The importance of using the purest natural oils
Here at Lintbells, we believe in using only the very best natural ingredients in all our products. That’s why we work hard to source the finest raw materials, and then make sure they’re processed to retain as many of their key nutrients as possible. Of course, this applies to the essential Omega 3 & 6 oils you’ll find in our popular YuDERM range.
Did you know?
Our standards are so high that we reject many oils that go into human supplements. That way we can ensure your pet is getting the best supplement for their needs.
There are many different Omega oils, including Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 7 and Omega 9. All have different uses, here at Lintbells, we mostly add Omega 3 & 6 oils to our YuDERM supplements. This is because of the benefits these oils afford for skin and coat health in dogs, cats and horses. Let’s take a closer look at these oils and their benefits. Different oils have different benefits, so each of our products is a unique blend of the oils to provide the right mix of benefits for your pet’s health.
Omega 3
Omega 3 is a group of three main polyunsaturated ‘fatty acids’. They are ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and DHA (docosahexanoic acid). These fatty acids will be referred to throughout using these initials.
These fatty acids are found naturally in some fish and plant oils (including Salmon, Herring, Mackerel, and Golden Flax Seed).
Omega 6
We use two Omega 6 oils: GLA (gamma-linoleic acid) and LA (linoleic acid). LA can’t be made by the body, so it needs to be included in the diet. GLA is formed by the conversion of LA.
GLA is found in Borage (Starflower) oil, Evening Primrose oil, Blackcurrant Seed oil and other vegetable oils.
Why pets need Omega oils
Omega oils have many useful qualities that make them vital additions to the diets of dogs and cats. They play an important role in skin & coat health.
- Omega 3 ALA helps to keep dogs’ coats in good condition and supports the outer coat hairs, providing waterproofing and protection from the elements.
- Omega 3 EPA has a calming effect on pets’ skin, helping to ease itching & scratching
- Omega 6 GLA helps to nourish and replenish dogs’ skin, ensuring the skin stays healthy and maintains active coat growth. It also soothes sensitive skin and reduces itching and scratching. Like humans, dogs can’t produce beneficial amounts of GLA themselves, so you need to supplement their diet.
- Omega 6 LA is the main component of the skin’s moisture barrier and supports the skin’s natural defences. For both dogs and cats it can help to stop the skin from drying out, so it can reduce moulting and dandruff. It can also help your dog maintain a barrier against the the allergens that cause itching.
Omega for skin health
Our main use of Omega oils is in our YuDERM pet skin health range.
Today, most pets live in modern, centrally heated homes, and that can mean dogs and cats often stop and start moulting continually throughout the year, which can put extra stress on their skin.
One of the key ways to prevent a dog or cat moulting excessively is to ensure their levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6 are high enough to keep their skin moist, supple and healthy.
Maintaining quality all the way to your home
As with all our ingredients, we select the best natural Omega oils, and process them to retain all their effective nutrients, cold pressing them wherever possible. We also try to reduce our carbon footprint of our oils by sourcing products in the UK whenever we can.
What is cold pressing oils?
Cold pressing means that fruit or seeds are pressed and ground in heavy granite millstones or stainless steel presses.
All the best oils are cold pressed, as it allows them to retain all their flavour, aroma and nutritional value. For example, cold pressed olive oil is highly regarded and commands a higher price than ordinary olive oil.
The pressing and grinding does produce some heat due to friction. However, for an oil to be accepted as cold pressed, the temperature must not rise above 80.6°F (27°C), and many cold pressed oils are produced at even lower temperatures.
We make sure we know exactly where all our oils come from and can trace their entire journey from their origins to our store. Throughout that journey we protect the oils to keep them fresh and preserve their health-giving properties.
We cold press our Golden Flax, Starflower, Sunflower and Evening Primrose seeds carefully to extract the oil, and then we bottle the oil immediately to maintain freshness.
By simply cold pressing, we can maintain the oils in their natural condition, which makes them highly effective for your pets. It also keeps them naturally tasty and easy to feed.
Then we add Vitamin E from natural plant sources to maintain the quality of the oil and mop up free radicals.
Even after they’re blended into our Lintbells supplements we continue safeguarding these sensitive active oils, by using special oxygen- and light-blocking packaging to reduce oxidisation (going ‘off’).
The pure, natural sources of our Omega oils
We extract our Omega oils from a range of sources: Golden Flax, Borage (Starflower), Salmon, Evening Primrose and Sunflower. Read on to learn more about each specific variety.
Golden Flax oil
Contains:
- Omega 3 ALA to improve coat condition.
- Omega 6 LA to reduce moulting.
Much of our Golden Flax crop is grown in fields surrounding the oil extraction press. What’s more, we can trace every seed back to a specific farm or field, so we can check how each crop has been grown if we need to.
We use one specific variety of Flax, chosen because it’s much high in Omega 3 content than other varieties. In fact, it’s more than 55% Omega 3 (ALA), which has been shown in scientific studies to improve coat condition in dogs.
The reduction in moulting, when Omega 6 LA is combined with Omega 6 GLA from Borage, has been proven in studies with dogs.
Borage (Starflower) oil
Contains Omega 6 LA and GLA to nourish and replenish the skin.
As with our flax oil, we grow our crops on UK farms and choose varieties with a higher specification of Omega 6 GLA than standard Borage crops.
Once the oils have been cold pressed, they’re filtered to take out any particles, leaving a pure oil. This oil is then tested for purity and low oxidation scores (a measure of quality), and also taste-tested by an expert testing panel, to ensure it meets our palatability criteria.
Finally, the oil is blended into our YuDERM formulations, and bottled in our special oxygen-protecting bottle.
The Omega 6 GLA in Starflower oil supports your pet’s skin health by:
- Soothing sensitive skin, reducing itching and calming the urge to scratch.
- Nourishing hair follicles and supporting the skin replenishment cycle, helping to reduce excess moulting and encourage coat growth.
The Omega 6 GLA keeps skin cells and hair follicles in an active state so they hang on to the pet’s hairs and encourage them to grow. Without enough GLA, the hair follicles in your pet’s skin could go into a passive state and let go of the hairs, which is why some pets moult all year round.
Salmon oil
Contains:
- Omega 3 EPA for your pet’s coat, skin and mobility.
- Omega 3 DHA for healthy eye and coat development, particularly in puppies and kittens.
Fresh Salmon oil has been proven to provide a higher quality and more stable source of Omega 3 than ordinary fish oils. The fresh Salmon oil in YuDERM Cat and YuDERM Itchy Dog consists of 100% Salmon oil with no additives. The Salmon come from the crystal-clear fjords of Norway, and – from boat to bottle – the oil takes under 1 hour to process. We use only the trimmings from around the Salmon fillet to ensure a high purity oil.
Once processed, the oil is sealed in our oxygen-blocking bottles, making it the freshest, highest quality fish oil available for pet owners. In fact, our salmon oil has the lowest oxidation level of any commercial oil assessed in independent tests.
Salmon oil can help to support your pet’s health by:
- Improving their coat condition
- Calming their skin
- Supporting heart health.
Evening Primrose oil
Contains Omega 6 GLA to nourish and replenish your cat's skin, improving skin condition and coat growth.
Evening Primrose oil is easily absorbed by the skin and can protect the skin’s moisture balance, helping to support soft, smooth, healthy-looking skin.
Sunflower oil
Contains Omega 6 linoleic acid to help maintain the skin's natural moisture barrier.
We include Sunflower oil in our YuDERM Cat supplement, as it helps to reduce dandruff and improve dry skin conditions.
Discover how we use these important natural oils to support pet health in our YuDERM range of skin supplements. Find out more here.