Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn Page A
Authors: Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn
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of calcium and phosphorus in the diet than provided by a calcium product alone, substitute di-calcium phosphate for bone meal. This product is sometimes available in pet stores or in natural food stores. You should use about two-thirds the amount stated for bone meal in any recipe.
Calcium Tablets or Powder
Each recipe gives a suggested dose of calcium, expressed in milligrams. Unlike bone meal, this choice provides no additional phosphorus, which means less total calcium is needed to balance the total amount of phosphorus already available in the recipe.
You can supply “plain” calcium as calcium carbonate, chelated calcium, calcium gluconate, or calcium lactate. Except for the calcium carbonate, these are also considered the most assimilated forms of calcium. Avoid products that also contain phosphorus or magnesium.
Look on the label to see how much powder or how many tablets you must use to equal the milligrams of calcium called for in a recipe. If you buy tablets, use a blender, mortar and pestle, or pill crusher to grind them to a powder before mixing into the food. The easiest form to use is the pure powder from Animal Essentials .
Eggshell Powder
This is the cheapest route, because you can make the supplement yourself from egg shells, which are very high in calcium carbonate. Here’s how to make eggshell powder. Wash the eggshells right after cracking and let them dry until you have accumulated a dozen or so. (Each whole eggshell makes about a teaspoon of powder, which equals about 1,800 milligrams of calcium.) Then bake at 300°F for about ten minutes. This removes a mineral-oil coating sometimes added to keep eggs from drying out. It also makes the shells dry and brittle enough to grind to a fine powder with a nut and seed grinder, blender, or mortar and pestle. Grind well enough to eliminate sharp, gritty pieces.
H EALTHY P OWDER
This rich mixture of nutrients is used in all the recipes. The recipes, by themselves, provide necessary protein, fat, and carbohydrate, but to make sure there is adequate vitamin and mineral content as well, we use this mixture of several important food elements, which are available at most natural food stores: nutritional or brewer’s yeast (rich in B vitamins, iron, and other nutrients); lecithin (for linoleic acid, choline, and inositol, which help your animal emulsify and absorb fats, improving the condition of its coat and digestion); powdered kelp (foriodine and trace minerals); enough calcium to balance the high phosphorus levels in yeast and lecithin (enabling you to add this powder in any reasonable quantity to any recipe or other diet); and vitamin C (not officially required for dogs or cats because they synthesize their own, but clinical experiences suggest its value).
We prefer the use of nutritional (or torula) yeast in the formula but, as I noted earlier, it has become difficult to find the last few years. I don’t know why, but often all you can find is brewer’s yeast, which is very similar. The difference is that nutritional yeast is grown to be used as a food supplement, while brewer’s yeast is left over from brewing beer. Nutritionally they are basically the same, except that brewer’s yeast is higher in chromium, a trace mineral important in the use of sugar by the body. You can substitute brewer’s yeast in place of nutritional if it cannot be found.
HEALTHY POWDER
2 cups nutritional or brewer’s yeast
1 cup lecithin granules
¼ cup kelp powder
4 tablespoons Group I bone meal powder*
1,000 milligrams vitamin C (ground) or ¼ teaspoon sodium ascorbate (optional)
* Calcium and phosphorus in bone meal products varies. See the Table of Calcium Supplementation Products , to compare brands. I have grouped bone meal products into Group I, Group II, and Group III as a way of working with them in the recipes. In the recipes I am assuming the use of Group I bone meal sources, so adjust amounts if you are using a different brand. If you use a brand from
Calcium Tablets or Powder
Each recipe gives a suggested dose of calcium, expressed in milligrams. Unlike bone meal, this choice provides no additional phosphorus, which means less total calcium is needed to balance the total amount of phosphorus already available in the recipe.
You can supply “plain” calcium as calcium carbonate, chelated calcium, calcium gluconate, or calcium lactate. Except for the calcium carbonate, these are also considered the most assimilated forms of calcium. Avoid products that also contain phosphorus or magnesium.
Look on the label to see how much powder or how many tablets you must use to equal the milligrams of calcium called for in a recipe. If you buy tablets, use a blender, mortar and pestle, or pill crusher to grind them to a powder before mixing into the food. The easiest form to use is the pure powder from Animal Essentials .
Eggshell Powder
This is the cheapest route, because you can make the supplement yourself from egg shells, which are very high in calcium carbonate. Here’s how to make eggshell powder. Wash the eggshells right after cracking and let them dry until you have accumulated a dozen or so. (Each whole eggshell makes about a teaspoon of powder, which equals about 1,800 milligrams of calcium.) Then bake at 300°F for about ten minutes. This removes a mineral-oil coating sometimes added to keep eggs from drying out. It also makes the shells dry and brittle enough to grind to a fine powder with a nut and seed grinder, blender, or mortar and pestle. Grind well enough to eliminate sharp, gritty pieces.
H EALTHY P OWDER
This rich mixture of nutrients is used in all the recipes. The recipes, by themselves, provide necessary protein, fat, and carbohydrate, but to make sure there is adequate vitamin and mineral content as well, we use this mixture of several important food elements, which are available at most natural food stores: nutritional or brewer’s yeast (rich in B vitamins, iron, and other nutrients); lecithin (for linoleic acid, choline, and inositol, which help your animal emulsify and absorb fats, improving the condition of its coat and digestion); powdered kelp (foriodine and trace minerals); enough calcium to balance the high phosphorus levels in yeast and lecithin (enabling you to add this powder in any reasonable quantity to any recipe or other diet); and vitamin C (not officially required for dogs or cats because they synthesize their own, but clinical experiences suggest its value).
We prefer the use of nutritional (or torula) yeast in the formula but, as I noted earlier, it has become difficult to find the last few years. I don’t know why, but often all you can find is brewer’s yeast, which is very similar. The difference is that nutritional yeast is grown to be used as a food supplement, while brewer’s yeast is left over from brewing beer. Nutritionally they are basically the same, except that brewer’s yeast is higher in chromium, a trace mineral important in the use of sugar by the body. You can substitute brewer’s yeast in place of nutritional if it cannot be found.
HEALTHY POWDER
2 cups nutritional or brewer’s yeast
1 cup lecithin granules
¼ cup kelp powder
4 tablespoons Group I bone meal powder*
1,000 milligrams vitamin C (ground) or ¼ teaspoon sodium ascorbate (optional)
* Calcium and phosphorus in bone meal products varies. See the Table of Calcium Supplementation Products , to compare brands. I have grouped bone meal products into Group I, Group II, and Group III as a way of working with them in the recipes. In the recipes I am assuming the use of Group I bone meal sources, so adjust amounts if you are using a different brand. If you use a brand from
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