Parenting-Furkids

Dogs => Caring For Your Dog => Supplements => Topic started by: DeeDee on January 01, 2017, 12:49:56 PM

Title: ​Benefits of Vitamin C For Your Dog
Post by: DeeDee on January 01, 2017, 12:49:56 PM
Quote
By Whole Dog Journal

For humans, a source of vitamin C (sodium ascorbate) in the diet is literally necessary for survival. Early sailors deprived of fresh foods for extended lengths of time often suffered from “scurvy,” a nasty affliction characterized by bleeding gums, loss of teeth, a weakened condition, and sometimes death. It wasn’t until the late eighteenth century that Captain James Cook, the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands, taught the British Admiralty how to prevent scurvy by adding fresh fruit or lime juice to its sailors’ daily ration of rum (thus earning them the nickname of “Limeys” that endures to this day).

In the early 1900s, ascorbic acid was isolated and identified as the nutrient that prevented scurvy. Humans, it was discovered, are among the few animals that cannot manufacture vitamin C in their own bodies, and must obtain it from an outside source (fresh fruits, vegetables, or vitamin C pills) on a regular basis in order to avoid illness.

Dogs, however, can produce vitamin C in their bodies, and because of this ability, nutritionists have long considered it unnecessary to add C to a dog’s diet. Until recently, few dog food makers added vitamin C to their products – or if they do, it was for the preservative action of the vitamin, rather than its nutritive value.

More at: http://www.caninearthritisandjoint.com/ester-c-for-your-dog.html (http://www.caninearthritisandjoint.com/ester-c-for-your-dog.html)