Alfalfa 

Alfalfa (Canines only) is known as the "King of Plants", and its' roots have been used for centuries in many cultures. The herb belongs to the legume family, closely related to beans and peas. Alfalfa is an excellent source of vitamins D, E and K, beta-carotene, minerals, fiber, chlorophyll, calcium, proteins and fats. It is especially rich in the amino acid trypophane. It is considered to be a very nutritious herb, and is used to increase appetite, alleviate certain allergic reactions and help poor digestion. It may also reduce the inflammation due to arthritis and rheumatism.

Alpha Amylas

Alpha Amylase is a soluble fiber digestant. We believe NuVet Plus™ is the finest pet supplement available, however it must be able to be digested as efficiently as possible. Alpha Amylase creates the means, by which the ingredients will be absorbed into the body as rapidly as possible without diminishing NuVet Plus™' powerful antioxidant capabilities.

Beta Carotene 

Beta Carotene is converted into Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential to skeletal growth, testicular and ovarian function, embryonic development and differentiation of tissues. It is crucial for the formal functioning of the eyes and possible reduction of cataracts. Studies have shown the use of Beta Carotene reduces cancerous tumors in animals.

Blue Green Algae 

Blue Green Algae is nature's most basic food. Existing at the beginning of the food chain, it provides nutrition in its simplest form. Blue Green Algae has a greater amount of protein than any other whole food. It provides the essential nutrients for the health of the physical body, and the smooth operation of the brain and nervous system. Blue Green Algae is a very rich chlorophyll source and has been shown to enhance the health of the entire body, strengthen the immune system, promote intestinal regularity and the healing of wounds, boosts hemoglobin production and helps purify the blood. The trace minerals found in blue green algae are Boron, Calcium, Chlorine, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Fluorine, Geranium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Maganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Phosphorus, Potassium, Silicon, Sodium, Tin, Titanium, Vanadium, and Zinc.

Brewer's Yeast 

Brewer's Yeast is a balanced natural source of B-Complex vitamins. (See Desiccated Liver) Studies show that another beneficial effect of brewers yeast supplementation is that it significantly reduces the number of fleas.

Cat's Claw 

Cat's Claw, also known as Una de Gato, is an ancient herb, found in the rain forest of Peru. This singular and wild woody vine is known for its amazing healing properties and has been used by native people for centuries. Research in different countries including Germany, Austria, England, and Hungary has shown that Cats Claw can stimulate the immune system and may help in the treatment of diseases including cancer, AIDS, viral or respiratory infections, allergies, arthritis and rheumatism.

Desiccated Liver 

Desiccated Liver contains B-Complex vitamins. Vitamin B1 helps the body metabolize carbohydrates and is known to strengthen the nervous system. Vitamin B2 helps in digesting and assimilating fats, proteins and carbohydrates. It is essential for proper enzyme formation, normal growth and tissue information. B3 is believed to promote good physical and mental health. It helps the body produce cortisone, insulin and female and male hormones. Vitamin B5 is found in every living cell in the body. It helps with digestion and producing various hormones. Vitamin B6 is essential for proper chemical balance in the body and helps convert fats and proteins into useful energy. B6 is required to help produce red blood cells. Vitamin B9 is important to the entire nervous system. Iron, found in liver, is a necessary metal required to combat anemia and to maintain healthy blood values. B12 maintains the health of all body cells by production of nucleic acid. It also helps preserve nerve tissue and enhances blood formation and the production of DNA and RNA.

Evening Primrose Oil 

Evening Primrose Oil is high in gamma linolenic acid (GLA) an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid that is converted into prostaglandin. Evening Primrose Oil is a digestive stimulant, and decreases the tendency of the blood to clot. Recent studies have shown it to be of value in the management of arthritis and rheumatism as well as exhibiting significant clinical improvements in certain skin diseases.

L Methionine 

L Methionine (Canines only) is an essential amino acid that is not synthesized by the body and must be obtained from food or supplements. It improves the tone and pliability of the skin, conditions the hair and strengthens nails. The mineral sulfur, found in airborne pollutants, such as smog, slows down the aging process in the cells, and is involved with the production of protein. L Methionine is essential for the absorption and transportation and bio-availability of selenium and zinc in the body. It also acts as a lipotropic agent to prevent excess fat buildup in the liver, and can help reduce fatigue and may be useful in some cases of allergy because it reduces histamine release. Recent studies show methionine deficiencies may be associated with the development of age related cataracts, and supplements may delay their development.

Deficiencies in L Methionine have shown to slow growth in children, cause low levels of essential proteins in the blood, edema, liver damage, loss of muscle and fat, skin lesions and weakness.

Oyster Shell

Oyster Shell is extremely rich in calcium, the major constituent of the structural framework of bones. Practically every cell in the body, notably those in the heart, nerves, and muscles, rely on calcium to function properly. Some experts recommend higher levels of calcium in order to prevent bone loss. The heart requires calcium to maintain a normal beat, muscles need it for contraction and relaxation, and calcium is essential for blood to clot, and for the nervous system to function properly.

Over time, if not enough calcium is consumed, the body takes calcium from the bones to keep the heart and muscles working properly, This process will gradually weaken the bones until they break more easily.

Papain 

Papain is one of the most powerful plant enzymes, and is a catalytic agent that will act in protein digestion. Papain helps to cleanse the tissues and intestinal walls of all waste matter in the form of excessive mucus and dead tissue. It is harmless to living tissue and is a must for maintenance of health in the intestinal tract. This unique ability of papain to break down protein and to convert a portion of it into arginine is extremely important, because arginine in its natural form has been found to influence the production of the human growth hormone of HGH. HGH is produced in the pituitary gland and is directly responsible for DNA and RNA replication as well as synthesis in liver, muscle, cartilage and adipose tissues. HGH helps to increase muscle tone and decrease the amount of body fat. Arginine has also been found to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells in test tube studies.

Pine Bark 

Pine Bark, also known as Proanthocyanidid has the ability to inhibit the activity of certain enzymes, which cause inflammation, and they function as a formidable, highly potent antioxidant (free radical scavenger). The proanthocyanidids in pine bark has been shown, in clinical studies, to be 20 times more effective than Vitamin C and 50 times more effective than Vitamin E as an antioxidant.

Pine Bark (Proanthocyanidid) helps relieve the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis, arthritis, rheumatism and rheumatic fever. It has been shown to reduce histamine production, thereby helping the lining of arteries resist attack by the mutagens that cause cardiovascular disease. In this way capillary integrity is restored, circulation is improved and it becomes easier for each cell to get the nutrients needed to function optimally.

Pine Bark's (Proanthocyanidid) remarkable ability to "seek and destroy" free radicals is a tremendous boon to health. By reducing oxidative damage to cells and vital tissue, what we recognize as aging: stiff joints, wrinkled skin, problems with degenerative diseases such as arthritis, circulatory disorders, diabetes, heart disease, etc., is held to a subdued rate. What's more, unlike virtually all other dietary antioxidants, proanthocyanidids, readily crosses the blood brain barrier to protect vital brain and nerve tissue from oxidation.

Potassium (Citrate) 

Potassium (Citrate) is important for the proper functioning of muscles, including the heart. Potassium is a crucial regulator of the amount of water in cells, which determines their ability to function properly. It helps in the transmission of nerve impulse, and is a buffer for body fluids and catalyzes the release of energy from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Symptoms of Potassium deficiency include weakness, paralysis, low blood pressure, and irregular or rapid heartbeat that can lead to cardiac arrest and death. The loss of potassium ions can cause the body cells to function less effectively and eventually die.

Selenium (Yeast) 

Selenium (Yeast) is an essential trace mineral found in the soil in its inorganic form. Plants and microorganisms convert selenium to naturally organic forms.

In recent studies selenium yeast was proven effective in producing consistent elevations of blood selenium concentrations in a large-scale human intervention trial, supported by the National Cancer Institute

Selenium supplements may help protect against cancers of the lung, colon, rectum, and prostate. (The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 12/24/96)

Larry C. Clark, M.P.H., Ph.D., from the Arizona Cancer Center, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, studied the effectiveness of selenium supplementation for preventing cancers and for reducing cancer mortality. These results indicate that when all cancers were studied, the selenium group had a 37 percent reduction in cancer incidence and a 50 percent reduction in cancer mortality.

Shark Cartilage 

Shark Cartilage contains collagen and glycosaminoglycans. This combination makes shark cartilage a powerful anti-inflammatory wound-healing agent that is non-toxic and has no known side effects. It is also an effective substance against bacteria, virus and fungal infections, which stimulates the cellular and humoral components of our immune system.

There have been numerous studies demonstrating that shark cartilage shrinks some cancerous tumors, including those unaffected by standard treatments. To grow, a tumor must establish its own blood vessel network for nourishment. Like all other living things, if the tumor is denied nourishment it will die. Studies performed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that Shark cartilage contains a protein that impedes the formation of blood vessels to tumors.

Taurine

Taurine (Felines only) is one of the most abundant amino acids in the body. It is found in the central nervous system, skeletal muscle and is very concentrated in the brain and heart.

Taurine therapy is used in the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Low taurine and magnesium levels have been found after heart attacks. Supplements decrease the tendency to develop potentially lethal abnormal arrhythmia after heart attacks.

Another role played by taurine is maintaining the correct composition of bile, and in maintaining the solubility of cholesterol. It helps to stabilize cell membranes and seems to have some antioxidant and detoxifying activity. It helps the movement of potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium in and out of cells, which helps generate nerve impulses.

Taurine is necessary for the chemical reactions that produce normal vision, and deficiencies are associated with retinal degeneration and age-related cataracts.

Vitamin C 

Vitamin C is essential for the formation of collagen and fibrous tissue; for normal intercellular matrices in teeth, bones, cartilage, connective tissue and skin, and for the structural integrity of capillary walls. It aids in fighting bacterial infections, interacts with other nutrients, and has been shown to protect the circulatory system from fat deposits.

Vitamin C is a key factor in many immune functions, including white blood cell function and interferon levels. Due to it's antioxidant properties it combats the effects of free radicals while lowering the risk of cataracts and also promotes growth and tissue repair. A large U.S. survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) demonstrated a strong correlation between Vitamin C intake and decreased mortality.

Vitamin E 

Vitamin E is an essential fat-soluble vitamin that includes eight naturally occurring compounds and each of these compounds exhibits different biological activities. The most widely accepted biological function of vitamin E is related to its antioxidant properties. Vitamin E is the most effective chain-breaking lipid-soluble antioxidant in the biological membrane, where it contributes to membrane stability. It protects critical cellular structures against damage from oxygen free radicals.

Deficiencies in Vitamin E may lead to reproductive failure, nutritional "muscular dystrophy", hemolytic anemia, and neurological and immunological abnormalities.

Recent research has shown Vitamin E, through its antioxidant properties, can significantly improve immune responses and reduced the risk for coronary heart disease.

Whey Protein

Whey Protein (Felines only) The importance of protein supplementation (one of the most important nutrients for animals) is critical for building and maintaining muscle mass. Protein has been called "the building blocks of life" and they are involved in virtually every body function. Many of the pet foods lack the digestible protein your pet requires.

Protein deficiency can lead to retarded skeletal and muscle growth, a weak immune system that causes susceptibility to infections and diseases, and also a weakening of the bodies natural defense mechanism that protect against viruses and bacteria.

Zinc, Dipeptide Chelate 

Zinc, Dipeptide Chelate (Felines only) is a component of nearly a hundred enzymes involved in major metabolic process, most of which work with the red blood cells to move carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. Zinc functions as an important antioxidant, promotes normal growth and development, aids in wound healing, enhances cell division, repair and growth: maintains normal levels of vitamin A in the blood and helps synthesize DNA and RNA.

Zinc deficiencies have been linked to prostatic hypertrophy, cancer, and slow recovery from head injuries, diabetes, arthritis and reduced immune system processes.