Showing posts with label probiotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label probiotics. Show all posts

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Pet Parents: Key Ingredients You May Be Missing

Key Ingredients Most Pet Parents Are Missing

Courtesy of Life's Abundance, Blog Post 12/7/20

Wisely, more and more pet parents seek out foods for their dogs and cats that contain probiotics.  However, the quality, application and overall formulation matter. Can you be sure you’re choosing the best product?


👀 Here’s how to be a savvy shopper when it comes to researching kibble with probiotics:


Species Specific Blend

  • Most probiotics on the market were sourced from cows because they were intended for use in cows, pigs and chickens.
  • The probiotics selected for Life’s Abundance foods are ideal to support the canine or feline GI tract because they originated from healthy dogs and cats.
  • One strain doesn’t do enough in the gut to provide the full benefit. With both the upper and lower GI to consider, plus all the different functions of various probiotics, from nutrient absorption to moderating stress response, there is no silver bullet probiotic organism that can do all the jobs.

Look For The Guarantee

Here’s a secret - seeing probiotics listed on a label can provide a false sense of security because many times they are not guaranteed. Without that guarantee shown in the Guaranteed Analysis, there’s no way of knowing if the probiotics will still be viable when your dog or cat consumes them. The guarantee covers the entire shelf life of the product.


So, why wouldn’t a brand just go ahead and make the guarantee, you ask? We cannot speak to anyone’s motives, but there are a few things to consider:


It’s not easy to get live probiotics onto dog food and cat food. To ensure survival, they must be dusted on after cooking. This equipment is incredibly specialized and not all manufacturers have it. In the vast majority of cases, probiotics blended in before cooking will not survive. Yet, they can still appear on the label, which looks appealing to consumers.

Making a guarantee puts the brand’s reputation on the line with both customers and regulators. For Life’s Abundance, when an ingredient is as vital to health as probiotics are, we think it’s important that we offer you that guarantee.

Because a guarantee amounts to an endorsement, brands would not want to stand behind lesser-quality ingredients.


dog and cat eating



Don’t (Ever) Forget The Fiber

What you may not know is that to be at their best, probiotics need a partner to fuel their health-imbuing adventures.  That’s where fiber comes in.

“Needing more fiber” is a familiar pop culture joke anytime someone finds themselves irregular.

Yet, how often have you considered this truism for your dog or cat? Even beyond stool quality, prebiotic fiber plays an important role:


  • So much more than just stool quality, when proper dietary fiber fermentation is achieved, the fibers provide nourishment for the probiotics.
  • When it comes to fiber blends in pet foods, it’s easy to get it wrong and much, much harder to get it right. The consequences can include gas, digestive upset, poorer nutrient absorption, and loose or inconsistent stools.
  • Because dietary fiber is so critical to gut health which plays a lead role in overall nutrition, Life’s Abundance has put years of work into creating custom blends.
  • There is an overwhelming amount of nuance that makes up the difference between a passable or decent nutritional result, and an exceptional nutritional result. One of these factors is fiber fermentation. Even poorly fermented fiber can produce what looks like a good stool. At Life’s Abundance we understand these nuances and engage world-leading experts to turn up the dial on fiber-blend quality.

With a steadfast formulation philosophy, consistently premium quality products and a focus on overall health through the gut,Life’s Abundance dog foods and Life's Abundance cat foods make it easy for conscientious pet parents to make the best choice for their cuddly companion.



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Probiotics in Pet Food

Lately there are numerous commercials explaining gut health, good bacteria, special yogurt and more for humans and better health.

Could that be true for pets as well?

For me it has always been something important for my canine and feline family members. With Life's Abundance I feel confident feeding my pets not only because of the ingredients but the probiotics are listed in the guaranteed analysis.

 Please click here below to read a great article from Dr. Jane Bicks, formulator of Life's Abundance pet food about probiotics.


Friday, March 26, 2010

Probiotics and Your Pet

From the Life's Abundance March 2010 Newsletter, Dr. Jane (product formulator) explains probiotics in our food:

"Our exclusive formulas contain multiple types of direct fed microbials, all of which are guaranteed to be viable after cooking so they can take up “residence” in the GALT (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue) . To protect these beneficial bacteria, we micro-encapsulate the direct fed microbials prior to cooking our foods. This process ensures that they will survive in order to establish and maintain healthy digestive system cultures."

Click here for more information about our Lifes Abundance Dog Food

Probiotics have gained much attention in the media (you know those commercials). It is said they or "direct fed microbials" can support good health.

To read more about the health and benefits associated with "good bacteria", please read a special message from Dr. Jane Bicks by clicking below.