Supplements 101 on the Weekly Pet Roundup

0:00 Welcome to the weekly pet roundup. I hope you had a great weekend. For those of you who. Don't know who we are? I'm Isabel and that's Jessica. And we do this every week, almost every week. And today our topic of choice is pet supplements. Oh, such a big topic. Such a big topic, but so important because I feel like so many of us get sucked into marketing with supplements. Hi, Kara. Hi. Rob High Adventures Kara, how are you? Thanks for joining us. Please comment when you have anything to share 'cause you are also an expert in pet nutrition and I'm sure you have many thoughts. On supplements, yes, and let us know. On Insta Isabel, you sound very tiny and far away. I can fix that.

1:04 Good. Well, you do. OK, I was going to say you were trying a new. I'm trying new. Advance and they are obviously a no go. Well, supplements. So there's some really, really good ones out there. There's some really, really bad ones out there. There's a lot of ones out there. And I think there, there are a handful of things that I'm like, OK, I really want you guys to take these things away. If you take nothing else away, One of them being just because a supplement is amazing doesn't mean your animal needs it. Another is that OK?

1:53 Another is that you can have the best supplements in the world and they can do a really good job, but they can only do as good a job as the food you're feeding, if that makes any sense. If the diet isn't good or great, ideally the supplement can only do so much, and it's a really good thing to rotate supplements and audit your supplements. I don't care if we're talking about pets or people, it's always a good idea to rotate them out, to pulse them and to audit them every once in a while.

2:39 I personally am in the middle of auditing all of my supplements right now. And you know, I have really, really cut back on the supplements that I use for my pets. I have a supplement graveyard just like everybody else. And so it is so important that we not get like we can get overwhelmed by the number of supplements that are in our cabinets and we can also feel defeated because we bought so much and we're not getting the desired results. So that's kind of where I want to start. Everything else is just gravy after after those statements. But I know, like, you don't do a ton of supplements either, right, Isabel?

3:25 I try to spend my money on the food. That's really where I want to spend my money is on the food. And then there are specific supplements. Can you hear me or no? So now I have an echo. You have an echo. Yes, I don't hear it though, so it must I mean and I can only hear on stream yard though, and they're saying it's on Instagram. I was just about to fix that. OK. So this should be good. OK. Like can you? Hear me? Can you hear me OK, 'cause I never see what people are commenting. I only see like the first two comments and then I never see anything else.

4:11 That's crazy. Oh, she says. It's fixed. OK, good. Awesome. Well, I don't. Should I repeat all of that or? No, No. No, I think, I think you were good. I think you were good. I think they probably heard you twice, but. They said Yep. But they were like, I heard it just fine, which is weird. But yeah, I don't, I don't spend a lot of money on supplementation with a caveat. Very old dogs, very old pets. That's where I will. I don't, I don't see anything. What are they saying? Oh, I'm sorry. OK. Isabel sounds great.

4:52 Diane says fixed. Millie's Raw Life says we heard it. Raw Paw Adventure says now we heard it. OK, great. So yeah, senior, I do. I, I think I kind of, I can, I can agree. Especially like senior animals and then also animals in a disease state, we often will supplement a little bit more. I still think, you know, pulsing and rotating is a good thing, especially with certain types of supplements. And then we can also get into the like rabbit hole of sourcing and ingredients and. Well, I feel like that's not a rabbit hole.

5:34 I feel like that's supplements one O 1 because yes, because I feel, and I may be wrong. Obviously the audience that joins us is very educated, but when I, I, I interact a lot with like newbie pet parents or like less involved, less educated pet parents who are just busy and have so much going on that they don't have the time to curate their own like pet specific, you know, curriculum every day, right? So those pet parents are buying their supplements at like Costco, you know what I mean? Or like PetSmart or Target, if Target even has supplements. But like, that's where they're getting stuff. And unfortunately, and I say this to my husband constantly because my husband is, has been known to go to Costco and get supplements and I love Costco.

6:34 This is not anything against Costco, one of my favorite stores and and one of the places I spend most of my money. This is just that their supplements are what you'd find at like Walgreens or CVS. And that is not to me, an optimal supplement, right? Like, and so when you talk about supplementation, for me, it's like that's not the rabbit hole. The rabbit hole is I guess, you know, you could look at like an herb or like a homeopathic something or other, which I guess somehow falls under supplementation sometimes or CBD or I don't know what else, some kind of mineral or whatever.

7:18 And you can think like the rabbit hole is that 1 mineral can like address so many things, right? So like that to me is like, maybe we won't get into all that, but think about what you buy online. Maybe the you've recommended before the, the New Zealand organ meets for human organ supplements for humans. I mean, if you were to buy that same thing, let's say it's like beef liver supplement supplements at at Costco, it's not going to be the caliber that you would get going directly to that. Remind me the name of it Carton soil. Carton soil, Yeah, sometimes it can be. A lot of times it won't be.

8:03 For for Costco specifically, the pet supplementation is crap. I've never seen anything of quality there. There is like once in a while for the human stuff, a good item. And if you're, you know, savvy enough, you'll figure it out. When I was taking Ashwagandha, they had a really good one. I, I don't take it that much anymore, but like they had a good one that I actually like did my research and it was like, this one's a really good one And This is why. And it happened to be at Costco. But like they're selling the mainstream stuff there for supplementation for dogs specifically, like for hip and joint. And I feel like there's a better, there are better options out there if you do have like an older dog or you have a dog with who's like predisposed to hip dysplasia or something like that, where you're trying to supplement and like keep their quality of life.

8:55 It's not going to fix it. But you're trying to maintain the quality of life, you know, But the problem is, I feel like most pet parents are not buying the good stuff. So even if they are spending their money, they're not going to see any kind of benefit from the supplements. These are the same pet parents who are probably not spending a lot of money on nutrition either. So the bulk of their pet budget is probably going to veterinary care, unfortunately. So yeah. So like what what you said is you focus on nutrition first, which 100% I agree always. Then the supplement is on a, an as needed basis. But like what supplement?

9:39 And like, that's where I, I really like to talk to people about like supplements, 'cause everybody when they have an old dog's like, yeah, he takes glucosamine, right? Yeah. And like, they think they're doing everything they can for this dog, giving them the glucosamine that they found at Costco. So OK, so many things that you brought up. First of all, there is not a single thing in the pet section at Costco that I would recommend you spend your money on. Not for a single thing in the pet section at Costco. Agreed, As much as I love you Costco, I'm gonna go for like only the organic foods, the organic produce.

10:19 And that is not for pets, that's for us. And you can share it with your pets. You, yes, absolutely share that with your pets. Here's the thing about big box stores like Costco and Sam's Club. The only items that are coming in are items where the brand is big enough to sustain sending in humongous amounts of product, which by the way, it cannot be. It can be the same product that you find somewhere else, but it has to be altered a little bit. Where like it can be a 2 pack or you're getting a case of 16 and instead of a case of 12. Like it has to be altered in some way that it's not directly comparable to anything else that you get anywhere else from that brand. And if it if it doesn't sell in a certain amount of time, not only do you are you are fitting the bill, footing the bill for putting all of that product in that Costco or Sam's Club location, but you're also paying for floor space and you are also paying to move it to another location if it doesn't sell it. Like it has to be a company that can sustain this kind of overhead.

11:34 So no, you're not getting the best of the best. You're getting what yes, you're getting the most popular and since you brought up heart and soil, I did want to say because I promised somebody when I posted about this in stories, they were asking specifically about a supplement for a female reproductive supplement for spayed dogs. That isn't standard process. So I, I'm not against standard process supplements, but they, they're general. They do often times have things in them that you're like, I don't necessarily want to give that to my dog.

12:16 They're a combination of herbs and glandulars, which I don't think is a bad thing. But again, when we when we buy products that are made in bulk like that, especially like herbal products that are, they're made for a very generalized population. So you might not want to use that for every individual animal. So heart and soil is actually one of those companies that I do like their beef organ supplements. They have female reproductive organs. They also have male reproductive organs. But that's what where I would go if you are not interested in using standard process. So that answers that question.

13:03 Diane also says, I read in humans the body does not recognize supplements, so they could actually be damaging us. So that's another thing that and you brought up a fact like what you're getting in Costco is what you're getting at Walgreens or CVS or something like that. I generally speaking, do not recommend synthetic supplements because the body doesn't always know what to do with them. They are when, when we, there are a few exceptions, I will say, but generally speaking, when we pull one thing out of nature and say, you know, run it through a lab, the, the lab makes this one thing over and over and over again. We're giving, we're putting that in the body. It's considered synthetic because it's created in the lab. It's created in a vacuum basically like where there is no consideration for cofactors or Co nutrients or what else is going on in the body.

14:10 So yes, very often that and that's one of the complaints about a lot of like multivitamins and things like that is that you're just paying all of this money to pee it out, right? Because the body doesn't know what to do with that. Or not. Yeah, Yeah, it can, It can something, some things can build up in the body. And so you, you especially if we're, if we're talking about like fat soluble vitamins, they can build up in the body if the body is, is processing them properly. Again, the whole idea of synthetic, I am not a huge fan of synthetics.

14:50 And that's again, where we can make huge adjustments in the diet itself. And instead of putting our money in trying to get the best supplements, if we try to get the highest quality nutrition where all of the nutrients are coming from, Whole Foods, then we often times can avoid having to do a lot of supplementation all together because your animals are actually going to get what they need from their food in whole food form. Millie's real life says, should we supplement to prevent or just treat? Yes. And yes. And then of course, I have to say this, Diane says, Jessica, I love your hair. Thank you so much.

15:34 So yeah, when we're looking at supplements, the first thing I I'm looking for is what is the desired result from taking a supplement? That's the first thing you have to nail down. What is the result that you're looking for when going out and looking for a supplement? And then you take that result that you're looking for and say, what's the best way for me to get this result? And maybe that's food and maybe that's a supplement. Sometimes we use supplement, we use food as supplements and that's amazing. Also, you brought up herbs and homeopathy. I think again, herbs are food as supplements. In my opinion, homeopathy is energetics. So I, I think homeopathy is generally used more for, you can use it for chronic, but I think a lot more people use it for acute illnesses.

16:39 Unless you're like really, really into homeopathy, then maybe use it for everything chronic and acute and all of it. The average person would use it for like acute issues. I think. So, OK, know what you want the result to be, find the best way to get there. And then once you narrow down, OK, you've got this handful or maybe only a few supplements that you're looking at and you're trying to compare them. The first thing I'm going to do is look at the ingredients and I'm going to look at the inactive ingredients because you're paying a whole heck of a lot of money for something that what they're just going to, it's just going to come right back out the back end of your animal when you're looking at an inactive ingredient.

17:30 So if there's a lot of junk starches and cellulose, Oh my gosh, I hate cellulose and you're paying for that. So if you can narrow down a supplement that doesn't have any or very minimal inactive ingredients, you're narrowing your selection down even more. And then from there, you, I mean, I personally, I'm going to look at the brand, I'm going to look at the company and I'm going to see if I align with that company. Is it if it's if it's a company that is maybe actually owned by a huge corporation like General Mills or something like that, then maybe I yeah, maybe I actually don't want to use that supplement.

18:18 That's me. That doesn't have to be you, but that's me. And so you just keep narrowing it down based on the things that are important to you and your dog. Ideally, the only thing you're putting in your animal is active ingredients to get the result that you want. And generally speaking that is going to be food based. Sometimes we can do that with actually feeding our dog that food, and sometimes they're very picky or we have or they won't. Eat it. Or they're just appetites down. If they're sick, it's harder to get in. Yeah, or they're a child like mine. You know where my mom's always like, why do you give them so many vitamins and supplements? I'm like, because I know they're not getting it from their food.

19:00 You know what I mean? Like they have lunch at school. We never, never gonna talk bad about like the food they get, which is great that they get food and but I don't know how much they're eating. I don't know what the menu was that day. I'm not the parent that's checking the menu every day and I'm not standing over their shoulder and making sure they ate the the the vegetable that was on that plate. They might have just eaten the quesadilla, right. So it's hard for me to kind of like force feed an animal or a child. I don't believe in that. So I supplement what I think they're not getting because if they won't eat it, like obviously if you have a dog that or a cat that'll eat anything, lucky you. But not everybody does, right?

19:42 Like not everybody does. So you're not going to force feed. You may have to like get sneaky about stuff, but you know, for me personally, like I'm not eating beef liver, like I'm just not eating it. I'm not going to do it. I know I don't think I ever have. I think we've talked about this before. I don't think I ever have, and I doubt I ever will. So getting a supplement is the perfect way to get those nutrients. And when we talk about old dogs, I remember taking care of dogs with cancer who, like, their appetite was gone. Like they just didn't have one. And you know, we could sit here and split hairs about whether or not they should even have.

20:23 You know, been existing anymore, but you know, if if all that was keeping them going and they were still looking forward to their walks was that supplementation they were giving them, then by all means. You know, supplements are can be can be quality of life, you know, extending for sure. And that's what I basically use them for. I am using now a supplement for pain that is fantastic, but that's, you know, it's a chronic thing. There was no diagnosis, there's no fix because we don't know what Satchmo feels or he seems to be in pain and he's very reactive about like him being touched in his hindquarters.

21:12 He also had his tail docked, probably in a very inhumane way, which is very common. And so it could be trauma, it could be physical pain. There's no way to know. I can't ask him. So he takes an herbal pain supplement and the vet, Chris, my husband mentioned it to the vet and the vet put him on some medication, right? And I'm like, the supplement's working since we started on the supplement. You know, his gait is better, his temperament's better, his less reactive. So to me, that's a great way of pinpointing what he needs, finding something that is specifically for that chronic pain and is working. And the actual instructions of the medication is if you're doing this long term, that's used for like post operative pain and things like that.

22:04 It says take Sunday off, right? So if you're doing it long term, take a day of the week off. And so we do that. And like you said, it's, it's, you know, making sure that it's the optimal products, following the method of giving it to them either on and off or just like, you know, when after vaccines, I'll do certain supplements just for the bottle, like I'll use just up, up, use up the bottle and that's it. Maybe that's two or three weeks, maybe a month, but I won't continue that supplement forever. It's just kind of to support the liver during that time after the vaccine or the immune system or whatever.

22:46 So yeah, very, very intentional. I feel like you have to be very intentional about where you buy it, how it's made, what's in it and how long you use it and what it's for. Exactly. And I mean, I think supplements are amazing. I mean, I like I said, I give them to my kids every day because they give me a Peace of Mind. And I, my kids are so different. My dogs are so different. Like here I have to sneak supplements in Satchmo. Whatever you put in this plate's getting eaten, right? So we have to remember that everybody's an individual. And when we talked about, I think it was Diane who said that like some of them are worse for you. Like, they actually interfere with your, your body can't process them.

23:30 Like all women are constantly told when they're pregnant to take folic acid. Well, folic acid interferes with your body's ability in some cases, in a lot of the population with your ability to pull folate out of like, spinach. So like you're eating folic acid, you're taking a supplement that's impeding your body's process of taking it from the food. So, yeah, knowing that supplements are not 100% benign is probably one of the biggest motivations for this topic. For me. It's like just and I and I, I promise you that I adore my husband, but like, sometimes I'm like, have we not spoken about this?

24:13 Like, yeah, have I not been clear that we should not be buying any supplements for anybody at like Walgreens? That like, before spending our money on this, we should be looking at what's in it. And it's not an impulse decision like our impulse buy, like, oh, this label looks good, like impulse buy your wine. Like based. On the label, right? And your budget, like this $9 dollar bottle of Pinot noir looks pretty fun. OK, that's great. But a supplement can have, you know, like secondary issues. And I remember when I was pregnant and I was in groups, pregnancy groups, and I would say like, you know, try to find methylated folate in, you know, instead of folic acid. And some people would just be like, folic acid is whatever OBGYN recommends.

25:07 And I'm like, yeah, I mean, I can assure you, yeah, I can assure you that, like, that OBGYN may not be informed on the MTHFR genetic mutation that makes it so people like me can't process that. So everybody can process certain things like beef liver. We can all process that. But there's no issue. There's no genetic mutation that's gonna, like, impede our ability to, like, eat beef liver and, like, pull the nutrients we need out of it. But synthetics becomes a lot more individual. And, like, there's so much we still don't know, right? There's so much like we have no idea about.

25:47 Well, because they're created in a vacuum, right? They're they're created without knowing or testing interactions with other even synthetics much less. Exactly. Real food and real nutrients, Millie's Raw Life says. How do you feel about multivitamins? I'm not a fan. For pets or for humans? Because there are multivitamins for pets now. Yeah, either. They were. They were all over Super Zoo. Yeah, either. I know, I know again, because most of them are synthetic or at least have synthetics in them and that's not going to be a problem for 100% of dogs, but it is going to be a problem for a lot of dogs.

26:33 And I just, again, they're created in a vacuum and that's not how life works. So one of the things that I do and I, I have one dog right now that I'm working with that we went down the checklist of all the things that was, you know, this dog was eating. And I'm like, let's pull the synthetics, pull the synthetics and the dog's doing great. Like it, it, it's, and that's not even, you know, something that that's not a study, right? Like, I'm not putting this out for the world to be like, look like, but I know, and this pet parent now knows that her dog is doing better after we pulled the food that had synthetic ingredients in it, like after she has done so many things and finally her dog is like doing really well. And it's like, wow, that's amazing. And I'm not saying that's every single dog, but you know, you get there some some dogs get there. Some dogs just can't handle it the way other dogs can. And I think we're starting to see, I know we talked about this about a year ago when that the whole Purina thing was going crazy that, you know, OK, dogs have been handling dealing with the onslaught of toxins and carcinogens and just horrible quality foods for generations at

28:10 this point. And you know, people are like, oh, my dogs ate this forever and ever and they lived to be 40 years or whatever the heck they're saying. And it's like, it's not, I know, right? It's it's not the same. It is not, it's not the same because the quality of ingredients have changed, then the synthetics have changed and we have generation after generation after generation now who have passed these traumas along to their offspring and we're just not able to handle what we used to be able to handle. The thing is true of us, right? We just, the, the world is so toxic that we're just able to handle less.

28:55 We have to be intentional about keeping our environment clean, keeping our food clean and detoxing our bodies. And that's just the reality of the world we live in. So I got off on a tangent there. I don't know. Where it was going, you're right though, you're absolutely right because it's really epigenetics, right? Like it's like how the how the environment, how our nutrition, how everything affects our DNA. Like really that's what it is. Like it affects our DNA. And so for the example of the folic acid, that situation affects about 50% of the population and that's MTHFR, one genetic mutation.

29:39 And then there's like some other genetic mutations that affect the other things. So when you don't know, like how your body processes methylates vitamins, for example, if you have not, if your doctor is not testing your DNA or your epigenetics, your response to these supplements, these chemicals, these foods even like right, like yours, freeze dried beef liver, then you don't know what's happening. You're taking it and you don't know what's happening. There are some vitamins that we take too much of it. We know that we took too much because we reach bile tolerance, right? And like that is, you know, we were like, oops, that's too much vitamin C because either your stomach starts getting upset or you just go to the bathroom a lot. And that's something that our body tells us. But like, there's a lot of stuff our body's not telling us until it's too late, like when you know, our pregnancy has issues and because we don't have the nutrients we need to full to like, are you this pregnancy?

30:44 You know you. Have a horrible postpartum depression because exactly that that folic acid is built up in your body, right Raw pal Adventure says multivitamins. Strong dislike. Yes for sure. For sure yes. Yes. Yes. And it's, and it's interesting because I do think that because of the quality of our food like magnesium for example, like 60 to 80% of the population, human population is deficient in magnesium. Why is that? Because our soil is deficient in magnesium and that is something that every, there are a million types of magnesium on the market. So everybody's going to go to CVS and just get the first bottle of magnesium they see. But magnesium, for example, is best absorbed through the skin. But nobody's going to tell you that because you just go and you see magnesium, you buy it and you take it And there's magnesium that's better for sleep and there's magnesium that's better for energy and there's magnesium. And they all have a different name, magnesium this and magnesium that.

31:38 And unless you do your research, which unfortunately most consumers don't do, you are likely to get a magnesium that your body is not going to take anything out of that you're really, it's mostly fillers. The amount of magnesium that's actually in that tablet might be negligible. So you're not going to be replacing the magnesium that you're using every day like magnesium, vitamin C, every single organ uses that, right? So like you need it, but then you think you're taking this and you think you're giving your dog this. Great, you know, hip and joint supplement and you're like, yay, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and you're not seeing any results. You don't feel any more energetic. Your dog still limping and you're like, what the heck? And then you just stop because you get discouraged.

32:20 And it's not about getting discouraged. It's about being educated on what you're doing. And that's why I'm always so grateful to like people like Jessica and Cara Rappa adventures and Bronwyn of Dulcie's legacy. I always say wrong. She's going to be on my show this week, actually. But I I've learned so much about what just from what they share, right? Like, just from what you guys like put out that you're feeding your pets. I've learned so much because I may not have a pet with their same pets ailments, but it's, you know, it's kind of like 6 or maybe I'll learn about a brand. Like Jessica was so sweet.

33:03 She sent a Christmas gift to my family and one of the things she sent was Gussie's guts, the powder like a little green. It's called greens, right? Like. Gussie's guts. Yeah, they're the daily. Yeah, the Daily Greens and. You know, it's, it's been so great for my dogs. It's been fantastic. It's I already knew the brand, but I had never used that particular product. So by learning from these other people, maybe what she uses with Kim is not what Kira needs because they're considerably different in age. But I can learn about the brand. Then I can go to that brand knowing that somebody I trust uses it and I can see if there's anything that I can add to my pets diet.

33:44 So that's why I'm like, supplementation is so nuanced and everybody buys supplements with the best of intentions. Because like really, if I'm going to spend $70.00 on a bottle of supplements or a new pair of shoes, I really want the new pair of shoes, I'm not going to lie. But I'm going to buy the supplement thinking I'm doing something good for myself. But if I'm not, how frustrating is that? It it's, yes, it's very frustrating. And there, I mean, there are, gosh, there's so many things. And and This is why I'm like, we have got to figure out how to, we're never going to, I'm going to do my air quotes, get over shiny object syndrome.

34:27 I think that's just kind of like built into our brains, but we have to be able to like individually figure out how we can snap ourselves out of it and like take stock of if we actually need something or not. A lot of times I will add something to my cart and tell myself if I add something to my cart, I have to at least sleep on it before I purchase it, right? Because I might need to do more research on it. And so for example, you know, you don't want to take vitamin D3 without also taking K2, but also if you take it in a capsule with fat, because they're both fat soluble vitamins, then it's it's easier to absorb.

35:17 So like I take my vitamin D3 and K2 and coconut oil to make sure that it's it's more bioavailable that I'm getting the benefit out of it that I need there. I mean, there are so many situations like that. And then on the other end of the spectrum, like I don't, I personally take a magnesium glycanate because there are so many types of magnesium and you can look, I mean you, you can look online to see like all the different types of magnesium and what they're. That are amazing too, like and you know these people there are iodine groups on Facebook. There are vitamin C groups. There are so many. And like when you really think about it, like we're not all going to live off of just vitamin C or magnesium alone, right?

36:00 So like be careful with those. But like, yeah, if you, there are graphics out there that have like every magnesium and what it's for. So you take glyconate and when do you take it? So I take that one almost right before I go to bed after away from food because I want to take it away from fats. And so I've already stopped eating for a couple of hours before I take that one, but that's specific to that supplement. The rest of my supplements I take with food, generally with milk because that's right. That's that's I use. I use magnesium sulfate and it's through a cream and I take it.

36:42 I also use it at night but it's because it's like supposed to induce sleep too. And I put it on my and I put it and it itches the skin. So I have to put it on my feet and I have to, I put it on my kids feet. And the babies are that's so good for babies because especially breastfed babies, they're getting whatever nutrients we have and we're so depleted as moms and we're probably not eating very well. So like it's great for babies too. And it's always been a cream and I always have, you know, like the really high quality Epsom salt to put in my kids baths, right? And my babies baths because I, you know, six months old, you're not giving them a supplement. So how are you getting it in them? You're putting it on their feet or you're putting in the bath. So yeah, it's about knowing who it's for, what the purpose is, like what the goal is.

37:31 And be very careful about like I did say, like we learned from people who know, but also be careful with just saying, Oh yeah, it works for this person down the street. So I'm going to go ahead and start using it because just because it works for them in their vacuum, right? In that vacuum of a dog or cat or human, that specific genetic makeup, it worked. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to have the same effect on somebody else. And I, I see this with parenting all the time and like ADHD, what are, what omega-3 are you giving and what beep complex are you giving and all these things. And I'm thinking to myself, like, what if we just improved the diet?

38:17 Like what if we just removed dyes from that child's food? What if we just removed the amount of sugar they're getting everyday? And like, I get that there's like food deserts and like food swamps really where it's just fast food and, and it's just terrible. And I'm not saying that all kids are going to take to the broccoli in the Brussels sprouts, but instead of spending the $50 on the B complex gummies from whatever brand that it's amazing and you're going to have to subscribe and save just to like get it in the budget. And you're going to end up with like a ton of it that nobody's taking or whatever, right? Or not seeing any results. Maybe we just reduce the amount of sugar candy that they're eating.

39:02 And like, that's really when it comes down to, like, supplements are not a Band-Aid for bad nutrition, not for anybody. And I think you're the one who says, like, you can really mess up a diet with the wrong supplement. Yeah, I think you can sometimes. Can you give us an example of what that would look like for a dog or cat? Yeah. Well, you can be giving your dog or your cat a really amazing high quality raw food diet or fresh food diet, let's just say, and be one of those, you know, one of those type A's that are feeding off of a spreadsheet if you want it. Like if you want to go all out and say that like your dog's diet is perfect.

39:53 And then you add a omega-3 oil that has it's it's in a plastic bottle that's a gallon size with a pump on it and it's rancid. And. It may or may not be the fish that's on the packaging. Yeah, I mean, that's an example, but I think everything that we have just been talking about in the last, I don't know, 15 minutes or so is exact is also exactly why it is so much better to get your nutrients from your diet because then you don't have to worry about is this synthetic? Is this not synthetic?

40:34 How is it going to work with this or that? Should I take it with food? Should I not take it with food? Do I need to take it with fat? Do I need to take it with like, you don't have to worry about all of those things because you're getting it from nature, you're getting it in your diet. So I'm not, I'm not there. I'm not, I'm not going to lie, like me personally, my dog and my cats are closer to that than I am for sure. I'm trying. Well, I mean, it's much easier to do for a dog and cat. I mean, as a parent to two children who like food completely differently, Like my daughter is a big carnivore. You give them chicken and potatoes and my son is eating the potatoes 1st and my daughter's eating the chicken first. Like that's just who they are.

41:19 They're different. And I always say, like with our pets, it's just like, you put it in the bowl and if it's fresh, they're going to eat it. And I know that there's like you've even recently shared, like transitioning your cat to like a fresh diet. It's not always easy. It's not always like for, you know, straightforward, but it can be done. And once you do that once, let's say that they've embraced the diet, they can't open the fridge, they can't order DoorDash. Like they're, they're the easiest ones to control. So like when it comes to our pets, we really have the most control, assuming they're indoor cats and obviously indoor pets that we take care of, dogs and cats that we share our lives with. They're not going to get any kind of exposure that you're not aware of or that you're not in somewhat somewhat in control of. Obviously off gassing our stuff is is kind of out of our control but but they're not going to open the bag of chips like you are on like a stressed out day in front of the TV. Yeah, they might want to.

42:27 They might be. They'll look at you so you can share, but you don't have. You don't have to Let's see, there are some more, OK. Millie's raw life says. What Whole Foods sources do you recommend for hip and joint support? I, I really go with like feeds like so raw meaty bones, really like collagen Rich Bone Broth others, you know, any, any sources of collagen and contour and green lip muscles are good for that. So I mean, there's a lot that that you can do there. Yeah, the like Nike feeds like for those who aren't aware, which again, our audience, a lot of them are.

43:12 But basically if you have liver issues taking eating liver, if you have, I don't know, kidney issues, eating kidney like those are. I mean, now that I think about it, I had never thought my grandmother is in chronic kidney failure. I mean, she's lived with us for years and I'm like, I've never thought about giving her a kidney supplement. But yeah, like that, that is the idea is that when we eat that it nourishes that particular organ. So that's just what like eating like means. But it I and it really is very, it makes a lot of sense. It does. It really does, OK, Diane says.

43:55 What do you know about taking collagen? I heard it's a waste of money. You mean the beauty collagen? I know I take collagen. Talking about, yeah. Yeah, I take collagen. I mean, for my pets, they're getting it through like, you know, the bone and all the connective tissue and all of like they're they're getting it in their food. I don't eat that. I don't eat raw bones. I don't think we can as humans eat raw bones. I. Don't like your teeth? Exactly. It's a very nice day here. It's like 80°, so everybody's outside. So, but yeah, I, I do personally take collagen, but there are a lot of bad collagens on the market because there are lots of different, there's like college type 1, type 2 type, like all the different types.

44:49 And, but even if you get all of that right, then sourcing is an issue because, you know, where are they getting the collagen from and is it a clean source? And so there's a lot, there's a lot that goes into. That eat your collagen by just eating the proteins like the fish and the beef. And that's a really great way to get your collagen just from food because we're, we're, we can have bone broth too, you know what I mean? Like we can have those I and like in Spain, it's very common to eat like just like a big bowl of fisherman's Stew, right? And it's just like all the fish in the bones in the stuff. And they basically cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, strain out all that stuff.

45:35 And then you just eat the broth. And like that's where we get the majority of our in the Mediterranean diet, you're getting all of that. Why? Because you're eating from the land, you're eating from the sea, you're eating what is available to you in nature. And so for me, it's like, yes, I will supplement some stuff. Yes, I'll use some great stuff, but I try to just eat a well balanced diet so that I can and I I don't know, like I just feel like if we if we spend all our money on supplements, do we have any money left for the grocery bill or, or are we just, you know. Yeah. That's my only concern with collagen, yeah.

46:16 I personally, I take it, but I. And I do take peptides because that's really like where the conversation gets to. So like so deep which, what do you take? Which one is good? Right, I have not. I, I recently started looking into it because doctor Katie Woodley is really, really big into BPC 157, I believe, which she started running training for marathon. So that makes sense. Like you're so, you know, dogs that have like a cruciate tear or something that makes a whole lot of sense to use peptides like that. KKMON 31. What do you recommend for doggy dementia? Lots of things.

46:59 Mushrooms. Yep, so fresh food, diet, lots of Omega threes, DHAEPA. We did in fact, well, I recently, a couple months ago, maybe it was December, had a podcast with Judah from Nordic Naturals, which was like a master class on omegas. I recently did a live with Cara from Rawpaw Adventures where we talked about seed oils and omegas, fish oils. So that is it's, it's already live on her podcast feed. It's going to go live on my podcast feed tomorrow. So omegas are huge, huge DHA and EPA for brain health. And then mushrooms like Isabel said, especially lion's mane, that again, it's a mushroom.

47:54 But if we go back to like feeds like lion's mane looks like a brain. Yeah. So. And you want the extract, you don't want necessarily the powder cuz that'll take you'll need so much of the powder sometimes. So then extract is really what I found helped tighten a lot in this final. Yeah, I and somebody that we both know, I think has been dealing with Sundowners and her dog and she actually is lying. Lions made mushrooms and making a tea out of it. And so she's giving the tea and she's giving the cooked lions made from the. So it's like a it's, it's been doing really, really well. Kind of like concentrated in the tea.

48:36 One thing I will say about Omegas, and that is just because we're talking about supplements, is that I remember in at Super Zoo last year, I met the founder of Austin and Kat, Kat Donatello. And just like in chatting with her, she was showing me her line of, of oils of omegas. And just in chatting, she said there was, you know, this really great brand that everybody was using and a third party tested the DN like what what fish it would have come from. And not one of the species that was mentioned on the label was actually in that sample. So, you know, that's why it's so important to go with like Nordic Naturals.

49:23 I've been taking for years. My kids have taken, my mom's taken, my grandmother's taken. Like they, they make obviously pet omegas too. They're a renowned brand with a lot of controls. And they're just that. That's like their claim to theme. They started in the human market, then went to pets. But like sometimes when you go to PetSmart, you just like like what you described, you find this big bottle with a pump. It's so easy. It smells like fish. So you're like, yay. But not all fish oil is created equal. Obviously fish is not created equal. Like I don't eat farmed fish. Personally, I try to avoid it. It just, to me, it's just and and and and now the more polluted our oceans get, the less I even want to eat fish in general.

50:09 And the more I know about fish and how we handle sushi, for example, or has to be like frozen for however long just to kill all the parasites in it. I the less I kind of want to eat fish. So fish is something omegas from fish is something you really need to be careful with because otherwise you're not getting what is even on the label if you're not careful. So none because the supplement market is not really regulated as pharmaceuticals are said to be the like. That's why it says the FDA has not evaluated the claims made on this bottle, right?

50:50 When you buy any supplement, it says it everywhere, like the FDA is not. And because there's no regulation, you don't really know what you're getting unless you really look closer. Yeah. And obviously with pets it's even less so. Yes, Diane is asking if she can ask a question not related to supplements. You can. And then K Mon 31 says RMAO's OK if my doggie with dementia has high liver enzymes. Generally speaking, yes, what Isabel was just talking about, you want to make sure what they're claiming is in the product is in the product. But when we're thinking about the liver, we also want to make sure that the things that shouldn't be in the product are not so that heavy metals, micro plastics, things like that.

51:41 They're it's an issue with any marine life because we have just polluted the oceans so badly that there isn't I, I, I don't think there's a human or animal maybe on Earth that doesn't have microplastics in their body, in their brain. And they're like, it's, it's ubiquitous. Is that the word I'm looking for at this point? But heavy metals are certainly a concern, especially with larger fish. So you want a company that is third party tested for quality and purity, but also for what's not in there that shouldn't be there, that they're showing that they're, you know, the levels are below if it's even possible anymore. There's an issue right now with like kelp. I don't even know if if we can get kelp at all on this planet that is below the, you know, maximum levels that are considered safe.

52:53 How do you feel about Aquiflower Omega oils which is like the plant based alternative to the salmon and all that oil? I I haven't heard of that. I mean I. Know there's like. It's been used a lot in horses. Wagwell, I, I met them at Super Zoo and it basically is I, I think cat and Austin and cat has another one that's very much plant based as well. So there are options for plant based ones for those that are like scared to do the whole marine life, which I don't blame.

53:35 You well, well you can get, you can get Ala from plants, but you can't get DHA and EPA from plants. So. She has the marine algae oil. Algae. Algae. I thought you said AHI. Yes, algae oil. They're 2. Different things. Ahi flour. Ahi, OK, I'm like, what is that? I don't know. What algae? Flour. OK so I'll send you a link. So AHI flour is used in the Inhumans and it's used in horses from what I remember them telling me, but it had not been brought to the pet market yet. And then Cat, Austin and Cat has a marine algae oil and I trust their process so much.

54:18 It is vegan, plant friendly alternative to traditional fish oils because obviously using up the fish for any purpose is now concerning for so many reasons, just our ecosystem in general. So there are this Austin and Cat has microalgae plankton. I'm sorry, it replaces microalgae. the IT, it brings the microalgae straight to the pets. Just bringing the omegas from there instead of bringing any plankton, wild fish, fisheries, fish oil and all that, which is what you get when you have to do a fish oil.

55:06 Like there's just so much environmental strain when you just get a fish oil. Yeah. OK. So I eat flour it, it contains steridonic acid, which so the problem with most plant based omegas like flaxseed, chia seed, things like that is that the Ala, the body has to convert Ala into EPA and DHA. And you're only getting like between 1 and 10% can actually convert into EPA and DHA. So the claim with Ahiflower is that the steridonic acid is 4 times more efficiently converted than Ala. So that would be 4 to 40% if it's four times. So you're still going to have to take more than twice the amount to get the same levels of EPA and DHA. But I mean, I guess you do what you got to do, right? And but then again, you're dealing with an oil, which is a fat.

56:09 And so if your animal isn't tolerant of fats, then that's still, that's not going to work. But that's interesting. It's interesting. Yeah, Ahi flowers it's it's a it's from a flower that was that in the UK like it's like a flower flower and it's not super common, which is why it's recently been brought into the to the pet market. It's it's available to humans, but I've never heard it until I met with with Wagwell last year. They were like, this is our Ahi flower on like sounds beautiful. What is it?

56:51 So, yeah, just remember that there are other options for, for those that are like really concerned about fish, but mostly I'm not. I, I give my kids omegas from like fish, fish sources, as much as I hate, you know, that because they won't eat fish. I, I could, I could do up some clod right now. Really yummy. And they're looking at it like they eat shrimp, but they won't eat any other fish really. And so we try to balance what we eat versus what we, you know, what we supplement in that sense. But there are people who I know, like dogs and cats, should not be vegan.

57:37 I am not saying that that is OK, But if you want to find something vegan to supplement, there are options for you. So just keep that in mind. Diane says her 2 cats she thinks has earmites. I'm so sorry earmites. I I think you should be able to get the two crazy cat ladies products. I mean, obviously there's shipping time, but feline? Essential Diane in the UK. Yeah. So they're shipping. I I think, I think they can ship there. I think so, I'm pretty sure. I'm sure that if if you were to contact them, they'd let you know if they can even.

58:19 Oh yeah. They can do it. Yeah. So for the ears I think is Oxycat. Oxycats for everything. I know I use oxycat for everything. Too my cats on oxycat right now because he just had his his rabies shot and I'm like we need we need the oxycat immediately and I've taken oxycat myself when I feel. Feeling under the weather? So. Same. That's a good thing to have on hand. That's you see that's like to me, that's a supplement that like I, I will always have on hand and it is not something we give every day, but that's one that you have on hand. And another supplement that I do a lot and I don't do it constantly is the porcine plasma from Winpro Pet. I like it for my older dog, the 2nd that I took him off of it, I could see the difference because I, I hadn't like refilled right? Like my subscription, like I'd run out and my subscription was like 3 days passed and even my husband was like, Oh my gosh, like I can see the difference.

59:27 So those are the moments where you say OK, like maybe this 15 year old dog needs to live on this for the rest of his life and it's OK. There's a filler too. Like it just seems to help. And the porcine plasma also came from like the horse industry. A lot of the stuff we get is like, you know, horses are so abused, their bodies are so abused and they're not going to be adventurous eaters, right horses. So you supplement, they supplement a lot for them. And so that that porcine plasma started in the horse racing industry, then it went into agility, dog agility, and now it's just like available to the general public for different things.

1:00:08 And they say they mix different supplements, herbals and things. With the porcine plasma specifically for each chronic situation that your dog might have. So and now they have like some treats for cats. It's supposed to be dental treats, but my cat likes them so I give them to him. But they have like a calming they have a joint, they have an allergy, one that I think is their best seller. So it's worth a shot, you know, But again, like these supplements could just be a Band-Aid for tighten. It was the Band-Aid of age. We're just putting a Band-Aid on age and for somebody or a dog with allergies, it could just be gut health that you're putting a Band-Aid on right. So I just, you have experts at your fingertips. Anytime somebody that I know reaches out to me and it's like, oh, what supplement do you recommend for this and that I'm like, I recommend Jessica Fisher reset and Cara of raw POD ventures and I recommend you talk to them so that you can figure out what is actually wrong. And if the supplements going to help you, then they will be the ones who tell you which supplement that'll be. Because when you throw a million supplements at something, you could end up spending more than the consultation would have cost you to talk to these experts who are going to talk walk you through a list of what your pets getting every single day and what you could eliminate that might solve the problem. So just my shout out to the

1:01:39 experts and the people who you can trust. And like there are a lot of people with different backgrounds and different priorities. And obviously, I know Jessica, she's my girl, so I'm going to always recommend her. And then obviously Cara too, I trust her implicitly, so I'm going to recommend them. But find somebody that you like, that resonates with you and what you believe. And before going and just throwing supplements in a bowl, talk to somebody. Talk to somebody who's knowledgeable. And your vet may not be that person. So yeah, I have to say that. Yeah, I know it. I I hate so much when like I see people posting like I happened to I I went to college with this girl and she's been posting on Facebook. I I recently removed Facebook from my life, but while I was still on Facebook.

1:02:31 Facebook. I know everybody. 'S fighting there. So we would like to have nice. Conversations on Instagram, Facebook, people are fighting. I mean, I'm live on Facebook right now, but people are fighting too much over there right now. I have to take a break. Yeah, but I mean, she's like her dog has very bad food sensitivities and allergies and she's like trying all of these different foods on top of the kibble. And like, I've, I've commented multiple times and I'm like, I could help you with this and you know, it's fine. Like people, the thing that bothers me with that is like, people try so many things that by the time they get to me, our options are so limited because when you have a dog with food sensitivities, you're creating more and more and more sensitivities to everything that you're trying with them. So by the time they come to me, it's like I'm really having to dig deep trying to find anything that we can use for these. I mean, this is just my my life at this point. Well, also, I feel like people will get mad at the Band-Aid and they won't try it again.

1:03:40 They'll be like, oh, that was terrible. And it's like, no, but you were also doing this and this and this during that test. So that test doesn't doesn't really, it's not a valid experience of what it would be like now that we've gotten other things under control. Right. And I feel like I've seen that with moms too, like where it's like my my kids eczema was made worse by this cream. And I'm like, well, maybe it was like the allergen you ate the night before. Yeah. That, I believe, made it worse. Not the cream, but now the cream's the the culprit, right? So yeah, it's tough. And, and I, I do want to also say, and this isn't true with every supplement that that we talk about because something for instance, like the Oxycat from Feline Essentials works really well.

1:04:26 It works really quickly. But generally speaking, when we are looking at nature, when like if we're looking at herbs that we're adding in or because I again somebody today was, I had recommended an herbal supplement and she's like, I gave it one time and I didn't see a result. Yeah, we need to give this for four to six weeks and see how like and and this isn't. Like the quantity, like you said, like I remember saying that same thing, just one of my staff members who had a ton of inflammation in her knees. And I was like, I hear that turmeric's really good for that. And just like I tried it. But did you try the one from, from like CVS that barely has any turmeric? That may or may not be turmeric?

1:05:09 Because if that's what you tried, then you didn't give it a try. As far as I'm concerned, you did it. Did you make golden paste at home from the highest quality turmeric that you could find? No. OK, Then you didn't try turmeric. Right, yes, but and, and I don't say this to like blame anybody or shame anybody. It's not your fault. It's what you've been conditioned to believe by our sick care system and our Pharmaceutical industry that you should be able to take a pill and it's going to work overnight like magic. That is not the reality. And when something does air quote work like that, it is not without bajillion risks and side effects, right? Like when we look at Nat, when we look at nature, it's not going to change overnight.

1:06:01 So that's please be aware. Something will change overnight, maybe 24 to 48 hours is when you eliminate something that's making you sick, like that's the only and like it's eliminating, not adding. Right, you know what I mean. Like I remember when I first gave up dairy, I was overdoing dairy. I was vegetarian. I was just dairy, dairy, dairy, dairy, dairy. And I gave it up. And like that first week, I was waking up at like 5:00 AM super refreshed because what did I do? I got, I got rid of all the stuff that was impeding me from sleeping well because my airway was all congested and all that. After a while, I didn't wake up at 5:00 AM anymore. I was still wasn't, you know, eating dairy or anything. But it does like take time to for your body to adjust to things. And if something is going to be immediate, it's going to be an elimination diet because you're basically like living off something that five and what 5 things. And then you're going to feel great because you're not ingesting any allergens.

1:07:01 But yeah, that's something that we need to keep in mind that none of this is none of this is a magic pill, not for humans, not for our pets. Just because somebody gives you a pill does not mean their separation anxiety goes away their ADHD for kids, their anger and rage does not go away because you gave them magnesium like. We. Put a little too much stock into these supplements so for nobody. And again, that's where eliminating can actually give you more benefit, eliminating the sugars, eliminating the dyes, eliminating even the gluten sometimes you know, because of the glyphosate.

1:07:43 Like there's look at. Look at what you can remove before you start adding in more. Yes, yes, absolutely. And if you want to remove, if you want to add stuff, then before you do that, just talk to somebody who can look at their whole diet lifestyle properly and give you a good idea. And I, I love vets. So I'm not, I'm going to go back to what I said. I'm not your vet. Most vets don't have the time to really invest in educating themselves on these eliminations and things like that, unless maybe their specialty is like an allergy situation.

1:08:24 But very few of them assess their specialized in gut health. They're really not going to have the knowledge and they're not going to have the time or the ability to sit down and like make a list of all your feeding your pet and what might be a problem. My vet is very thorough. She's wonderful. Like when when my husband went and took my dog and said that he had pain, she wanted to know exactly what supplement that was. And you know, it was fine. She cleared it, but she had never heard of it. You know what I mean? Like she, she wasn't, she doesn't stock that she's not, She has, you know, she has someone, one type of probiotic, the one made by Purina in her office.

1:09:06 You know, she has maybe one more nutraceutical from for liver health that you can find, but that's it. Like their, their, their timing and their, the scope is, is beyond what they can do. So not, no hate on veterinarians. It's just not necessarily like part of what they can offer. They're like every time I go to a pediatrician, a paediatrician and we need something else, they send me to either a behavioral health specialist or a nutrition specialist or a sleep specialist, right? Because they can only do so much. And it's the same with our veterinarians, their primary care and these, this is a specialization, diet is a specialization. It.

1:09:47 Yeah, it really is. It really, really is. All right, well, we're over on our time this week. Next week is. Oh, we're going to do greenwashing. Next week is greenwashing on Valentine's Day week. Valentine's Day week, we're talking about greenwashing. So join us on Monday the 10th at 3:00 PM Mountain Standard Time. That's 5:00 PM Eastern. And we will talk about greenwashing, which I think is a really good segue for this because there's a lot of label reading that means like all of us need to do it. For everything, for sure there's, there's a lot there's.

1:10:31 A lot. All right. Thank you guys for joining us. We'll see you next week. All right. Bye, guys. Bye.