Just like humans, it’s important for your dog to eat a balanced diet consisting of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Of these, one of the most important nutrients your pooch needs is protein, which breaks down into amino acids.
To put it simply, amino acids are what helps your best friend thrive. Learn why amino acids are important for dogs and why you need to make sure you fill your pup with the right nutrition.
What are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids.
There are 20 different amino acids that dogs utilize. 10 of them are “nonessential” and can be produced naturally in the body, as needed. However, the other 10 “essential” amino acids can’t be made by your dog, so he must regularly get them from the food he eats. The 10 essential amino acids include:
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Arginine
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Histidine
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Isoleucine
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Leucine
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Lysine
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Methionine
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Phenylalanine
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Threonine
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Tryptophan
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Valine
Unlike carbohydrates or fats, your dog’s body can’t store these 10 amino acids, which is why it’s important for all the essential amino acids to be incorporated into your dog’s diet every day and processed right for digestibility. When even just one essential amino acid is lacking, the entire process does not work efficiently.
What Do Amino Acids Do?
When your dog eats food, his body breaks down the protein in the food into the different amino acids. These amino acids are then reassembled to help his body function properly. Amino acids help your best friend:
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Build and repair body tissues
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Transport nutrients through the body
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Maintain healthy skin and coat
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Carry oxygen throughout the body
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Support muscle activity
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Boost immune system
Amino Acids Are at the Heart of the Bil-Jac Dog Food
Well-balanced, highly available amino acids play a key part toward what makes Bil-Jac so uniquely special. At Bil-Jac, we’ve created an exclusive gentle cooking method to deliver the right balance of the amino acids your dog needs to support good health and vitality. That’s why we use 25 pounds of real chicken to make a 30-pound bag of our Adult Select Super Premium Dry Dog Food and never use extrusion, which is a high heat, high pressure pet food cooking process. High heat can damage the amino acids and make them less available for your dog to use.
Using fresh chicken as the key ingredient supplies your dog with a well-balanced amount of protein that breaks down into amino acids when your dog digests the food. Our recipes are slow-cooked in small batches and gently dried, unlike any other dog food in the world. As we craft the food, this helps us preserve key nutrients, including amino acids, in our dog food so your furry friend can easily digest and utilize them.
More Ways to Keep Your Best Friend Happy and Healthy
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