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Newsletter - July 2009

The News At Home

Tori has earned the title of gourmand. Last year she discovered cicada bugs. I’m told that this particular type of cicada comes out of the ground once in twenty years, so Tori must have known a delicacy when she saw one. This year she seems to like escargot. According to her, the brown or gray, shells of garden snails are an added bonus. I’m not sure that her stool would agree. The girl has a difficult time passing poop now and then. Perhaps that’s why she gorges on any fruit that falls from trees as well as maple leaf keys. I have to admit that this isn’t quite what I mean when I suggest finding novel proteins and novel carbohydrates, but you can’t argue with Tori’s success at foraging. The ‘great hunter’ seems to be thriving on a combination of her regular diet supplemented with these fresh foods. I, on the other hand, am less than thrilled with her live snail appetizer - ugh!

What’s New at monicasegal.com

New Primrose Oil Packaging

If you already use our primrose oil, you know that the quality can’t be surpassed. We’re happy to announce that there are now 120 capsules per bottle, which means that for just pennies more, you’re getting double the amount of  capsules! This incredible value for a top-notch product is possible because we committed to thousands of bottles per year, and we’re pleased to be able to pass the savings on to our customers. Thanks for your support!

Tip: Shipping costs are based on the weight of a package, but every carrier has a minimum price regardless of what a package weighs. So, the freight cost can be high if you order just one bottle of a supplement. Order more bottles and the freight per bottle is far less. Often, you can buy 2 or even 3 bottles for the same freight charge or just pennies more.

Fact of the Month

Bioflavanoids are powerful

Bioflavanoids are naturally occurring compounds found in fruits, vegetables and legumes. The study of bioflavanoids is ongoing and over 4,000 flavanoid compounds have been classified at this time. They have antioxidant properties, and help strengthen the walls of major and minor blood vessels. While you can buy bioflavanoid supplements, fresh foods offer more choices and allow you to feed what a dog tolerates. Common dietary sources of a variety of bioflavanoids include parsley, citrus fruit, berries and legumes.

Parsley can cause your dog to urinate more frequently, so add this in small amounts. Citrus fruits make good treats, but don’t forget that the peel offers even more benefit. Wash the fruit well, finely grate some peel and add a little to the dog’s food. My own dog is particularly fond of small amounts of lemon zest.

Berries can be expensive at certain times of the year, and those that travel across the country from the farm to your grocery store may not have the nutrient value expected whether they were grown organically or not. Frozen berries are an excellent option when local berries are out of season. They’ve been picked at their peak of ripeness and nutrient values are good.

Legumes cause some dogs to have gas. Soak them for several hours, drain the water and boil them in fresh water. This process minimizes gas. If you prefer canned legumes, remember to rinse them several times. This reduces the sodium content somewhat and might cause less gas as well.

Keep carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, chard, red tomatoes and broccoli in mind if you want to add classes of bio-molecules called carotenoids to your dog’s diet. These, as well as the foods listed above have anti-cancer properties. You can add any of these foods to your dog’s diet regardless of the feeding method you choose.

Be sure to pulverize fruits and vegetables to ensure good digestion. People chew food well whereas dogs tend to be gulpers. For this reason, we need to perform the same action for them by using a food processor, grinder or juicer when we feed vegetables. Tip: One of the benefits of some foods is that they have ant-inflammatory properties. This is an important feature for Tori because certain combinations of food seem to help her. I’ve started using a food processor to mash ¼ cup each of banana, blueberries and cooked broccoli or sweet potato. The resulting mash is added to a little yogurt. I add 1/4 tsp lemon, orange or tangerine zest and 1 TBS Antioxidant Booster, mix well and spoon this into ice cube trays. Tori (15-1/2 pds) eats 2 cubes weekly and seems to relish them.

Monica

“When a dog barks at the moon, then it is religion; but when he barks at strangers, it is patriotism!’ -- David Starr Jordan