a supplement based on the highest quality standards as outlined in the following list of do's and don'ts.

• Look for a natural pet health supplement that contains herbs like huang qi, mistletoe, milk thistle, ashwagandha, and cat's claw. These are herbs your pet would instinctively chew on if allowed to roam free in the wild. They detoxify your pet's body, strengthen its vital organs, increase its appetite, and fortify its immune system.

• Make sure the supplement you choose contains 100% natural ingredients. Most companies use harsh chemicals to extract the active ingredients from herbs.This standardized extraction procedure increases the risk of side effects considerably. So, look for a natural pet health supplement made by companies that use the 'full spectrum approach', a natural extraction process approved by homeopaths all over the world. You can find such details on the manufacturer's website.

• Make sure the supplement you choose is manufactured in a GMP-compliant, pharmaceutical grade laboratory under the supervision of qualified homeopaths and pharmacists. Make sure it is approved by the FDA and meets the standards set by the DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health Education Act). Also, check if the ingredients of the supplement are listed in the HPUS (Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States).

• Do not assume that price is an indicator of quality. The most expensive product need not always be the best. So, never judge the quality of a natural pet health supplement by its price tag.

• Do not choose any product that contains artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, gluten, or animal products. These substances not only tend to affect the overall efficacy of the active ingredients, but also tend to cause side effects in some cases. So, say no to any product that is not 100% organic.

• Do not choose a natural pet health supplement just because it is from a reputed brand. Popularity, just like price, is not always the best indicator of quality. Even the products of some of the most famous brands are known to contain a number of artificial substances that could be potentially harmful to your pet. So, avoid any product that contains unwanted substances, even if it is from a popular brand.

• Do not choose a natural pet health supplement if you cannot find any product details on the manufacturer's website. Manufacturers of high quality supplements usually publish all the details about their products right on their website so that visitors can read the information and decide for themselves if the product is good enough or not. So, look for details like list of ingredients, extracts of clinical studies done on the ingredients, the extraction procedure, FDA approval, recommended dosage, and more before you buy a product.

Jeff Grill is a pet enthusiast, publisher, and webmaster. Jeff grew up with a natural curiosity regarding how nutrition and supplements impact human health, and the health of the dogs and cats that are so important to our lives. He is an advocate for natural medicine and publishes many articles on how to blend conventional and homeopathic (natural) approaches for achieving wellness. The author recommends this site to learn more about natural pet health supplement selection.

The Pros And Cons To Natural Pet Health Supplements

As is the case with most things in this world, natural pet health supplements have an upside and a downside to them. The natural pet health supplements in question, if we may give a brief introduction to them, are formulations meant to provide pets with nutrients they need (and which they may not be getting from their food). Most of the pets we have are 'higher animals,' with a vast majority of them being mammals like us. On that account, we find that their bodies need pretty much the same nutrients as those that we, as humans, need. The problem, however, is in the fact that unlike us, the pets' diets tend to be much more limited in terms of variety. The implication is that the pets stand to miss out completely on some of the nutrients they really need - and that would be detrimental to their health. That is where the pet supplements make their entry into the discussion: as formulations meant to provide the pets wit the said nutrients, whose deficiency they are at great risk of.

The natural pet health supplements exist vis a vis the synthetic pet supplements; the latter being those that are prepared in laboratories by mixing various chemicals. The natural pet health supplements are, on the other hand, harnessed from plant and (in a few cases) animal parts.

Starting with the upside, we see the natural pet health supplements having a better safety profile (at least in most people's eyes) than the synthetic health supplements. As such, they are highly preferred when it comes to long term supplementation -as most people are more comfortable integrating them as parts of their pets' ongoing/day to day nutrition plans. Still on the upside, we see natural pet supplements being in most cases, more affordable than the synthetic pet health supplements. But this is fast changing - as people get more and more attracted to all things labeled 'natural.'

The subsequent growth in demand has led to a situation where the vendors of the natural pet health supplements can sell them at higher prices than the synthetic pet supplements, and still get willing buyers for them. And still on the upside, we also have to come to terms with the fact that most of these supplements are 'complex natural products.' As such, they provide the pets with many things they need at the same time (so that in the process of supplementing one nutrient, you end up providing your animal with many other things it may need as well).

Turning to the downside, we need to take cognizance of the fact that most of these natural pet health supplements have not been subjected to any formal studies or analysis, and as such, their efficacy and safety are still matters of conjecture. There tends to be no guidelines with regard to dosages, possible side effects and possible toxicity of the natural pet health supplements. Some unscrupulous folks have also been known to come up with all manner of concoctions, which they sell to unsuspecting people in the name of natural pet supplements.