rom the moment your pet takes a bite of food, the digestive progress begins. Yet this complex process of breaking down nutrients also plays a vital role in the body's natural defense system.

Every digestive system contains millions of bacteria. While some of the bacterium can be harmful, many actually help to support the healthy functions of the body. These organisms, called probiotics, help the immune system adapt to internal changes.

Many people do not realize that within the digestive system is one of the most important and largest groups of immune cells ? the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT) ? which communicates with the immune cells located throughout the body. In some respects, the GALT is the first line of defense in the body.

Whereas most of the cells in our body receive nutrition from the blood, this is not true for the GALT ? it receives the majority of its nutrients from probiotics.

Whenever you ? or your companion animal ? take a course of antibiotics, it kills all of the bacteria, regardless of its ultimate effect (healthy v. unhealthy). That?s why your doctor may recommend that you eat yogurt while taking antibiotics ? to re-establish the healthy bacteria in the GI tract to avoid intestinal distress.

Probiotics are necessary to maintain the healthy ecology of intestinal microbes known as the ?gut flora?. The types of bacteria contained in the gut differ from species to species, and animal to animal, but there are commonalities.

The community of bacteria in the intestinal system protects its host from invading unhealthy microorganisms in an effort called ?colonization resistance?. This resistance appears effective at supporting intestinal health. Clinical trials on humans show very clearly that probiotics are useful in supporting a healthy digestive system.

A recent study on the common cold found that use of probiotics helped decrease not only the period, but also the severity of associated symptoms.

When incorporating probiotics in food, there are two areas overlooked by some manufacturers: (1) using a wide spectrum of different types of probiotics, and (2) protecting the probiotics from heat during the cooking process. Under the direction of Dr. Jane Bicks, HealthyPetNet paid particular attention to these important criteria when developing

Life?s Abundance Food for your Dog and Cat

HealthyPetNet?s exclusive formula contains five types of probiotics, all of which are guaranteed to be viable after cooking ? and after your companion animal eats Life?s Abundance. These natural bacterial cultures help your pet?s digestive system work at peak efficiency, allowing her or him to get even more nutrition from our wholesome food. The probiotics in Life?s Abundance helps to ensure a healthy intestinal flora.

And to protect these beneficial bacteria, HealthyPetNet micro-encapsulates the probiotics prior to cooking the food. This process ensures that the probiotics will survive, and thus will be able to establish and maintain healthy digestive system cultures.

Ryan Joseph is a writer/researcher. More info on Premium Dog Food at http://www.premium4pets.com

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