[Cagdu] FW: aging dogs and coconut oil

[Tina Thomas]

aging dogs and coconut oil

The right food could give your aging dog a new leash on life

Courtesy of PurinaR

PurinaR

We've all seen people who look like their dogs: the burly man who owns a
Siberian

husky, the tiny woman with a miniature poodle. In fact, it's actually

been

proven

that dog owners resemble their pets. But man and his proverbial best friend
aren't

just alike on the outside: We age similarly too.

Just as people lose physical and mental capabilities as we age, so do our
pets. Thankfully,

along with the research being done on Alzheimer's and dementia in humans,
there is

also a new focus on how we can slow the effects of aging on the brains of
our pets.

Cognitive decline in dogs comes in different varieties: memory loss, reduced
social

interaction, learning impairment and disorientation, even house-soiling
"accidents"

that make it seem as if your pet has forgotten all that potty training you
tirelessly

worked on years ago. Although you may not want to believe your once spry dog
is slowing

down, the fact is that 28 percent of dogs aged 11 to 12, and 68 percent of
dogs between

15 and 16 show some form of cognitive decline, according to a

study

in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

But the situation isn't hopeless. Dr. Karen Becker, a Chicago-based
veterinarian,

says that regular exercise, well-maintained dental health, and biannual
visits to

the vet are good starts for keeping your dog mentally healthy. It's also
important

to not overlook the symptoms of cognitive decline by chalking them up to
normal "aging."

Often, something can be done if you let your vet know of any mental
abnormalities

in your pet early on.

Yet those are just the basics. If your senior dog is afflicted with
cognitive decline,

what could be most important is what you're putting into his or her food
bowl.

Piggybacking on a

2009 study

in Neurochemical Research, a

study

in the

British Journal of Nutrition

found that giving dogs food that contains medium-chain triglycerides, or
MCTs, improves

their cognition and delays potential cognitive decline.

MCTs are a common nutrient that comes from vegetable oils, but the way it
affects

dogs' cognitive function is anything but ordinary. Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a
professor

of animal behavior at Tufts University, summed it up, saying MCTs "reduce
cognitive

decline and improve cognition."

More specifically, the study found that feeding your senior dog (any dog
over age

7 is considered "senior") meals that include MCTs, such as Purina's new

dog food

, gave them increased learning abilities, better spatial awareness, and more
energy

overall than dogs who weren't on a diet that included MCTs.

In creating their MCT-infused dog food, Purina scientists Gary Pan, Janet
Jackson

and Mark Roos were, according to Purina's

website

, "stunned by the results." When the senior dogs were switched to dog food
containing

MCTs, the researchers witnessed them beginning to regain their ability to
"understand

their surroundings, recognize their owners, respond to verbal commands, find
what

they were looking for around the house and become more active."

In fact, the Purina scientists are such believers in MCTs that they
incorporate it

into their own diets, which can be as simple as using coconut oil in place
of regular

cooking oil. (And that's really great news: It means the next batch of
cookies you

whip up could really be good for you!)

So even as life rumbles forward and our beloved pets inevitably age, we
don't have

to just cross our fingers and hope they are lucky enough not to undergo
cognitive

decline. There are things that can be done. The first step is carefully
choosing

what we pour into their favorite bowl.

_______________________________________________

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