Quercetin

When it comes to supporting your dog's health, natural remedies can be a valuable addition to their routine. One remedy that’s recently gained more attention is quercetin. This powerful antioxidant is found in many fruits, vegetables, and plants. 

But how does quercetin work, and why is it beneficial for your dog? Read on and we’ll explain!

What Is Quercetin? 

Quercetin is a flavonoid … a type of plant compound known for its antioxidant properties. 

It’s naturally present in various foods, including apples, berries, onions, broccoli, and green tea. 

As an antioxidant, quercetin helps neutralize harmful free radicals in the body, reducing oxidative stress and promoting cellular health. 

What Are Free Radicals?
Free radicals are unstable, damaged cells that are missing a critical molecule … which they steal from other cells to try to repair themselves. This harms the DNA in that cell and lowers your dog’s ability to resist disease. Free radicals are a normal result of metabolism, but when they spread too much, they cause inflammation and lead to chronic disease and early aging.

Antioxidants like quercetin help control free radicals, protecting your dog’s body from oxidative stress. This helps lower inflammation and slow the aging process, and helps prevent disease.

How Quercetin Helps With Allergies

Why give your dog quercetin? One of the main reasons is its antihistamine effects that can help manage allergies in dogs. 

Wheat, soy and corn and some proteins are common food allergens in dogs. You may see itching and other skin issues or digestive problems like vomiting or diarrhea. Some dogs react to environmental allergens like pollen from trees, grass or weeds. Mold, dust, cleaning chemicals and insect bites are other causes. 

When allergies happen, it’s because your dog’s immune system reacts to normal, harmless everyday substances as if they were dangerous allergens.  Allergens can be in something your dog eats, breathes, or absorbs through his skin … in other words, food or environmental allergens.

Types Of Dog Allergies
When your dog is exposed to these allergens, his immune system tries to get rid of the allergen by releasing histamines. Histamines lead to inflammatory reactions like skin irritation, or digestive or respiratory problems. 

Symptoms include licking or chewing the paws, itchy skin ear infections, watery eyes … and usually a ton of scratching.

When this happens, your vet may suggest giving your dog an antihistamine like Benadryl to suppress his symptoms of discomfort … or worse, a risky allergy drug like Apoquel that works by turning off part of your dog’s immune system. 

But you don’t need to resort to potentially harmful pharmaceuticals … because quercetin is known as “Nature’s Benadryl” – and with good reason. 

It turns out quercetin can turn off histamine production and help manage the allergic response in your dog’s body. The result is less inflammation … and less itching!

Quercetin also helps with breathing problems that stem from allergies, by helping dilate the bronchial tubes that get restricted during an asthma attack. 

Other Benefits Of Quercetin For Dogs

Here are some other benefits of quercetin for your dog. 

1. Anti-Inflammatory Support: Quercetin has been studied for its potential anti-inflammatory effects. This comes from its antioxidant effects. By reducing free radicals that leas to inflammation, quercetin can help alleviate symptoms associated with common conditions in dogs such as arthritis, allergies, and skin irritations.

Immune System Support: Quercetin may support immune system function by boosting immune cells’ responses to pathogens. It’s been shown to enhance the activity of natural killer cells and macrophages, which identify and eliminate pathogens, viruses, and abnormal cells in your dog’s body. 

1. Cardiovascular Health: Quercetin may also have cardiovascular benefits for dogs. It works by supporting healthy blood pressure levels and promote cardiovascular function by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in blood vessels.
2. Cognitive Function: Lastly, quercetin may have neuroprotective properties and could potentially support cognitive health in dogs. It may help protect brain cells from oxidative damage and improve memory and cognitive performance.
3. Anti-Cancer: Polyphenols in fruits and vegetables are valuable in helping prevent cancer. Studies show that the anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoids like quercetin can inhibit cancer cell growth in several types of cancers.

How To Give Your Dog Quercetin

Quercetin is in many fruits and vegetables, like dark berries, apples (especially the skin), citrus fruits, dark cherries and parsley. You can include these foods in your dog’s regular meals, giving them as up 10% of his diet. Food sources of quercetin are well recognized and absorbed by the body.

You can buy quercetin supplements at health stores. Some are quercetin dihydrate, which is water-insoluble and may be less absorbable than other kinds. Quercetin supplements are often packaged with the enzyme bromelain, to increase the bioavailability of quercetin.

If you buy a supplement packaged for dogs, follow the manufacturer's dosing instructions. If you buy a supplement made for people, assume recommended dosage is for a 150 lb person, and adjust for your dog’s weight. Start with a low dose to make sure your dog doesn’t get any digestive upset.