Vitamin C For Pets: Why It’s Important
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Vitamins — those organic compounds necessary to sustain life — are generally found naturally in certain foods. Vitamin C is found in foods like oranges, broccoli, blueberries, red peppers, and dark leafy greens.
Just like their human pack leaders, pets need the right balance of vitamins to keep them healthy. Sometimes, diet alone doesn’t do the trick and you need to add a supplement.
More on that later …
What’s most important to know is that pets require different amounts of vitamins than people. Today, we’re focusing on vitamin C and how it affects your pets.
Keep reading to learn:
- What is vitamin C?
- Different forms of vitamin C
- Why vitamin C is important for pet health
- How much vitamin C do pets need?
- When to add a vitamin C supplement to your pet’s diet
What is Vitamin C?
According to Wikipedia:
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate, is a vitamin found in various foods and sold as a dietary supplement. It is used to prevent and treat scurvy. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient involved in the repair of tissue and the enzymatic production of certain neurotransmitters.
OK, wait. Dogs and cats don’t get scurvy. And they can produce their own vitamin C — something we mere-mortal humans can’t do. So why do we need to give our pets a vitamin C supplement?
Stay with us, we’ll get to that. But first, let’s get back to exploring the definition of vitamin C.
Vitamin C helps build strong bones and joints, and promotes a strong immune system.
It is a powerful antioxidant. In its purest form (ascorbic acid), it serves as an acidifier of pH in the body.
In plain English: Acidifiers are inorganic chemicals that, put into a human (or other mammalian) body, either produce or become acid. These chemicals increase the level of gastric acid in the stomach when ingested, thus decreasing the stomach pH.
Thanks again, Wiki!
