Good nutrition means more than just maintaining a healthy and happy life for your dog. The development of the brain and vision in the first years of life, as well as physical activity, stress, and aging can also benefit from some extra nutritional attention.
More than that, at some point many dogs experience various levels of reduced mobility, for example, inflammations caused by wear and tear on joints and ligaments.
For all of these conditions, nutrients such as omega-3s, antioxidants, and choline can have great benefits.
The health benefits of omega-3s
Essential fatty acids like the omega-3s EPA and DHA are well known for their health benefits. Reducing inflammatory responses that are connected to immunity or mobility, aiding in heart, brain, or renal insufficiency or cancer, etc., are among those benefits.
With age, such conditions can increase, that’s why it is important to ensure that your dog’s diet is always rich in omega-3s.
The right source of omega-3s can also make a difference. For example, dogs that get plant-based sources of omega-3, the short-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA,) must convert ALA to long-chain EPA and DHA to obtain health benefits.
However, dogs have limited capacity to convert ALA to EPA, and practically no ALA converts to DHA. Between two marine sources of EPA and DHA, phospholipid-bound EPA and DHA have been shown to be more effective in increasing omega-3 levels in dogs compared to triglyceride-bound EPA and DHA.
Why are antioxidants important for dogs?
Antioxidants are important for dogs to protect all body cells from damage. Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant naturally found in krill.
It has 10 times higher antioxidative capacity than α- and β-carotene and lutein, and more than 100 times higher capacity than vitamin E.
When you add it to your dog’s diet, astaxanthin is integrated into the immune cell and protects it from destruction by free radicals.
The right source of choline
Choline is a vitamin-like component that plays an important role in liver health and nerve transmission, and thereby also cognitive function and muscle function.
Dogs can produce some choline naturally, but due to its importance, you can also find it in pet food brands as an added nutrient.
However, most of the time, they contain choline chloride which is 12 times less bioavailable than the choline found in krill (phosphatidylcholine).
The health benefits of omega-3s and choline for pets backed by science:
One ingredient has it all
Antarctic krill is a unique ingredient rich in all these nutrients. Krill is a premium omega-3 source that is also a natural source of choline and the powerful antioxidant astaxanthin.
At the same time, krill is packed with highly palatable marine proteins. This makes it a unique ingredient with several key nutrients beneficial for dogs at every age.
Antarctic krill, such as QRILL Pet, has a high content of marine omega-3s EPA and DHA bound to phospholipids, a highly effective transport molecule that incorporates the fatty acids effectively into your dog’s cells.
Several studies have shown that QRILL Pet has been more effective in raising omega-3 levels in dogs compared to other omega-3 sources.
QRILL Pet is also naturally rich in astaxanthin and choline, supporting cell integrity, immune function, cognitive function, and muscle function in active dogs.
Discover pet foods, treats, and supplements with QRILL Pet
Healthy and happy dogs, and a healthy planet
Aker BioMarine, the leading biotechnology company behind QRILL Pet, has been at the forefront of sustainability since its very beginning.
Before the company even deployed its very first fishing net in the Southern Ocean over 15 years ago, it reached out to WWF-Norway to ensure that its fishing operations would have as little impact as possible on the Antarctic ecosystem.
Today, Aker BioMarine’s krill fishery is rated as the world’s most sustainable reduction fishery, receiving an 'A' rating from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership for 7 years in a row.
