[Hound Dog Mom]

Vitamin E requirements increases with increased intake of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). So when feeding a diet high in omega 3’s (such as with fish oil supplementation), it’s smart to add vitamin e as well. PUFAs are highly susceptible to oxidation and vitamin e prevents oxidation of the fats in the body. I know that the AAFCO recommends that fish oil–containing diets for should be supplemented with 10 IU of vitamin E for every gram of fish oil per kg of diet. There may be adequate levels in a commercial food but I’d rather err on the side of caution. I believe Nordic Naturals already contains vitamin e (not sure how much) so you should be fine though, especially if you’re feeding a commercial food (as Melissa pointed out vitamin e supplementation becomes even more crucial when feeding homemade diets because they tend to be low in vitamin e). I personally use Carlson fish oils because they’re very high in vitamin e compared to other brands. I also supplement my dog’s diet with a full spectrum tocopherol and tocotrienol complex daily. As Sandy pointed out, it’s difficult to get all 8 forms of vitamin e in the diet (alpha-, beta-, gamma- delta- tocopherol and alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta- tocotrienol) – most commercial foods only contain alpha-tocopherol or a few contain mixed tocopherols (I’ve never seen a commercial food with tocotrienols). I use NOW Foods Gamma E Complex because it contains all 8 forms of vitamin e.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.