I’m sure you’ve wondered like I have, where our raw fed dogs get healthy amounts of vitamin C.
The truth is, contrary to what pet food companies, unknowing vets and many raw feeding “experts” tell you, your pet carnivore, like any other carnivore, does not need vitamin C aside from what they get from their raw diet of meats, bones and organs.
Below I’ll share with you some eye-opening studies on vitamin C, the benefits of vitamin C for dogs and where carnivores get those same benefits from other vitamins and minerals.
Your Raw Fed Dog is Not Alone
Carnivores as a whole get the benefits that vitamin C offers, from the little vitamin C they get from meats and organs and the same benefits of vitamin C from different vitamins. Humans who eat an extreme diet of only meat are in the same boat.
Have you heard of the carnivore diet? It’s an adaptation of the ketogenic diet that people are raving about. While humans eating a strictly carnivorous diet isn’t yet proven to be superior (or healthy), those who have severe food allergies are finding relief on the diet.
So, what do they do about getting their vitamin C? I’ll answer that below. First, let’s take a look at an overview of vitamin C.
What Is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin found in highest concentration in fruits and vegetables but also found in meats and organs. It acts as an antioxidant to neutralize free radicals and reduce the risk of inflammation and disease.
Vitamin C does a variety of things for the body, including the following:
- has powerful antioxidant properties
- reverses skin aging and promotes skin health
- reduces cholesterol levels
- helps prevent anemia
- boosts immunity
- improves heart health
- aids in the production of L-carnitine
- aids in the production of neurotransmitters
- aids in synthesizing collagen
The result of not getting enough vitamin C is scurvy. Scurvy can have some serious signs and symptoms, including:
- Slow wound healing
- Bleeding gums
- Easy bruising
- Fatigue
- Swollen gums
- Weakened immune system
- Frequent nosebleeds
- Dry, scaly skin
- Swollen joints
- Dry, splitting hair
- Gingivitis
With all of these serious signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency, how can any animal live without consuming a lot of vitamin C?
Glucose-Ascorbate Antagonism Theory (GAA Theory)
When we look at animals that make their own vitamin C, studies find that they make less vitamin C when their carbohydrate intake is low.
Low dietary carbohydrate intake would indicate a lower dietary vitamin C intake and presumably a higher need to make it endogenously.
Yet, studies show that the opposite is true.
The GAA theory suggests that more vitamin C is needed in a glucose-based metabolism. It also suggests that Vitamin C requirements are less in low-carbohydrate conditions.
The lower the carbohydrate intake, the less vitamin C is needed.
Vitamin C and Disease: Insights from the Evolutionary Perspective
The Journal of Evolution and Health released their findings on the dietary needs of vitamin C in people who consume a largely or strictly animal foods diet. Below is a summary of those results.
Vitamin C and Disease: Insights from the Evolutionary Perspective
“…an evolutionary adapted human diet based on meat, fat and offal would provide enough vitamin C to cover physiological needs and to ward off diseases associated with vitamin C deficiency.
Traditionally living arctic people represent extreme examples of animal food reliance. Among the Inuit scurvy was not observed until the 20th century [23]. Studies show that the traditional diets of northern populations, including the Inuit diet, provide enough amount of vitamin C. Fediuk [23], for example, reported an average intake of 38 mg of vitamin C/day from meat and organs. However, on special occasions such as after successful whale hunts intake may reach 340 mg/day [23].
Animal parts with highest vitamin C content include ”muktuk”, epidermis of the beluga whale (containing 36 mg/100 mg of vitamin C) and the liver (containing 24 mg/100 mg of vitamin C) as well as the brain (containing 15 mg/100 mg of vitamin C) of land and sea mammals [23,24].
Westernization of native societies brought substantial changes in lifestyle along with a decline in the access to traditional foods. In parallel, an increasing portion of the Inuit people became at risk for scurvy [23].
…not only native people may subsist on meat-fat based diets. It is known that arctic travelers of European descent living on canned Western type food were frequently affected by scurvy but this was not the case in those who had access to traditional foods [25].
The arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Steffanson, for example, lived on the Inuit diet for nine years and remained completely healthy. In 1930 an experiment was set up in which Steffanson along with a fellow explorer lived on an exclusive meat diet for one year [30]. No sign of vitamin deficiency, including scurvy, was noticed despite of the absence of vitamin supplementation.
Voegtlin, first proponent of the human evolutionary diet, put forward that the diet humans are evolutionarily adapted to is based on animal fat, meat and offal, and is of full nutritional value. Along with this, he argued against the usefulness of supplementing vitamin C [25].”
The paper goes on to explain the needs of vitamin C while eating a keto/paleolithic diet.
“…rehabilitating patients with chronic diseases by using a diet we refer to as the paleolithic ketogenic diet…The paleolithic ketogenic diet excludes foods that were not available for preagricultural humans such as cereal grains, milk and dairy, vegetable oils, nightshades, legumes, refined sugars and foods with additives. It also excludes foods that may be included in the popular versions of the paleolithic diet such as oilseeds, coconut, coconut oil, artificial sweeteners, vitamin as well as other supplements. We encourage red and fat meats and the regular intake of organ meats. Like other proponents of the paleolithic diet [25,26] we advise patients against taking vitamin C supplements. Our clinical experience… indicate that neither scurvy nor other nutritional deficiency emerge in the absence of vitamin C supplementation while adhering to the paleolithic ketogenic diet. As an important distinction, this is not the case with the classical form of the ketogenic diet where scurvy may occur [37] likely due to limited intake of both animal and plant sources of vitamin C.”
These findings are very important to take note of.
When a raw fed dog is fed an improper diet that includes plant matter, their bodies are unable to operate as they should. This can not only cause digestive upset in the short term, but it can also cause many illnesses and diseases in the long-run due to damage to the gut and increase in inflammation.
Many people who feed a raw diet to their dogs and cats ignore findings like the above and their pets suffer. They generally do so because they take the “so far so good” approach to their pets’ health.
“The absence of disease is not health.”
So, how then does your dog get the benefits that vitamin C provides? Through the vitamin C in meats and organs, and through vitamins and minerals that offer the same benefits as vitamin C for dogs.
First, let’s talk about the meats and organs with the highest vitamin C for dogs.
Here is a list of meats and organs with vitamin C values provided by the USDA. Keep in mind that these values are for commercially raised animals and these numbers are higher in grass-fed/pastured animals.
Meat from wild animals will also be significantly higher. The below list includes values from the most common commercially raised animals.
Note: If a meat or organ is not mentioned below, it’s due to the vitamin C content being especially low, making it insignificant to the USDA, for reporting purposes.
Values are per 1 oz. (28.35 grams)
Beef
- Beef Brain – 3.0 mg
- Beef Heart – 0.6 mg
- Beef Kidney – 2.7 mg
- Beef Liver – 0.4 mg
- Beef Lungs – 10.9 mg
- Beef Pancreas – 3.9 mg
- Beef Spleen – 12.9 mg
- Beef Tongue – 0.9 mg
Pork
- Pork Belly – 0.1 mg
- Pork Leg (whole/shank and sirloin) – 0.2 mg
- Pork Shoulder – 0.2 mg
- Pork Brain – 3.8 mg
- Chitterlings – 0.3 mg
- Pork Heart – 1.5 mg
- Pork Kidney – 3.8 mg
- Pork Liver – 7.2 mg
- Pork Lungs – 3.5 mg
- Pork Pancreas – 4.3 mg
- Pork Spleen – 8.1 mg
- Pork Tongue – 1.2 mg
Lamb
- Lamb Brain – 4.5 mg
- Lamb Heart – 1.4 mg
- Lamb Kidney – 3.1 mg
- Lamb Liver – 1.1 mg
- Lamb Lungs – 8.8 mg
- Lamb Pancreas – 5.1 mg
- Lamb Spleen – 6.5 mg
- Lamb Tongue – 1.7 mg
Chicken
- Chicken Meat and Skin – 0.5 mg
- Chicken Liver – 6 mg
- Chicken Giblets – 3.2 mg
- Chicken Gizzard – 0.9 mg
While your raw fed dog will get all the vitamin C he or she needs from the above sources, there are other vitamins and even a mineral with the same benefits as vitamin C for dogs.
Vitamin C for Dogs vs. Retinol for Dogs
Vitamin C and retinol are two powerful anti-oxidants. Retinol is actually a form of vitamin A. Like vitamin C, retinol has been shown to stimulate collagen synthesis to help reverse aging and wrinkles. This means that the main benefits of vitamin C for dogs are also found in retinol (vitamin A).
Retinol plays a role in vision, reproduction, bone growth and a healthy immune system.
Retinol Benefits
- Aids in Reproduction
- Boosts Bone Health
- Contains Cancer-Fighting Properties
- Keeps Skin Healthy
- Prevents Bladder Stones
- Promotes Tissue Repair
- Protects Eye Health
- Relieves Inflammation
- Supports Immunity
Where Your Raw Fed Dog Gets Retinol
- Beef Liver (liver from any herbivore or poultry)
- Other organs
- Egg yolks
- Cod Liver Oil
- King Mackerel
- Salmon
- Bluefin Tuna
- Trout
READ ALL ABOUT RETINOL FOR RAW FED DOGS
Vitamin C for Dogs vs Selenium for Dogs
Selenium is the only mineral that functions as an antioxidant. It regulates thyroid function and helps the immune system stay strong and healthy. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, selenium may reduce cancer risk and promote heart health. This means that the main benefits of vitamin C for dogs are also found in selenium.
Top Selenium Benefits for Dogs
- Acts as an Antioxidant
- Defends Against Oxidative Stress
- May Help Defend Against Cancer
- Boosts Immunity
- Improves Blood Flow
- Lowers Chance of Heart Disease
- Regulates Thyroid Function
- Increases Longevity
- Can Help Boost Fertility
Where Your Raw Fed Dog Gets Selenium
- Turkey
- Pork
- Grass-fed Beef
- Tuna
- Salmon
Conclusion on Vitamin C for Dogs
Vitamin C for dogs is not necessary in high amounts. Your raw fed dog’s diet of meats, bones and organs naturally does not require vitamin C beyond what your dog consumes through those foods. To increase antioxidants in your raw fed dog’s diet, make sure they’re eating vitamin A rich foods and selenium-rich foods.
The biggest change you can make to your raw fed dog’s diet is adding more wild or grass-fed meats and organs. The nutritional differences between wild or grass-fed animals, and factory farm raised animals is substantial.
Your dog is as healthy as the foods they consume.