Something to digest

What with the shops being closed for a whole day and the Christmas feast to prepare, many kitchen cupboards are full to bursting. That means extra opportunities for pets to sniff out a few tasty morsels – not all of which will agree with them. We have some tips on keeping their digestive system sweet (ish).

Did you know that we offer YuDIGEST PLUS – a fast acting high strength bioactive probiotic and prebiotic complex to assist dogs with sensitive digestion?  You can reach for it when the pet owner needs to encourage natural gut balance in their pet before friends and relatives descend on the house and start complaining about unpleasant pongs.

Prebiotic – this is a food ingredient that is passed through the digestive tract largely undigested. It can however, by digested by beneficial bacteria – most commonly in the large intestine. A prebiotic alters the gut microbiome and shifts it in favour of the beneficial bacteria population.

An example of a prebiotic is oligosaccharide which contains a beta bond that cannot be broken down by mammals but can be broken down by bacteria. Once the bond is broken, the products of bacterial digestion are short chain fatty acids – most particularly butyrate – which can be used as a fuel for colonocytes. In turn, these well-nourished cells form a healthy, robust intestinal barrier to help prevent absorption of noxious substances.

In YuDIGEST we use Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) as our prebiotic.

Probiotics are added as a direct source of beneficial bacteria – with the most common species being Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. Probiotics have to meet a number of criteria and are also treated so they survive the acid environment of the upper digestive tract. They also help shift the microbiome to product a more favourable environment.

In YuDIGEST PLUS we use an EU registered strain of Enterococcus faecium E1707, including one billion in every sachet.

YuDIGEST PLUS also contains montmorillonite, which binds harmful bacteria and toxins and is around 20 times more effective than kaolin and linseed – a source of omega-3, antioxidants and lignan-rich fibre to help absorb water.

To help you support your clients (and possibly even prevent a few call outs or last-minute appointments) we’ve produced a short leaflet on digestive hazards to avoid this Christmas. You can download it here and it’s suitable to email out or host on your website. No more grumbles, rumbles and downright explosions – let’s keep their guts healthy over the holidays!