Nutram's Optimum Combinations are made with your pet's health as the top priority. Considering what ingredients will be the most delicious, but also the most beneficial to your pet's health is key when creating our recipes. Dogs and cats have similar needs to humans, so looking at what we eat and drink to keep healthy isn't a bad place to start when deciding what would be best for our pets. Some remedies and ingredients that help to keep pet parents healthy can work just as well in our pets' diets as well! Take cranberries as an example. 

Cranberries are an incredibly healthy ingredient to add to your cat or dog's diet. Not only are these tiny red berries bursting with flavour, but they contain lots of Vitamin C, fiber, manganese and other esential micronutrients. Cranberries are considered a superfood, as they also contain polyphenol antioxidants, which benefit your pet's cardiovascular and immune system, as well as fight against disease. With anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial qualities among the beneficial qualities of cranberries, this superfood is an excellent addition to your pet's diet. 

As mentioned previously, cranberries contain large amounts of antioxidants called polyphenols. These compounds help to regulate the production of gene products, that are necessary in the control of physiological and pathological processes occuring on a molecular level. These anti-oxidants also help to fight free radicals that can occur in your pet and cause diseases, such as cancer. 

If you're looking to give your pet a diet that will contribute to their dental health, then definitely look for foods that contain cranberries. Not only do they contain proteins that inhibit acid production, but they assist in preventing plaque build up. A build up of plaque bacteria on the surface of your pet's teeth can cause dental disease, tooth loss, poor appetite, and infection. Thankfully the flavonoids and polyphenols in cranberries help to stop the fomation of this dental plaque in the first place. 

Cranberries are an essential part of your pet's cardiovascular health. They help to relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and improve cardio function and heart health in your cat or dog. Research has shown that including flavonoids, such as those found in cranberries, can help to decrease atherosclerosis, which is the build up of cholesterol and fat plaque deposits in arterial walls. The flavonoids in cranberries act to modify serum lipids, as well as decrease inflammatory responses that contribute to this condition. 

When you think of cranberries, it's very likely that their involvement in preventing urinary tract infections may come to mind. This is not a myth, and in fact, is just one of the many reasons to add cranberries to your pet's life. Just like humans, pets are prone to infections of the renal system, such as kidney, bladder, or urinary tract infections. Cranberries help to prevent the bacteria that causes these infections. The phytochemicals found in this superberry assist by preventing the adherence of bacteria to the wall of the urinary tract, thus allowing the free floating bacteria to be more easily flushed from the system before an infection can form. Studies have shown that the occurence of  'bacterial adhesion' is significantly decreased when cranberry extract was given to dogs, thus helping to prevent the occurance of UTIs. While cranberries won't necessarily cure a pet's UTI, they certainly can be used as a preventative measure. 

Our recipes that feature cranberries: 

• S2 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Puppy Natural Dog Food 
• S3 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Large Breed Puppy Natural Dog Food
• S5 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Adult and Senior Natural Cat Food
• S6 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Adult Natural Dog Food
• S8 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Large Breed Adult Natural Dog Food
• S10 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Senior Dog Food
• T22 Nutram Total Grain-Free® Chicken and Turkey Recipe Cat Food
• T24 Nutram Total Grain-Free® Trout and Salmon Meal Recipe Cat Food 
• T25 Nutram Total Grain-Free® Trout and Salmon Meal Recipe Dog Food

What recipe is the best option for your pet? Take our Nutram Number quiz to find out!

(Header Image via Liz West on Flickr)