Pet Detox: Supporting Liver and Kidney Health in Dogs and Cats

Don't let toxins ruin your pet's health.

Your pets’ livers and kidneys do a lot of the “heavy lifting” required for maintaining good health in their bodies.

Especially for a pet detox system that removes the toxins from their bodies, these three organs, one liver and two kidneys, carry the lion’s share of the responsibility.

And today, more than ever, when our cats and dogs come into a never-ending list of environmental toxins, their livers and kidneys need support to stay strong and do their jobs well.

The Heavy Toxic Load of Today’s World on Dogs and Cats

A report from the Environmental Working Group found that American pets' blood and urine were polluted with high levels of many of the same chemicals found in the average human.

Only, the chemical levels in pets were even higher!

For dogs, blood and urine samples were contaminated with a total of 35 chemicals. And cat samples contained a total of 46 chemicals.

These chemicals included carcinogens, neurotoxins and chemicals toxic to the reproductive and endocrine systems.

And with chemicals in everything, from food and water to air pollution, lawn treatments, and even carpeting and fabrics in your home, our pets’ detoxification systems have to handle a lot more than their ancestors.

The Pet Detox System

No matter the source, incidental or unintentional, toxins and chemicals can accumulate in your pet's body.

If your pets are young and healthy, their bodies can typically clear away many toxins and wastes through their natural detoxification systems - the liver and kidneys.

Liver health in dogs and cats is highly crucial as the liver is considered the most important detoxification organ in their bodies. It operates under a two-phase system.

• Phase I breaks down environmental toxins and wastes in the body.
• Phase II neutralises and prepares toxins for excretion.

That said, kidney health in dogs and cats is equally important as the kidneys work in close conjunction with the liver.

They take the blood that comes through the renal artery and filter it through nephrons, where the beneficial substances are separated from the waste products.

To support these vital processes, your pet's body requires an ample supply of nutrients, antioxidants and cofactors.

At the same time, many of those same nutrients help protect against free radical damage.

When Your Pet's Detox Processes Become Less-than-optimal

Age, stress, injury, and a host of other contributors can result in less-than-optimal detoxification for your pet. Sometimes the build-up of toxins simply becomes too great for your pet's body to handle.

If toxins and waste can't be removed through normal detox processes, several problems can arise, including:

• Your pet's body, attempting to remove the excess toxins through their skin, resulting in itchy, scaly, and dry skin.
• Your pet's body, trying to shed toxins and waste through mucous membranes, leading to eye discharge, teary eyes, or a runny nose.
• Your pet's body, storing the overload of toxins to be handled later.

Toxins and unwanted waste that isn't removed can remain and build up in your pet's body and can potentially lead to less-than-optimal health.

When your pets are under stress, the nutrients that assist their detoxification processes can become depleted too, exposing their bodies to even more potential damage from environmental factors.

The good news is that there are several things you can do to support liver and kidney health in dogs and cats, to help them maintain good health and stay active:

• Feed them a fresh, species-specific raw diet.
• Provide plenty of opportunities for exercise.
• Help them maintain a healthy weight.
• Choose natural health support to minimise drug exposure whenever possible.
• Reinforce their diet with antioxidants and nutrients targeted to support kidney and liver health in dogs and cats.

Your Frontline Defense: Diet

Perhaps, the most important thing you can do for your cats and dogs…

Feeding them a fresh, healthy diet. It's certainly one of the simplest and best things you can do to help support all the pet detox processes.

In the case of commercial pet foods, where carbs form the basis, cats and dogs aren't well equipped to digest carbohydrates.

High-carb diets deprive pets of the nutrition they should be getting mainly from meats with small amounts of vegetables for dogs – and it may also raise their risk for liver and kidney issues.

Which is why… Wellness & Integrative Veterinarian, Dr Karen Becker strongly recommends avoiding dry kibble and semi-moist pouch food and recommends using a natural, species-specific raw diet for most pets.

She further adds that looking at what our cats and dogs eat in the wild gives us an important clue as to which types of foods your pet's body handles best.

And in case, you aren’t able to provide them with a 100% complete and balanced fresh raw diet, they can benefit greatly from holistic supplements and our fresh natural toppers.

Also, fresh, filtered water is important. And treats matter too! They are a part of your dog or cat's daily intake. So switch to natural, preferably all-meat treats (trust me, your pet will thank you!).

Your Second Line of Defense: Regular Exercise

Daily exercise assists the normal pet detox processes in several ways:

• Stimulates blood to help remove toxins and waste from cells, tissues, and organs.
• Helps move lymph fluid to carry toxins to the liver and kidneys where they can be safely eliminated from the body.
• Promotes regular bowel movements to move toxins and waste through the digestive tract in a timely manner to help prevent reabsorption.

Regular exercise is not only essential for good liver and kidney health in dogs and cats but also for maintaining a healthy weight, which further reduces the stress on the pet detox system.

The FIRST Complete Liver and Kidney Support Formula

For over ten years in her practice, Dr Karen Becker has been assisting pets with the normal pet detox processes.

She further reports that she has tried just about every herb and nutrient... and for the last decade, she has been using a unique blend of nutrients and herbs.

And with her extensive research and experience, she has personally formulated the Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support, an original blend bringing together a total of 13 active ingredients to support kidney and liver health in dogs and cats.

Usage

You can use Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support daily, monthly, quarterly, or yearly, depending upon your pet's exposure and overall vitality:

If your pet spends time outdoors and may be exposed to toxins on a regular basis, you might choose to use it daily or weekly.

If they are relatively healthy and not exposed to a great deal of toxins either indoors or outdoors (if you have a "green" home and lawn), you might choose to use it monthly or quarterly.

Know that, Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support's ingredients are safe for regular, daily use. And they provide benefits even when used occasionally.

That said, you may be wondering what makes Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support so unique. So here it goes…

Glutathione - The Master Antioxidant

Glutathione is a tiny molecule that plays a big role in preventing damage to your pet’s cells. It’s so important for fighting free radicals and maintaining cellular health that it’s called the “master antioxidant.”

Free radicals are the culprits in a destructive process called oxidation. Free radicals are unstable molecules that travel throughout your pet’s body, searching for electrons to steal from stable molecules.

When they succeed, they generate new unstable molecules – and create more free radicals.

This process can cause damage to your pet’s mitochondrial DNA. Antioxidants, such as glutathione, clean out free radicals, helping to strengthen the mitochondria – which is where the cell’s energy is generated – and keep your pet’s cells healthy.

Glutathione helps support your pets' liver and kidneys by removing free radicals from the cells, strengthening their organs’ ability to remove toxins from their body.

Now, glutathione is made of three amino acids, including glycine, which is included in Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support.

By boosting the glycine levels, your pets’ bodies have more of the raw materials needed to generate even more glutathione on their own.

Milk Thistle

The seeds of this hearty plant are widely valued for their ability to promote liver and kidney health. But do you know what makes it so valuable?

The main active constituent of milk thistle seed extract is silymarin, a flavonoid compound with potent antioxidant properties.

One of the most studied botanicals around the world, milk thistle, is included in Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support for its ability to:

• Help protect your pet's liver against toxins.
• Support your pet's immune function.
• Promote free radical scavenging in the cells of your pet’s liver and kidneys.
• Help preserve glutathione by binding to substances that reduce glutathione.

Research shows that milk thistle promotes many positive effects throughout your pets’ entire bodies, and not just their livers and kidneys.

Moderate amounts of milk thistle have been found to be safe for animals.*

*Important note: If your pet is on prescription medications or receiving medical therapy, please ask your vet if Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support is appropriate for your pet before using.

A ‘Bitter Tonic’ for The Pet Detox System

If your lawn is free from herbicides, chances are you may have brilliant yellow dandelions growing there right now.

The Dandelion plant, Taraxacum officinale, is loaded with beneficial compounds. While the plant has a bitter taste, every part of it is edible…

The leaves contain potassium, a mineral that plays a role in the ability of your pet’s kidneys to filter toxins. They also contain polysaccharides, which support the production of bile in the liver.

Moreover, dandelion leaves also contain a compound called taraxasterol, which can help promote a normal, healthy inflammatory response.

Dandelion, like many of the bitter herbs, stimulates and supports liver and gallbladder health. It may also help optimise blood flow to your pet’s kidneys.

And that’s why dandelion leaf extract is added to Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support so your pet can take advantage of all these benefits.

*Important Note: If your pet is allergic to plants in the Asteraceae family, such as daisies, sunflowers, and chrysanthemums, talk to your veterinarian before use.

The Polyphenol that promotes DNA Repair

In the 1990s, the health community began learning about a unique polyphenol with distinctive anti-ageing effects. And the more it’s studied, the more interesting it has got.

It’s called Resveratrol, and it’s another potent antioxidant that supports your pet’s detoxification system.

Resveratrol activates a class of genes called sirtuin proteins. SIRT proteins are crucial for many cellular functions, including DNA repair, detoxification and energy production in your pet’s body.

Resveratrol is found in dozens of plants, including pomegranates, raspberries, and Japanese knotweed. This antioxidant is produced as part of the defence system against environmental stressors.

It may come as no surprise, then, that it can help protect your pet’s liver and kidneys from environmental stressors.

That’s why resveratrol is included in Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support formula as it helps the liver "clean house" by flushing away unwanted fats, promoting optimal function.

As most pet owners realise, grapes are hazardous for dogs. For that reason, Japanese knotweed is selected and not grapes as the source of resveratrol.

Especially for Kitties... An Important Amino Acid for Liver and Gallbladder Support

Another active ingredient in Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support is the amino acid Taurine, which is important for liver and gallbladder support in both, cats and dogs.

It plays an important role in optimal blood flow, cardiovascular health and the production of bile in both cats and dogs.

But it is essential for cats.

While most mammals are able to make their own taurine from other amino acids, a cat’s ability to do this is limited. So your cats require large amounts of it in their diets.

Taurine supports your pets’ lipid profiles – levels of cholesterol and triglycerides – which helps protect their livers, supporting healthy function.

Pets with less-than-optimal levels of taurine may be at greater risk of adverse effects from toxins, as they may struggle to produce the bile salts necessary to excrete toxins out of their bodies.

Although a minimal level of taurine is included in most commercial pet foods, it’s not always sufficient to meet the needs of our cats. Furthermore, taurine is easily depleted in stressed pets.

So by including taurine in this formula, your cats get extra insurance to help their liver keep functioning the way nature intended.

8 Additional Active Ingredients for Kidney and Liver Health in Dogs and Cats

The final eight ingredients in Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support are highly regarded for their usefulness in supporting liver and kidney health in dogs and cats. They are:

• Phosphatidylcholine (PC) helps support a process known as methylation.

  Pets' bodies are equipped with powerful stress hormones. Adrenaline and noradrenaline help your pet through a crisis. However, chronic exposure to these hormones can be unhealthy. The faster your pet can get rid of these hormones once they are no longer needed, the better.

  The process of getting rid of these hormones is called methylation. Phosphatidylcholine or PC is required for this process of breaking down and eliminating these hormones from your pets’ bodies, thereby easing the workload on their livers and kidneys.

• Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), another potent free radical fighter, is an enzyme found in all living cells.

  As your pets age, the number of free radicals they encounter can challenge their bodies' natural levels of free radical-quenching SOD.

  Supplementing with SOD may help your pets’ free-radical fighting systems.

• NAC is a cellular antioxidant that boosts your pet's tissue glutathione levels. NAC protects against oxidative stress and is a potent free radical scavenger.

• Green Tea leaf extract's catechins help protect cellular DNA, according to scientific research. For your pet’s well-being, only decaffeinated green tea leaf extract is used for this formula.

• Schisandra fruit supports liver function by stimulating liver enzymes.

• Curcumin is what gives turmeric its yellow colour. This potent antioxidant supports kidney and liver health in dogs and cats.

• Chlorella supports the normal pet detox processes.

Support the Pet Detox System and Maintain Optimal Health for Your Pets

With the extra toxic load our pets face today compared to years past, it’s important to provide extra support for their natural detoxification systems.

Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support provides a wide variety of complementary antioxidants to help your pets maintain good health so they can do the things they love to do.

These antioxidants help keep the cells of your pets’ livers and kidneys healthy, so your pets’ livers and kidneys can keep their bodies healthy.

And just as with any new product you give your pets, always check with your veterinarian if your pet is currently on prescription medication or undergoing any medical therapy to see if Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support is right for them.

Help protect your pets’ livers and kidneys and encourage their detoxification abilities with Bark & Whiskers™ Detox Support, so that your pets can stay active and enjoy optimal health for years to come.