Probiotics or “good bacteria” are living microorganisms that remain intact throughout the digestive process and help keep the bowel and its lining healthy. These millions of microbes in the gut play a critical role in resisting many debilitating and degenerative diseases that start in the digestive system.
Prebiotics “feed” probiotics. They are non-digestible food ingredients or fiber that promote the growth of probiotics and “good bacteria,” while limiting damage done by “bad bacteria.”
Each Carna4 product contains truly high levels of probiotics and prebiotics, which work together to deliver optimal health benefits to your pet.
About Probiotics
Recent research cites probiotics as combating disease-causing bacteria in various ways (Dolfe, 2000), such as:
• Blocking binding sites to prevent pathogens from forming colonies in the intestines
• Producing antimicrobials and organic acids
• Stimulating the immune response and enzyme activity
Good gastrointestinal health is needed to maintain a strong immune system because most of it is located in the digestive tract. As such, the immune system is affected by the natural bacteria microflora. This means that probiotics can potentially help control enteritis in dogs, stimulate immune function in puppies, defend the body against autoimmune disorders, and improve oral health, waste odor and skin and coat health.
The organic sprouted seed mix contained in every Carna4 product we make provides extremely high levels of naturally-occurring, live probiotics, which have exceptional vitality because they are born, raised and sustained in the native environment of our sprouted seed blend. This gives these good bacteria the stability to survive our precise baking process. They also remain surrounded by the thousands of other microbes present in the host (sprouted seed) environment and which play important roles in the absorption and use by the body. In contrast, isolated probiotics grown artificially in ingredient factories have very limited lifespans, especially when fed into mixtures of pre-processed pet food ingredients with their typical impurities.
Carna4 contains a range of naturally effective probiotics and we guarantee superior levels of 11 types of probiotics, including bifidobacterium bifidum, lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus lactis and lactobacillus acidophilus. In total, one kilogram of Carna4 dog food contains over 18 billion colony-forming units of live probiotics.
About Prebiotics
Prebiotics support the gastrointestinal environment and enhance immunity. They do this by selectively stimulating the growth or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon, which enhances digestion and minimizes fecal odor.
There are many studies demonstrating the health benefits of prebiotics for pets. For example, studies examining Mannan Oligosaccharide (a prebiotic) in dog diets demonstrated improved digestibility, reduced “harmful” gastrointestinal bacteria and improved immune parameters. (Swanson et al., 2002; Zentek et al., 2OO2)
Carna4 contains a healthy variety of prebiotics and we guarantee substantial minimum levels of the following: fructooligosaccharide (FOS); mannooligosaccharides (MOS); and inulin, primarily from the unique sprouted seed mixture in Carna4.