FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Animal Formulas
HISTORY OF THE MISSING LINKŪ
Why was The Missing LinkŪ
created?
- Animals can suffer from degenerative and sub-optimal health conditions
that are similar to those suffered by humans. In the majority of cases,
these animal conditions, like those of humans, are caused by inadequate
nutrition and cured by improved nutrition.
- The Missing LinkŪ is specifically targeted to improve animal health.
It does so by addressing the nutritional gap that exists between the kinds
of foods animals might have eaten in nature and what they obtain from dry
(kibbled) or canned pet foods.
- The Missing LinkŪ is intended to put the raw, fresh, whole foods back
into the animal's diet. The nutrients available from The Missing LinkŪ
simply are not available in any commercially-prepared pet food but are
essential for optimum health.
What
was the thinking behind The Missing LinkŪ?
- All animals in nature eat their foods whole, raw, fresh and
unprocessed. Their digestive system is adapted to such foods. In processed
animal foods, some ingredients are lost and others are chemically altered,
still others are deliberately left out, or totally destroyed by processing.
We specifically addressed the problem of how to bring the total nutrition of
animals back up to the highest level that would be possible if they were
living in their ancestral natural setting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Why is
food
so important to animal health?
- The entire body of your animal (and yours too, by the way) is made from
food, air, water and light. These four ingredients form the foundation of
primary health care. Of the four, food is the most important and, if not
properly chosen and balanced, the most problematic.
- From foods, your animal must obtain optimum amounts of about
45
essential nutrients that a body cannot make, but are absolutely
required for health--20-21 minerals, 13 vitamins, 8-11 essential amino acids
from protein and 2 essential fatty acids from fresh unspoiled oils. If the
body obtains too little of any one or more of these essential nutrients, its
health must deteriorate. The 45 essential nutrients are so
important that complete lack of any one or more will bring about gradual
degeneration that ends in death.
- In addition to the essential nutrients, animals' health also requires
fiber, enzymes, friendly bacteria, and other associated food factors present
in whole, fresh, raw unprocessed foods.
- Optimum nutrition leads to optimum
health. This is a law of nature and the basic premise behind The Missing
LinkŪ.
What are the essential
components from fats and oils, and what are their functions?
- These components are called essential fatty acids and are required for
the healthy functions of every cell. Essential fatty acids improve skin
health, form the membranes around each cell, provide increased oxygen
consumption, increased oxidation rate, increased metabolic rate, and
increased energy levels. Essential fatty acids
are required for the functioning of kidneys, nerve and brain, immune system,
cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract and digestion, muscles, and
performance.
- From essential fatty acids, the animal's body makes hormone-like
molecules that regulate the functions of all cells on a moment-to-moment
basis. These are extremely important to health.
We've been told about
good fats
and bad fats. What are they?
- Good fats are those that contain both essential acids (EFA's). EFA's
are sensitive to destruction by light, oxygen and heat. Therefore, good fats
must contain EFA's in their natural state, and they must be protected from
the destructive influence of light, air and heat by being properly prepared
and packaged.
- Good fats should also be unprocessed, because unrefined oils contain
components other that EFA's that are very important for health. When oils
are processed (refined), these "minor" components with major
health benefits are removed.
- Bad fats are those that interfere with health and should therefore be
avoided. They include:
- Hard fats slow down our cells' activities, saturated fats such as beef
tallow, dairy fats and tropical oils cause problems when more than a little
is used.
- Hydrogenated oils found in margarine, shortenings and partially
hydrogenated vegetable oils are foreign to the body. They interfere with the
functions of the immune system, heart and arteries, insulin, cell membranes,
liver, reproductive glands, endocrine glands and the other organs and
tissues.
- Heated oils, fried and rancid oils cause mutations, cancer, liver
degeneration and degenerative problems in all cells and tissues.
Isn't corn oil the best oil to feed animals?
- Corn oil is overheated. It is also the wrong kind of oil for dogs, cats
and horses because it contains a lot of one of the omega-6 essential fatty
acids (EFA's) and none of the other (omega-3). It is used because it is
cheap. Dogs and cats in the wild had sources of both EFA's, and they were
unprocessed and fresh. The oil requirement for horses is different from that
of cats and dogs. Contrary to what you may have read or heard, corn oil is
the wrong oil for horses. Besides being overheated, corn oil lacks the
omega-3 EFA, which is even more important for horses than it is for carnivores.
PRODUCT INTEGRITY
What
is The Missing LinkŪ made of?
- The Missing LinkŪ contains only natural ingredients:
whole
foods and food concentrates,
rich and balanced in naturally occurring minerals, vitamins, essential fatty
acids (healing fats), essential amino acids (proteins), fiber and many other
natural food factors.
What is a whole food?
- A whole food is one that is as nature made it, with nothing added and
nothing removed except water. Whole foods present in The Missing LinkŪ
include carrot,
apple,
kelp,
flax,
yeast,
alfalfa,
fish, oyster
and garlic.
What is a food concentrate?
- A food concentrate contains the essential nutrients and food factors
required for health in a higher concentration than is found in whole food.
For instance, rice bran contains most of the minerals, vitamins, fiber and
oils present in whole, brown rice. White rice, which is made up of mostly
starch, is nutrient poor. Besides rice
bran, food concentrates present in The Missing LinkŪ include
molasses,
bone
meal and liver.
What is the source of the raw materials
present in The Missing LinkŪ?
- We use only human-edible-quality ingredients in The Missing LinkŪ.
Since our animals depend on us for all of their nutrient needs, we like to
feed them by the same high-quality standards that we demand for ourselves.
- Animal-grade feeds are cheap and usually of much lower quality than
human foods. For instance, animal-grade fish protein powder costs 22 cents
per pound. Human-grade fish powder costs about $10 per pound. The quality is
very different. We use the expensive, human-grade fish powder protein. The
quality of our ingredients is one reason why The Missing LinkŪ brings about
such remarkable results.
- Because Designing Heath also develops and produces nutritional supplements for the
human
health industry, we're held to
a
higher quality standard than most other pet product manufacturers. Our
facility is regulated by the FDA as well as other local and state agencies
and, as a result, we adhere to strict and comprehensive specifications and
controls. All incoming raw materials, premix formulas and finished products
are thoroughly inspected and tested by our inside Quality Control Laboratory
prior to acceptance and release. The same quality raw materials used in our
human formulations are used in our companion animal formulations.
PROBLEMS WITH PROCESSED PET FOODS
All
pet foods today are said to be "complete and balanced". Why do animals
need The Missing LinkŪ?
- Most pet food manufacturers claim pet food is "complete and
balanced" and that an animal who eats their food requires no
supplements. This is advertising hype, because admitting that a pet food is
incomplete or needs something added can hurt sales. To entice you to
purchase their product, such manufacturers have grossly misinformed you.
These pet food manufacturers blame other reasons for health problems rather
than admit that their foods could be lacking in certain nutrients. This is
unfair to your animals and downgrades the care you take and the effort you
are willing to make to keep you animals healthy.
- The addition of The Missing LinkŪ, which is nutrient-rich,
additive-free and minimally processed brings drastic improvement in animal
health and appearance. Owners of dogs, cats, horses, birds, and zoo animals
report that the improvements they see in their animals' health and
appearance are usually impressive and often spectacular.
- You can see these
Results for yourself by trying
The Missing LinkŪ for one or two months. The results you see will dispel
once and for all the myth of the "complete and balanced"
commercially-prepared pet food.
What is wrong with kibbled and canned foods?
- Excessive and destructive processing and poor-quality ingredients are
the main problems. Kibbled and canned animal foods contain calories, protein
and minimally adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, but many
inadequacies remain.
- The heat required to produce kibbled and canned foods destroys several
components of protein (amino acids) and makes protein more difficult to
digest. Heat destroys enzymes present in raw foods, which aid in digestion
and kills friendly bacteria which are beneficial to bowel health.
- Fats used in animal foods are often the wrong kind of fat for animals,
or are rancid from exposure to air, or, more specifically, oxygen.
Cholesterol and fatty acids are oxidized, destroying their value to animal
health and becoming toxic.
- Oils used in animal foods are overheated during refining, changing
these oils from mutation-protective to mutation-causing. Also, refining
removes the minor ingredients from oils which have major health benefits.
Remember, animals in the wild ate all of their foods fresh, raw, whole and
unprocessed.
- A problem with kibbled foods is that many of them contain artificial
preservatives which some studies and breeder experience indicate to be toxic
and detrimental to animal health.
- Meat is usually poor-quality garbage meat and floor sweepings left over
from slaughter. This meat is unfit for human consumption. Why should we give
it to our companion animals?
- Starches used in dog and cat foods, which constitute up to 45% of total
weight (not on label, it must be calculated by exclusion) are refined, which
means that most of the vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, fiber, and some
protein present in whole grains have been removed. These starches are
"empty" calories that rob the animals' body of its mineral and
vitamin reserve. Besides evidence that dogs and cats digest large amounts of
starch poorly because they are meat eaters (carnivores), commonly-used
starches from corn and wheat also can produce allergies.
- When foods are produced with shelf life rather than health in mind and
are processed by destructive methods, not only are certain essential
nutrients avoided, or destroyed, but toxic substances are produced.
Of greatest concern are toxic substances from oils, but heating will also
turn some components of protein into toxins.
- Synthetic preservatives, additives, colorants and flavors may also have
toxic properties.
- We could continue, but you get the picture. Because of destructive
processing, poor choice and quality of ingredients and the presence of
toxins, processed animal food, both kibbled and canned, are inadequate for
optimum animal health. They are even less adequate when animals are growing,
pregnant, lactating, injured, aging, recovering or performing.
- The Missing LinkŪ can make up for sub-optimal
nutrition and optimize your animal's health.
UNIQUENESS OF THE MISSING LINKŪ
What
makes The Missing LinkŪ so different from other supplements?
- The Missing LinkŪ is the only product that provides, in their
unaltered form, all of the primary nutrient factors necessary for
your animal's primary health care. These factors include: protein (amino
acids); easily absorbed minerals, which are not the inorganic rock salts
used by most manufacturers; naturally-occurring vitamins, which are not
synthetic; fresh, not rancid, fats; water-soluble fiber; enzymes; friendly
bacteria and associated food factors.
- At this time, The Missing LinkŪ is the only product available
that completely targets the gap between what animals ate in nature and what
they get in kibbled or canned foods.
Why should I buy The Missing LinkŪ instead of another brand of
supplements?
- The Missing LinkŪ is more complete, more effective and less costly
than any other nutrient enrichment program presently available. No other
product fills the nutritional gap between foods as they were provided by
nature and what our animals obtain from kibbled or dry foods.
- The ingredients used to make The Missing LinkŪ are human-edible, which
means they are higher in quality than what is used for commercially-prepared
pet food. How many commercial pet food manufacturers will eat their own
products on a daily basis? Sadly, not many. The
Missing LinkŪ representatives will and do eat any or all of our products
every day.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE
How
do I use The Missing LinkŪ super-supplement?
- We formulated our products to be added to all brands of kibbled and
canned foods in order to:
- 1. Enhance their nutrition from adequate or minimal levels to optimum
levels,
- 2. Add nutrients that are missing or have been removed or destroyed by
processing,
- 3. Improve the general health and appearance of animals.
How much of my animal's total food should be made up by The Missing
LinkŪ?
- The Missing LinkŪ needs only to make up about 3-4% of your animal's
total food by weight. It is so nutrient-rich that a little goes a long way.
Simply adding about 1/4 teaspoon per 5 pounds of body weight for dogs and
cats (about 1/2 cup for an average-sized horse) will bring about dramatic
improvements in skin, coat and total health.
RESULTS
What
results should I look for?
- Animal owners have noticed many different benefits from using The
Missing LinkŪ, but the list is not complete. You may be surprised by what
you see, so be open to the possibilities.
- The Missing LinkŪ was formulated to improve general health rather than
specific conditions. We have had many reports of improvement by using The
Missing LinkŪ after more conventional interventions, such as hormones,
thyroid, cortisone and others, had failed to bring about a change.
- The most visible improvements are in the
skin
and hair. In older
animals, less stiffness and increased
energy levels are often quickly obvious. More
specific conditions, which have been reported as improved are listed below.
- The following conditions have been helped or
alleviated:
In Dogs:
- Doggy odor
- "Stinky ears" in certain breeds
- Dripping eyes and
discoloration of facial fur
- Skin problems,
including dry and flaky skin, hot spots, oily skin, seborrhea, eczema and
other inflammatory skin problems
- Flea allergy and dermatitis
- Dry, coarse, brittle, lusterless
hair
becomes soft and silky
- Slow growing, faded, thin hair and
coat
- Un-seasonal shedding
- Stool texture and color
- Constipation and diarrhea
- Joint stiffness and arthritis as
well as hip dysplasia
- Energy levels in older
animals
- Shortened recovery time
after exercise in performance animals
In Cats:
In Horses:
In Birds:
- Fertility
- Thicker plumage
- Enhanced color and shine
- Although The Missing LinkŪ has been tested on hundreds of animals, it
has not yet been systematically tested in all conditions. Further beneficial
effects are being discovered for other conditions, so be open to being
surprised with the results you may obtain. There have been no negative side
effects, which is not surprising since The Missing LinkŪ is a food, not a
drug. Keep in mind, that even if no noticeable results are seen, The Missing
LinkŪ will still be fulfilling its role of improving your animals' general
health on the molecular level.
Does The Missing LinkŪ help in other
conditions?
- It does appear to help hypothyroidism in most dogs with this condition.
We are not totally sure why, and are working to confirm this.
Does The Missing LinkŪ help older dogs?
- We were amazed to discover that The Missing LinkŪ improved
energy levels, relieved stiffness and arthritis,
and grew new hair of a color usually seen
only in youthful members of a breed.
Can The Missing LinkŪ
improve the appearance of show animals?
- Breeders and show competitors have reported time and time again that
both coat condition and disposition in show animals have been improved
within about 6-8 weeks. We have even seen several purebred dogs who were
unshowable because of skin or
coat
conditions take "Best of Breed" after only 2-3 months on The
Missing LinkŪ. Needless to say, the owners are sold on the product and
would never be with out it.
What effect does The
Missing LinkŪ have on breeding and reproductive aspects of animals?
- The Missing LinkŪ appears to increase fertility and this is under
study. We have had reports that bitches deliver larger litters, the pups are
plump, healthy and active, and their coats are full and shiny.
LABEL INFORMATION
Why
is information about the results from using The Missing LinkŪ not found on the
label?
- If we make health claims on the label for The Missing LinkŪ, a product
consisting entirely of foods, it automatically becomes classified as a drug
under FDA law, even though the claims are true. We prefer to keep the food
classification since that is what The Missing LinkŪ actually is. Being
classified as a food also helps us keep the cost down.
- The fact that The Missing LinkŪ is a food which nevertheless has
therapeutic properties will eventually need to be taken up by our lawmakers.
Foods and drugs need to have different laws and different administrations.
WHY THE MISSING LINKŪ WORKS
In Dogs and Cats:
How
does The Missing LinkŪ stop doggy odor?
- The ingredients in The Missing LinkŪ improve digestion and skin
condition, two very important factors involved in these odors. Cocker
Spaniels and also larger breeds showed dramatic results.
How does The Missing LinkŪ stop
"stinky ears"?
- We believe that the ingredients in The Missing LinkŪ improve both skin
condition in the ears and immune function which helps keep the bacteria in
overturned ears from being able to multiply and produce the odor in the
first place.
How does
The Missing LinkŪ stop drippy eyes and stains around the
eyes?
- Inflammation of the lachrymal ducts can swell and clog making it
impossible for tears to drain. We are of the opinion that, by relieving the
inflammation, The Missing LinkŪ may open these ducts and reestablish normal
tear drainage through these ducts.
How does The Missing LinkŪ help conjunctivitis?
- This effect is probably due to the fact that nutrients present in The
Missing LinkŪ increase immune function and decrease inflammation, not just
of eyes, but also of other tissue throughout the animal's body.
How does The Missing LinkŪ help skin
problems?
- Oils present in The Missing LinkŪ soften and moisten dry skin and help
keep dry skin from flaking. Hot spots, dermatitis and eczema are
inflammatory conditions. Nutrients in The Missing LinkŪ may relieve this
inflammation.
- The reason for the effectiveness of The Missing LinkŪ in alleviating
seborrhea is unknown at the present. We think that it could be the specific
combination and amounts of all the nutrients present, some as yet
unidentified whole food factors, or a synergistic effect between the
ingredients which explain the beneficial effects. Science has much to learn
about nutrition and health.
How does The Missing LinkŪ help flea
allergy?
- Better fed, healthier skin has greater powers of self-repair. Dogs do
not seem to scratch as much after flea bits which, we presume, means they
don't itch as much. This was another unexpected benefit of The Missing LinkŪ.
How
does The Missing LinkŪ improve hair conditions?
- Hair is made out of foods. For good hair growth, good protein and good
oils are required. Both are provided by The Missing LinkŪ. Improved
digestion, due to the use of minimally processed ingredients, makes more of
the nutrients available to the hair follicles.
How does The Missing LinkŪ deepen coat color and prevent shedding?
- The Missing LinkŪ provides nutrients that make more energy available
for cells' functions. The more energy available to cells, the better hair is
able to grow, the stronger the hair and the roots, which will prevent
breakage, and the closer hair color will be to that which is appropriate to
the breed. Improved nutrition has a rejuvenating effect.
How does The Missing LinkŪ improve stool texture and smell?
- Water-soluble fiber regulates the stool texture by absorbing water,
balancing both too-hard or too-soft a stool. It also absorbs toxins that
impart strong stool odors. Enzymes, friendly bacteria, and other nutrients
which are also a part of The Missing LinkŪ aid in the digestion of foods
and further help to improve stool texture and odor.
How does The Missing LinkŪ relieve stiffness and arthritis?
- Many of the accessory food factors found in
whole
foods and food concentrates
have anti-inflammatory properties. Improved digestion prevents inflammation
which prevents food allergies from developing. The absence of
allergy-producing proteins such as wheat, corn and dairy helps prevent
histamine release that can swell and stiffen joints and muscles. Omega-3
fatty acids block the production of pro-inflammatory Series 2 prostaglandins.
There also may be other reasons for this effect.
How does The Missing LinkŪ increase
energy levels?
- We believe that this effect is brought about the the synergy between
carefully-chosen whole food and food
concentrates in The Missing LinkŪ. Increased energy also results from
the presence of omega-3 oils, which increase the oxidation rate and
metabolic rate, the process by which the body produces energy.
How
does The Missing LinkŪ improve performance in working dogs?
- By increasing energy levels, The Missing
LinkŪ makes it possible for dogs to both carry heavier loads and to carry
them farther before the same level of tiredness sets in.
How does The Missing LinkŪ shorten recovery time after exercise in
performance animals?
- Muscle fatigue results from a build-up of lactic acid, which is a
breakdown product of glucose under conditions of oxygen shortage during
exercise. By increasing oxygen consumption and oxidation rate, lactic acid
is metabolized more rapidly, making muscles ready and able to exercise
again.
How does The Missing LinkŪ rejuvenate animals and help to slow down
the aging process?
- The Missing LinkŪ contains ingredients which increase
energy
to more youthful levels. It also contains antioxidants that slow down
free-radical reactions thought to speed aging by damaging cell membranes,
proteins, genetic material (DNA) and other intracellular structures, thereby
damaging vital functions in tissues.
- The Missing LinkŪ is also a rich source of all essential nutrients and
many accessory food factors that optimize the body's ability to build,
maintain and repair cells, tissues and organs.
- Finally, The Missing LinkŪ is free from toxins and contains
ingredients that help remove toxins from its body. The presence of such
toxins in the body can speed up aging by interfering with vital biochemical
reactions necessary for health.
Are there any conditions in which an animal should not receive The
Missing LinkŪ?
- The Missing LinkŪ should not be given to an animal that is
off
solid foods. All animals who are able to eat will benefit
from The Missing LinkŪ.
How long should an animal eat The Missing LinkŪ before results are
obvious?
- After feeding the recommended levels of The Missing LinkŪ, you should
see Results after about 3 to 4 weeks.
- Show animals, because they are hopefully in top condition, require
slightly longer, perhaps 6 to 8 weeks, to see improvement. Regardless of
visible differences, animals are benefiting from the
inside out from eating The Missing LinkŪ.
Why should I use foods instead of drugs to treat and help my animals?
- Foods slowly rebuild the body, which takes time. They do more than
merely suppress symptoms while the underlying condition continues to worsen.
- Drugs usually mask symptoms, acting quickly. Drugs fail to address the
cause of the disease. They are appropriate only for acute conditions and
make sense to use only for the short term, while natural treatments which
heal the cause, can be instituted.
Why do you just include
glucosamine and not chondroitin in your "Plus" formulas?
- Glucosamine serves as the substrate for the building blocks of joint
proteoglycans (which provide elasticity and stiffness on compression).
Glucosamine comes in a sulfate and hydrochloride form. The hydrochloride
form is actually more "bioactive", but both are effective.
Chondroitin
is made of many glucosamine molecules and serves the same purposes as
glucosamine. Thus, because chondroitin is chemically long chain
molecules of glucosamine, the body must break it down to use it or, it
is simply eliminated. Studies show no significant difference in using it
in combination with glucosamine. Chondroitin is also much more
expensive. Therefore, we concluded that using glucosamine in our Missing
Link results in a powerful "synergy" with the antiinflamatory
essential
fatty acids contained therein. You get the best performance at the best
price with our Missing Link Plus formulations of any product you will
find on the market today.
Why should my animal that is on The
Missing Link feel better than me?
- It shouldn't...try the
OMEGA 3 BASIC
supplement for people and Omega Blast balanced calorie energy drink.
Can The Missing LinkŪ hurt any animals?
- Because The Missing LinkŪ is foods and food
concentrates, it is not likely that any adverse effects would result
from its use. After studying hundreds of animals, we have seen no negative
effects and animal owners and other vets who have used the product have not
reported any adverse effects whatsoever. On the other hand, we have had
raves about the benefits.
- Drugs are poisons that must be used with extreme caution and only as a
last resort when all else fails. Foods are safe and natural and can heal
from the inside out. The Missing LinkŪ contains no drugs and has no harmful
side effects.
Does The Missing LinkŪ contain any synthetic
preservatives, additives, colors or flavors?
- No.
A FINAL WORD FOR SERIOUS DOUBTERS
What
if I am still not convinced?
-
You should try the product at recommended levels for at least 1 to 3
months. You will see for yourself what a difference proper nutrition can
make in your animals' overall health.
Missing Link is also
available for humans, cats, horses and birds.
Visit our pages below for more information.
We are preparing a complete discount price list for these items. Please
inquire.
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