Antioxidants protect your dog's body from cell damage caused by free radicals. For a while now we've been hearing about antioxidants, and even if you're not quite sure what they are, you probably know they're good for you.

But did you know they're also good for your dog? In fact, not just "good for", but essential for optimum health.

Free radicals

To understand antioxidants and why your dog needs them, you first need to understand free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that damage your dog's cells, organs and tissues. They do this damage by attacking and destroying cell membranes, proteins and DNA.

This destructive process is known as oxidation. Oxidation is associated with many chronic diseases, as well as degenerative diseases associated with aging (e.g. cancer and arthritis).

Free radicals are produced normally through your dog's metabolism, but free radical levels are increased with exposure to stress and toxins. These toxins may come from your dog's food or the environment (e.g. pesticides and insecticides). Other factors include x-rays and UV rays from the sun.

Berries are chock full of antioxidants,

but it's not always safe to let your

dog eat everything you eat.

Technically speaking, free radicals are created when a molecule or atom loses an electron. It then tries to take an electron from another molecule to balance itself (causing cell damage). This causes another free radical to be created, and so that molecule steals an electron from another molecule, and the process continues.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants defend your dog's body against the damaging free radicals.

Technically, antioxidants give an electron to the free radical molecules that have lost one. This stabilizes the free radical without the antioxidant becoming one itself. Once the antioxidant gives up the electron though, it is no longer useful, so more antioxidants are needed.

Benefits include:

• protect your dog's health

• strengthen immune system

• fight inflammation

• reduce cell damage

• decrease allergy symptoms

• slow aging process

• reduce risk of chronic, degenerative diseases

• improve circulation

• strengthen blood vessel walls

• assist cognitive function

If your dog has any of the following conditions, they can benefit from antioxidants.

• allergies
• arthritis
• auto-immune diseases
• cancer
• cardiovascular disease
• cataracts
• dermatitis
• diabetes
• heartworm
• immune suppression
• inflammatory bowel disease
• liver disease
• vision problems

Antioxidants can include nutrients such as vitamin A, C, E, selenium, beta carotene, bioflavonoids and green tea extract. The best source of antioxidants is from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The problem with this is that dogs are carnivores (meat-eating). Of course, this doesn't mean that your dog does not or cannot eat vegetables and the likes, but some foods that are richest in antioxidants, such as red grapes, are poisonous to dogs. Additionally, take into consideration the poor quality of some commercially-available dog food, and the possibly stressful environment your dog lives in (e.g. the toxins of a city), and the need for antioxidants becomes clear.

Supplementation

To increase the amount of antioxidants fighting cell damage in your dog's body, you can supplement your dog's diet with things such as a multivitamin or green tea extract. Maybe you already take antioxidant supplements yourself, so why not ensure your dog's optimum health too?

i Love Dogs premium supplements with Green Tea

We have developed a range of premium, veterainarian-formulated vitamins and supplements for your dog, that are all boosted with quality green tea to provide your dog with a powerful source of antioxidants. The range includes:

• MULTIVITAMIN with Green Tea

• OMEGA 3 with Green Tea

• GLUCOSAMINE & CHONDROITIN with Green Tea

• REISHI with Green Tea

...and they have also developed a pure GREEN TEA supplement for the optimum health of your dog.