Vitamin D is one of the most important yet overlooked nutrients in our pets’ diet. Raw diets, natural diets, grain-free diets, specialty diets, and the list continues, but none of them address a huge problem in their nutrition: Vitamin D levels. Here are 5 reasons why you should be testing Vitamin D levels in all […] Read more »
Background Protein-losing syndromes, specifically protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) and protein-losing nephropathy (PLN), are disease conditions when albumin and other protein-rich materials leak into the intestinal cavity or urine. Left untreated, there is a high mortality. Both PLE and PLN involve significant inflammation which is a part of the pathogenesis and treatment often includes the use of […] Read more »
While many dietary vitamins are easily cleared or do not threaten toxicity in high concentrations, Vitamin D stands apart. Too little, and sufficiency is not attained; too much and the threat of toxicity triggers close patient management. Multiple factors impact the vitamin D status, which makes simple weight-based dosing ineffective. To achieve sufficiency, VDI has […] Read more »
It’s clear magnesium (Mg) is important – it’s a cofactor to over 600 enzymatic processes within the body, and the second most abundant intracellular cation. Mg is required for DNA, RNA, protein synthesis, and energy metabolism through its involvement in cell receptor processes. Receptor DysfunctionEvery receptor needs Mg to function. It is involved in the […] Read more »
As humans we tend to humanize our pets, known as anthropomorphism. Birthday parties, outfits, special treats, Americans are truly making their pets part of the family. Nutrition and the desire to provide high-quality food is a booming business and with a growing prevalence of pet owners moving to a meat-less diet due to health, environment, or […] Read more »
There is a growing trend for pet-owners to avoid commercial pet food in favor of a more natural homemade diet. When planning homemade diets, the balance of micronutrients, including vitamin D, should be emphasized. VDI, in conjunction with Tufts University and the University of Missouri, conducted a study looking at VitD absorption in 320 […] Read more »
VDI Laboratory provides patient specific dosing guidelines on all Vitamin D reports for cats and dogs. Now, all Vitamin D reports come with a second dosing guideline for reaching the high end of the sufficient range. High End Sufficiency Sometimes we get asked- can we target higher in the sufficient zone (100-150ng/mL)? The answer of course […] Read more »
In a major study from Tufts University , 40 different brands of dog food were evaluated for the amount of vitamin D absorbed and converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25vitD), the primary store and precursor to the active hormone, calicitriol. In a group of 320 dogs, 25vitD concentrations ranged from 9.5 to 249.2 ng/mL. However, the median 25vitD concentration was […] Read more »
