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A lot of the discussion about pet food today is focused on ingredients. But we rarely hear about the main goal of an animal diet – to provide nutrients to support growth, metabolism, and recovery.
There are six nutrients – proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water – and without the availability of these six nutrients**, the diet cannot provide enough nutrients**.
When nutrition does become a topic, it's usually about how much protein or fat is in the diet. What about other kinds of nutrition?It is also important to consider vitamins when formulating your diet.
Classification and function of vitamins.
Vitamins are generally divided into two main categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble. As the name suggests, one group dissolves in water and the other group dissolves in fat. No matter how classified it is, each vitamin has a specific and important function.
Functions of water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.
As highlighted, vitamins are a vital component of your dog's diet. However, this does not mean that you should give your dog a daily vitamin supplement. Excessive intake of any one nutrient can be just as harmful as a deficiency. (The old adage "too much" also applies here.) This is especially true of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), which can be stored in the body and can cause vitamin toxicity.