When we create Nutram's Optimum Combinations, your pet's health and well-being are of course the focus. We select the most healthful ingredients, combining them to create a healthy and delicious recipe your pet will love. These ingredients are often things you would find in your own pantry, that you often consume yourself. If an ingredient is healthy for you, it's likely something that could benefit your pet as well! One ingredient you may often brew up for yourself, just so happens to have a long list of health benefits for your pet too: green tea! 

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Considered one of the healthiest drinks out there, green tea is made from the plant Camellia Sinensis. It's full of plant chemicals that also have medicinical properties that benefit both you and your pet's health, such as flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Green tea is different from black tea in that its leaves have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Therefore these green tea leaves contain very high levels of anti-oxidants. It contains four principal polyphenol compounds (a micronutrient with anti-oxidant properties) called catechins, such as EGCG, which exhibit the most significant medicinal effects. Polyphenols have both anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic qualities, making any ingredient containing these chemical compounds an excellent addition to your pet's diet. 

Green tea helps to boost your pet's immune system, thus making them healthier and more resilient to injury or illness. It's been shown that this is done not only through the micronutrients of green tea feeding the immune system, and strengthening body cells, but also through the anti-inflammatory effects of the tea's flavonoids. 

Green tea is also said to help lower dog's cholesterol levels and help prevent heart disease and stroke. Studies show that green tea extract help to lower plasma cholesterol through the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis, as well as by upregulating an animal's LDL (a lipoprotein that transports fat and other lipids) receptor. 

It's been shown that green tea has positive effects on pets with diabetes by improving lipid and glucose metabolism. The polyphenols act to lower your pet's blood sugar levels, as well as improve insulin sensitivity and your pet's lipid profile. These effects would also be beneficial in facilitating weight loss in an obese pooch. 

Another benefical side effect of a diet that includes green tea is that your pet will have healthier teeth and better breath as a result! Green tea has anti-bacterial effects that decrease tooth infections and bacteria, thus contributing to fresher breath. Studies have shown that the presence of green tea extract in a pet's diet helpted to decrease the percentage of bacteria in your pet's mouth, as well as inhibiting gingival inflammation. 

One of the most significant effects of green tea is its anti-carcinogenic qualities. Studies have shown that green tea extract and its components, including the polyphenol EGCG and other related catechins, have inhibited the growth of many types of tumor cells in pets. Not only has it been shown to help eliminate cancer-causing free radicals, but it possesses tumor-suppressing activity, such as inhibiting angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels, which cause a tumor to become malignant), as well as cell apoptosis (programmed cell death of the proliferating cancer cells) that cause cancer. 

Our recipes that feature green tea:

• S10 Nutram Sound Balanced Wellness® Senior Dog Food

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