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Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are a requirement in everyone’s diet, for both human and animal. However, the body cannot produce EFAs on its own, so it must be added to the diet each day. The two most commonly known fatty acids are omega 3 (linoleic acid) and omega 6 (alpha-linoleic acid). The diets of our pets, like people, tend to include more omega 6 fatty acids rather than omega 3. This is an imbalance that needs to be improved upon.

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential as they help with the proper formation of cell membranes, cardiovascular functions, nourish the lining of the digestive tract, and work to keep your pet’s skin and coat smooth, soft and shiny. Another essential function of omega 3 fatty acids is that they work to reduce inflammatory problems in the body. If you find your pet’s coat is dull and brittle or if he/she tends to have dry skin and scratch a lot, it may be due to a lack of this particular fatty acid.

There are different types of essential fatty acid supplements that are available, however which kind you choose to supplement your dog or cat’s diet can be a bit of a dilemma.

Pure plant oils such as flax oil, evening primrose oil, safflower oil or a blend of plant oils is a good alternative to fish omega-3 fats. These should be “cold-pressed” oils, as opposed to oils that are typically extracted with chemical solvents. The problem with plant oils is that animals have a harder time converting the fatty acids to a form best used by the animal’s system.

Fish oils, such as salmon oil, halibut liver oil, or cod liver oil are more easily converted and used by an animal’s body. The downside is that fish oils often contain deadly toxins, including high levels of dangerous PCBs, dioxins and detectable levels of mercury. Farmed salmon is the worst for contamination and contains less omega 3 acids than wild salmon. At present nearly 30% of all fish are farmed, with salmon being in the 90% farmed range. As well, farmed salmon are often carriers of disease and parasites. When supplementing your pet’s diet with fish oils, choose oils that come from wild sources, not farmed.

There are also blended fish and plant oil supplements available. These often include a mixture of salmon or cod liver oil and flax, safflower or other such oils that provide a mixture of 3 to 4 parts omega 3 oils to 1 part omega 6 oils. Giving your animal a combination fish/plant supplement may be a good alternative to consider, as they should contain fewer toxins since they are not strictly fish oils, yet still should be better assimilated by the animal’s body than straight plant oils.

About the Author

Rose Smith operates several sites featuring natural and organic relief solutions for everyday health problems - both in humans and animals. If you would like to know more about natural dog health care visit http://www.caringforcanines.com.

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Carve out a market position to maximize your marketing investment

In the marketing world, positioning is a relatively new concept. Introduced in 1982 by marketing gurus, Al Ries and Jack Trout, the idea behind positioning is to clearly define what your practice represents to the patient. Through this unique position, a level of mindshare is devoted to your practice. These positioning efforts should clearly communicate what your practice offers.

Prior to the 1980’s, Madison Avenue advertising executives allocated as much money as they could to mass marketing and it worked pretty well. At that time, media venues included newspaper, billboards, radio and three major TV channels. Whoever purchased the most ad space won the battle for the consumer’s dollar. Today cable television and the Internet have fragmented the market and our attention into niches, irrevocably changing the face of marketing. Marketers now had to be smarter; shouting louder than everyone else was no longer effective. Positioning was born to define a product and service to a marketplace whose attention is increasingly more divided.

A good exercise to discern your practice’s position is to draw a series of four concentric circles. On the outer circle allow room for eight to ten descriptive words which describe your practice’s unique qualities. If you are an OB/GYN practice, the words may include 4D Ultrasound, experienced physicians, multiple locations, friendly staff, limited wait time and valet service. Within that circle, allow yourself six of those words that you deem most important to your patient base. Once this task is complete, move to the next circle allowing the three most important of the last six words. The last circle is designated for the most relevant descriptor of the final three words that you feel is of utmost importance. This one word or “core message” will help to reveal what your position or brand promise involves.

Unfortunately, it is not enough to build your core communications message around what you and your staff thinks. A patient survey will reveal what your patients perceive are the best assets of your practice and may reveal areas to be improved upon. Surveys also create a great deal of good will with patients because they are appreciative of the fact that your practice cares enough to gauge their happiness.

Once you have the results in from at least 200 surveys and your own core message evaluation in hand, a “visioning” process can take place. Mission and vision statements are important elements to a successful marketing plan. Too often, I hear that a mission statement was generated because, “everyone else had one!” A mission statement reveals what your practice’s promise to its patients, referring physicians, employees and vendors is in a one-year period. It is common to reevaluate and modify the mission statement as your practice grows. A vision statement is exactly what it sounds like; a five-year vision of what your practice will become. The vision helps all your employees to “keep their eyes on the prize”, enabling the practice to reach its fullest potential.

It is difficult for most practices to objectively understand how to position their business. The flurry of activity in a practice on a day to day basis limits time for true introspection like I’ve described within this article. Marketing is really about differentiating one product or service from another. In the medical marketplace you may have a competitor who offers almost identical services to yours. Development of a market position gives your practice a critical competitive advantage to help existing and potential patients to understand the difference in the two practices.

Once you’ve determined your practice’s core message, a positioning or tag line may be developed. This positioning statement is a succinct message that captures your practices core message. A positioning statement should be memorable and relevant to the core message. This six or seven word statement should appear on everything that a patient sees, from business cards to website to exterior signage.

A defined position is the beginning of a strong brand. It will help grease the communication wheels for maximization of your marketing impact, with less investment.

Woody Stoudemire is owner and president of Medical Marketing, a strategic marketing firm specializing in patient retention and growth for health care practices. He is a 17 year veteran of the marketing communications industry.
He may be reached at http://www.medicalmarketing.ws

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While signing legislation last week banning nearly all abortions, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds made a major statement about himself and the Religious Right. Governor Rounds stated,

“In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society.”

That is an astonishing hypocritical statement, when one considers the fact South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is one of the bleakest socio-economic places in North America and half of the 10 poorest counties in America are in South Dakota. Yes, that statistic is correct: Half of the 10 poorest counties in America are in South Dakota.

One has to wonder why five of South Dakota’s counties rank among the 10 poorest in the entire country, for a state whose leader implies that South Dakota is the epitome of a civilized society.

Sixty percent of families with children between the ages of 5 and 17 live below the federal poverty line in Shannon County, which encompasses most of Pine Ridge. In households defined as ‘female householder, no husband present,’ the number of children under 5 living in poverty is 68 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau poverty statistics.

Are these the children South Dakota governor, Rounds was speaking of when he poetically stated how a civilized people treats its ‘most vulnerable and most helpless?’

Life expectancy on the reservation is 47 for men and 56 for women due to the lack of adequate health care. These numbers instantly prompt us to think of the misfortune of a third-world nation and it would be difficult for anyone to believe it is a statistic from anywhere in the United States. Shannon County also has an infant mortality rate that is twice the national average. Child-welfare sources in Shannon County state infant mortality is up to five times higher than anywhere else in the United States.

Unemployment in Shannon County is consistently over 80 percent, adolescent suicide is four times the U.S. average and many families have no electricity or telephone. With winter temperatures 25 to 30 degress below zero and sometimes 50 degrees below zero with the wind chill factor, one wonders how anyone survives.

It is without doubt that those who are anti-choice are doing the least to support families and help children once they’re born, and the political leaders continue to live their real creed: “Love the fetus, ignore children’s needs.”

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, “If I’d Only Known…Sexual Abuse in or Out of the Family: A Guide to Prevention, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life’s challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

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