PREBIOTIC X PROBIOTIC. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
The use of food that promotes well-being and improved health has been emphasized and encouraged in last years with the goal of maximizing the expectation and quality of life of our pets.
A balanced diet is essential for the pet?s health. However, not always the food we offer them contains all the necessary nutrients and supplementation can be necessary. Poor nutrition can cause imbalance in intestinal flora of the animals, making them more susceptible to disease.
Known as "functional foods", bring benefits beyond basic nutrition, and can be allies even in disease prevention. Among the best known are fermentable carbohydrates, prebiotics and probiotics.
But what are prebiotics and probiotics?
PREBIOTICS are nondigestible carbohydrates that selectively stimulate the proliferation and / or activities of undesirable bacteria in the intestine. In simpler words: they serve as "food" for good bacteria in our gut, and also for our pets. The most commonly used prebiotics in animal feed are fructooligosaccharides (FOS), mananoligosaccharides (MOS) and yeast cell wall.
The presence of the prebiotic in the promotes a more acid intestinal environment, making it more favorable to the presence and growth of good bacteria, thus giving less space to the pathogenic (bad) bacteria.
PROBIOTICS are supplements based on living microorganisms (bacteria and beneficial yeasts) that can be incorporated into the diet of the animals, affecting in a beneficial way the development of the microbial flora of the intestine. Many situations can cause the concentration of pathogenic bacteria to increase in the gut, such as sudden changes in food.
Natural feeding for pets is now a worldwide trend, and many tutors decide to drastically change the pet's diet, not knowing that this transition creates stress in the pet's intestines and therefore should always be accompanied by a probiotic.
Both probiotics and probiotics are important in stressful situations, where the animal's immunity can decline, making it more susceptible to disease. Weaning stages, vaccination, use of antibiotics or any change in the routine of the animal can be considered stress situations, which will require effort on the animal's immune system, leaving it fragile. And there's no gut that can handle it, we know it!
Both are indicated at any stage in the life of dogs and cats, so there are no excuses for not keeping our pets' gut always healthy! In addition to restoring health and preventing diseases, pets return more motivated and energized!
And do not forget, always consult a veterinarian!
By : Dr. Simone Amitay - Veterinarian
