It's FALL! Our November Newsletter

Hello Friends, as always you I hope and your dogs (and all animal friends) are well. I am one of those people who just loves autumn - cannot get out the woolen scarves and hiking boots fast enough – and always look forward to seasonal herbal work; planning and shopping for, and ultimately preparation of the household needs for winter. I love this work, even right now when I don’t have my own extensive herb garden to harvest, and I am not able to get outside wildcrafting, either. The elecampane, elder, cinnamon sticks, dried ginger, various mushrooms, astragalus strips and so many more have arrived from my favorite suppliers; the jars are sterilized and labeled, and now every weekend, as we approach the dark half of the year, I’ll be able to enjoy the preparation of my staples; immune support chai, elderberry syrup, respiratory tonic, elecampane honey, digestive support for the heavier meals we tend to have in the colder months, conifer-based chest rub.

Some of that is for dogs, too, although I never give them syrup and never rub oily pine based stuff into their fur. 😊 I’ll be sharing those recipes, human and canine, as the months go by.

Jars newly filled with herbs from Mountainrose and Harmonic Arts, I have all the large jars done and am now sterilizing smaller bottles for everything I use smaller amounts of.

Last month, I started experimenting with Instagram, a little late to the game for sure! But it has been fun, if not exactly reaching a large audience such as I enjoy on Facebook. Creating Infographics has been fun and enlightening, and in one of my last ones, several followers asked if I could create a series on essential micronutrients, about what can occur if they are low in the diet, and with my usual enthusiasm I said something to the effect that I’d provide it all in this month’s Newsletter.

Well, that would have to be a very quick Overview indeed, so I first broke it down into vitamins and minerals, then fat and water soluble vitamins, and now I find myself sending just one nutrient at a time. Even in a Newsletter format it is challenging to post the depth of information I prefer, but if I go slowly, I can get the info out without too much compromise. This month, we’ll start with Vitamin A, and I hope this series is interesting and useful for my Readers.

Every single nutrient, even those required by the body in small amounts, plays an important role – and carries potential for pathology if over or underfed. Cases of true excess (toxicity) are rare, as are cases of outright deficiency, but it’s important to know that both can occur, and what the symptoms may be. Far more insidious is the chronic marginal intake scenario, whereby the diet a dog receives regularly is very low (but not completely lacking) in an essential. The results of this are often subtle and may be missed by a vet or owner not versed in nutrition, to the extent they can analyze dietary content and contrast with needs. Some vitamins and minerals are harder to obtain in homemade diet than others, some may be hard to rein in if high amounts of calories are needed, and sometimes, many are chronically marginal simply due to low calorie diets.

So: Vitamin A, let’s take a look (and this will be the short version; much more detail in my courses).

Vitamin A is involved in eye health, as most people know, but also supports bone growth, reproductive health, and immune response, and is necessary for healthy epithelial tissue, including the skin and mucus membranes of both gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. When we look at these functions, recognizing that outright deficiency is rare, we can see how chronic low intake might affect the dog - failure to reproduce, various dermatoses, visual changes especially night blindness, and – this is often overlooked – a contributing factor to intestinal hyperpermeability, or leaky gut. This is one I have seen many times in raw fed dogs where there is not adequate liver or any cod liver oil used, and in many home-prepared cooked diets where the only source at ALL is occasional carrots. We all know the problems associated with leaky gut (and if you don’t, please ask on the group or email me!) so it’s important to take Vitamin A seriously. Note that too much can be problematic as well, especially with the skin – however the fear of toxicity is overstated (because Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin with an SUL – Safe Upper Limit- for feeding) the amount of A you would need to give is extremely high, and you would have to give it long-term.

As always, in a homemade diet, strive to hit the Recommended Allowance, which is easy to determine by using our calculator tool on my Facebook group here: https://thepossiblecanine.com/cnnh?fbclid=IwAR2Ptth50DuDSjabclpMqMXF7jqJWtej5MoFDknl48jwKAdJpm8YvL5-9lY

If you prefer to do the calculation yourself, you start with the Metabolic Weight, that all-important value that is used to determine all nutrient requirements in dogs. To get the MW, set your computer calculator to Scientific and calculate the weight in kgs to the power of 0.75. This is done using the symbol x^y (this does the “to the power of “calculation) and the number you get is your dog’s MW.

Lastly, to find her daily Recommended Allowance for Vitamin A (in IUs or International Units) simply multiply the MW by 50.

Once you know how much your dog needs, you can set about analyzing what is in the food – check how much you are feeding on a regular basis. Also – this is central to understanding Vitamin A – there are two forms, and they are metabolized differently. The Vitamin A found in animal foods is fat soluble - “preformed’ or "active" - this form is usually fed via the liver of fish, poultry, beef and lamb; eggs and milk have some as well. But the most concentrated form is cod liver oil – with amounts that can vary considerably from brand to brand, so read those labels! In plant foods, we find the carotenoids - 600 of them! Many of which are not converted to vitamin A but have health-promoting properties; these include lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which many dog lovers may have heard of as having health benefits. But beta-carotene is the best known by far, as a water-soluble precursor to Vitamin A, meaning it can help meet the body’s requirements, and can be fed freely, as any excess is simply excreted in the urine. Dogs can convert plant-based beta- carotene to Vitamin A, with varying degrees of efficiency, meaning some individuals with GI issues, or seniors may not convert very well, but we know the dog, as a species can do so. (Cats on the other hand, as obligate carnivores, cannot make this conversion at all). I recommend using both beta-carotene rich foods AND foods high in preformed A, to meet your own dog’s nutrient requirement. If you use both, you will often find the total amount exceeds the RA, again this is not worrisome provided that excess comes from beta carotene.
You can use a site like the USDA database to check nutrient content of individual foods, and a nutrient tracker like Cronometer to build recipes and see how foods actually work together in a diet.

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

For now, a few sources would include:

Beef liver – one ounce provides 4775 IUs or 1432 mcgs (raw weight)
Chicken liver – one ounce provides 3140 IUs or 935 mcgs (raw weight)
Cod liver oil – varies, on average contains 4500 IUs or 1350 mcgs per tsp
Sweet potato – one cup baked, no skin (200 grams) 1900 mcgs

Because Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, and is stored in the body if excess is fed, there have been concerns about overdoing it, as in adding a cod liver oil that supplies higher amounts than meeting the RA. While it’s certainly true that Vitamin A toxicity is possible, you do need a very large amount over a period of time to get there.

More information on using orange veggies:

https://thepossiblecanine.com/orange-veggie-differential
https://thepossiblecanine.com/orange-veggies-part-two

Although this may seem like a lot of information, there is much more to Vitamin A, but I’ve outlined what I consider the main points of knowledge for the home feeder. To sum up:

Vitamin A is a required nutrient, which means a certain amount must be present in the diet or specific health consequences ensue
Chronic low intake may not lead to these conditions, but is not optimal and can affect the health of skin, gut, eyes, bones as well as reproduction.
Vitamin A can be provided via animal foods, such as liver, and this is called preformed A – or it can be provided using plant foods (beta carotene) which are converted to the biologically active form. Dogs can convert from plant matter, cats cannot.
Because beta carotene is water soluble, any excess is excreted via the urine. Fat soluble preformed Vitamin A can be stored in the body and reach a toxicity level, but this takes a huge amount taken in over time. The likeliest way toxicity would be reached is via excessive cod liver oil.
We calculate the individual dog’s needs by finding their Metabolic Weight (described above) and multiplying by 50. This gives our Recommended Allowance in IUs (International Units). It’s not dangerous to go somewhat above this amount but be prudent. Feeding less carries potential negatives easily avoided by a simple dietary audit.

It’s worth noting that some medications such as omeprazole, can reduce Vitamin A absorption, as can many of the anthelmintics. You can give the meds well away from meals, for starters, and go over the RA using beta carotene, in these cases.

A note on measurements of Vitamin A in the diet:

The units of measurement for vitamin A are now mcg RAE, but International Units (IUs) were previously used. To convert IU to mcg RAE, use the following:

1 IU retinol = 0.3 mcg RAE
1 IU dietary beta-carotene = 0.05 mcg RAE

RAE can only be directly converted into IUs if the sources of vitamin A are known, which of course you do, if you home feed. This does get a little complicated, I am happy to answer any questions you have about this – in email, on the Facebook group or Page.

And of course, we explore all nutrients in more detail in my courses, on sale throughout November, at www.thepossiblecanine.com

And finally, it's fall and I love fall. I love it so much that I decided to have a sale on two of my premiere courses. Take advantage while you can.

Enjoy! And have a Happy Healthy November.

www.thepossiblecanine.com
Nutrition Courses, Consultations, Writings

Don’t forget to drop by my Facebook group, for focused weekly discussions, a free Getting Started with Home Made Diet series, your diet and herbal questions answered, and more.
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Consultations, Personalized Diet Plans, Therapeutic Recipes and Herbal Support for your Dog at https://thepossiblecanine.com/