Quote:
Originally Posted by pstinard  I love a good scientific controversy!  Evidently, dogs are capable of producing their own vitamin C, so it's not necessary to add it to the diet. Here is a quote from that National Research Council book, Nutrient Requirements of Dogs, which can be found here ( Nutrient Requirements of Dogs, Revised 1985 with tiny, tiny print):
"There is no adequate evidence to justify recommendation of routine vitamin C additions to the diet of the normal dog."
Now, having said that, I haven't read up yet on Vitamin C toxicity or the benefits of adding Vitamin C to the diet to get ears to stand up, but I'll do that and get back to you  . |
Hahahahaha...not exactly a "controversy" and maybe not even all that "scientific"...not from my perspective, anyway. I have worked with and know a lot of scientists in various fields, and I like science, but I am not a "scientist" (or "natural philosopher"...the original name before the word "scientist" was 'invented'...lol). I'd call this more like a friendly, objective, discussion.
I hope this is not a 'true' hijacking of the OP's thread...and if so, I apologize to the OP, and maybe should be on its own, but I appreciate the information. I have wondered why some of these things are used to help Yorkie ears come up myself...and how and why they work when they do.
Some of what I believe I have discovered to be true:
Dogs and cats, unlike humans, do actually manufacture Vitamin C. However, as I understand it, "ascorbic acid" is merely a component compound of the "whole" Vitamin that was named Vitamin C...and the first compound isolated out of Vitamin C. There are different 'forms' of "ascorbic acid" too and various sources of Vitamin C. I think some of the confusion comes in due to the 'supplements' industry/market. A "supplement" in pill form is (almost?) never a "whole" product, and typically is isolated/manufactured/chemically compounded/synthesized from various sources depending on the manufacturer...which also helps explain some of the varying prices, so if getting 'into' supplementation, I'd guess I'd have BUNCHES more to read...lmao...and I am not entirely there, and this is partly WHY I do minimal "supplements" but look for the 'supplement' in it's whole, original, NATURAL package. Vitamin C, for example, exists in rich quantities in paprika and cayenne, so I might 'supplement Vitamin C' by putting paprika and/or cayenne in/on my food, etc. Make sense? But...that's just me...
To my knowledge, there is NO toxicity with true Vitamin C. I am unsure if there is toxicity with "L-ascorbic acid" or "calcium ascorbate" or "magnesium ascorbate" or...all of which might be labeled "Vitamin C" and, well, you can maybe see what I mean. I am not necessarily saying that "ascorbic acid" is "good" or "bad"...just saying that "Vitamin C" is 'different' and I personally would be extremely cautious with large quantity supplementation for my Yorkies...less so with myself...
...where more testing and experience are available...when supplementing with ascorbic acid. I would want to make sure I was using a proper compound for a canine...because, like all of here at YT,
I LOVE MY BABIES
and would not ever want to make an assumption and implement a solution based on an incorrect assumption that might genuinely be harmful.
To complicate further...and this is what I would do if I did use actual supplements...there are other moderating compounds that assist things like Vitamin C, A, and E...such as ALA. Water soluble vitamins and supplements may be excreted when taken in excess via liver and kidneys, since the body is a 'demand' system, but I would want to minimize the impact as well...only give what is needed, maybe a handful of mg more or less. Govt health organizations very often 'recommend' considerably less than what is actually needed as a 'daily required amount'...reasons to possibly explain this phenomenon are a separate discussion...so I wouldn't probably trust those. What I would do is use a whole food, preferably as clean of pesticides, no GMO, etc. as possible to supplement and let nature pick and choose the parts it wants and needs. If I felt I needed a supplement, it would be temporary and I would add the helpers while supplementing...I would take ALA with ACE to "refresh" them so I need less and my vital organs do less work. Make sense? Again, that's just me...