By Apricot Power
In the US, pet owners spent more than $500 million on pet supplements alone in 2014, and the number is still expected to exceed $700 million in 2020.
Pet parents typically give supplements to their pets for one of two reasons: they have a health problem and they hope the vitamin may help, or, they want to be extra certain that their pets are getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy.
Does Your Pet Need Vitamins?
Many humans take at least one vitamin or supplement each day. Shouldn’t our pets take them too?
The answer is: maybe. Pets are physiologically different from humans, but they do share some of the same nutritional needs as humans. In other words, they rely on vitamins and minerals sourced from outside consumption just as humans do. Helping our pets get the nutrients they need is not as simple as slipping a pill or vitamin supplement into their diet. The differences between humans and pets make it vital to give the right kind of supplements to our pets.
For starters, pets may need specific doses and different supplements based on their species, breed, weight, and other factors. Further, the process by which some human-grade vitamin products are formulated may affect the pets' health and/or absorption of nutrients. Thus, if human supplements are taken without consideration, your pet's system may not recognize the supplements as beneficial to the body and may eliminate them from their system or cause worse health issues.
But vitamin supplements may improve your pet’s health, especially when taken in consultation with a vet. In fact, we recommend running any of your pet’s dietary changes by a trusted veterinary professional.
What is the Deal with Rising Levels of Illness in Pets?
Reports indicate that there has been an overall rise in pet illnesses in the past few years. A 2016 State of Health Report conducted in the US showed a less than exciting outlook of the state of health for some of the most common household pets.
Experts believe that such grim reports might have something to do with the modern-day, processed pet foods. The methods used to prepare many of these foods may destroy a lot of the natural enzymes that keep our pets healthy. Although many pet foods have labels that indicate they are "complete" or "balanced," a good number of them lack or have insufficient minerals, fatty acids, and vitamins such as vitamin B17.
Even home-prepared meals have been found to lack the essential nutrients. For instance a team of experts found out that most of the home-prepared dog food recipes they analyzed didn’t provide all the essential nutrients, or weren’t in sufficient amounts to meet established canine health standards.
Natural Stressors
Our pets also severely lack exposure to natural stressors, that is, conditions such as hunger, extreme temperatures, rigorous exercise, and other foreign threats. Animals' bodies need to be exposed to these conditions so that they can adapt and become stronger and more resilient in the face of adversity. The same principle is at play when humans engage in extreme activities such as weightlifting. We become more resilient, develop muscles and gain more endurance.
Our pets generally live in the same protected environments in which we currently live. There’s an abundance of food on demand, air-conditioned and heated living spaces, and little to no exposure to potentially strenuous conditions. Therefore, our lives, including our pets' lives, are generally shielded from natural stressors that may benefit us in the long run.
What is Vitamin B17?
Vitamin B17 is one of the lesser-known vitamins, even though it has been found to potentially have an array of positive health benefits.
Since both humans and animals do not independently produce B17 within their bodies, it must be consumed from their diets. Vitamin B17 can be found in many plants such as sorghum, clover, lima beans, in several kinds of raw nuts, and within seeds of various fruits. However, apricot seeds are the most potent sources of vitamin B17 on the planet. Vitamin B17 can also be consumed via apricot capsules and in other apricot seed-based products.
Animal experts believe that one of the main reasons your cat or dog eats grass is because it may be an instinctive way to get the vitamins they would have consumed in nature. In the wild, animals, particularly the grass-eating mammals or herbivores, consumed diets rich in vitamin B17. Other animals further up the food chain (carnivores, etc.) would then eat these animals to meet their full nutritional requirements for this and other vitamins. Today, vitamin B17 is a key nutrient missing from prepared and homemade pet diets.
Health Benefits of Vitamin B17
Humans have healthy eating almost down to a science. They know roughly what nutrients are required at different stages of their lives and where to find them. We are also getting closer to understanding what our pets need to sustain. Many of us, however, overlook the potential benefits of vitamin B17 for ourselves and our four-legged friends.
Here is a short list of potential benefits B17 may have on health:
1. Immune System Boost
Our bodies, and our pets’ bodies, have their own defense mechanisms that fight off any potential invaders that can cause disease. Ensuring our immune system is in its best shape is the most important step we can take in protecting ourselves and our pets from illness.
According to various studies, Vitamin B17 may stimulate the immune system by increasing the ability of the body’s white blood cells to attack harmful cells. In doing so, it may slow down the spread of disease and harmful cells.
2. Pain Relief from Inflammation
According to several studies, Vitamin B17 may help provide pain relief from inflammation.
In a case study published in the 1960s, patients who received an intravenous dose of vitamin B17 reported pain relief as the primary benefit. Animal studies also tend to confirm the analgesic effect of vitamin B17, which may indicate its potential for pain relief in our pets.
3. Reducing High Blood Pressure
While it's still unclear whether Vitamin B17 may be a long-term treatment for high blood pressure for humans and animals, some studies have found that vitamin B17 may help to detox the body and also lower blood pressure.
Vitamin B17 may cause the formation of thiocyanate, which is known to be a powerful agent in lowering blood pressure. Production of thiocyanate may cause a low blood pressure reaction in the body.
Vitamin B17 may help manage inflammation responses and degeneration due to common liver diseases such as fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and other autoimmune liver diseases common in humans and animals.
4. Supports Liver Health
A study conducted on animal subjects showed that vitamin B17 may help to slow down or reverse the effects of these conditions. According to this study, test subjects injected with vitamin B17 showed significant, overall decline of the disease.
5. Antioxidant Properties
Antioxidant has become a buzzword in recent years for humans and their animal counterparts. Research on vitamins A, C, and E shows that antioxidant properties may help limit or slow down the process by which the cells in our bodies face damage.
However, more and more research now shows that these vitamins might interact with vitamin B17 and may help to detox our bodies even more than they would on their own. This may provide an additional boost to our immunity and keep our bodies largely disease-free.
Vitamins That are Potentially Toxic to Pets
Pet parents always look out for their pets’ well-being, including their health and nutrition. In fact, in the US alone, pet expenditures exceeded $70 billion in 2016, with medicine and vet care accounting for nearly half the figures. Thus, many pet owners might wonder whether they should feed their pets the same supplements they enjoy taking every day.
However, because humans and pets have such different dietary needs, feeding your pet a human-grade multivitamin may lead to a slew of problems.
Safe Vitamins for Your Pets
Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, and B17 may be generally safe for most pets when taken in correct doses. This is because only small amounts are stored in the pet’s body. B-complex vitamins may also provide pets with a variety of health benefits such as improved digestive, heart, and skin health.
Other relatively safe vitamins include Fish oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acids) which is beneficial for pets like dogs. If you’re trying to add fish oil to your dog’s diet at home, cut the capsule with a sterile knife or pin and serve your pet the oil alone, not within a capsule.
Unsafe Vitamins and Minerals
Any excess fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, E, D, and K, are stored in fat cells within pets’ bodies rather than being flushed out by the digestive system as in human bodies. This may lead to toxicity and severe health complications for pets.
Excess vitamin D in your pet’s body may be fairly serious since it may increase calcium and phosphorous levels. This may lead to more permanent health issues with the heart, kidney, and other vital organs. Other potentially harmful supplements include Prenatal vitamins, which contain iron, and may lead to iron toxicity within your pet’s system.
Remember to keep your pets safe: many human-grade vitamin supplements are chewy, brightly colored, and even smell great. This might make them quite attractive to your pets. Therefore, avoid leaving your vitamin supplement bottles hanging around places accessible to your pets.
The Verdict: Can Pets Take Vitamin B17?
Vitamin B17 has shown a lot of potency in humans, given its many health benefits. Considering the weight, age, and species of your pet, you may give vitamin B17 to your pet after consulting with a vet.
Check out our range of organic vitamin B17 supplements which we extract from top-grade, non-GMO apricots seeds. You can sprinkle the recommended quantity of vitamin B17 extracts on your pets’ food and watch them grow into healthy bundles of joy.
"Any information contained herein is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Articles and websites linked herein are not endorsed by and do not necessarily represent the views held by Apricot Power Inc."
