The exciting parallels between animal and human nutrition

Throughout my career journey in the animal nutrition business, I have seen a lot of parallels between animal nutrition and human nutrition. The obsession that humans have with healthy (anti)-aging, sports nutrition and “just feeling great”, may look far away from raising farm animals and its focus on animal performance and profitability. Yet, both humans and animals often consume the same type of ingredients in their diet to do well.?

Supplements (the term used in human nutrition) and feed additives (as used in animal nutrition) are there to improve health and well-being of the host that consumes them. An increasing number of these products take the antioxidant approach. Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals and chain reactions that may damage the cells of organisms ??. Free radicals are formed as the result of both endogenous (such as cancer, mental stress) and exogenous sources (such as smoking, radiation). An excessive amount of free radicals give oxidate stress and may lead to diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease in humans. In animals, oxidative stress may lead to a?decreased milk production and a drop in reproductive performance for example.?

?? So, if your body cells are OK, you are OK.???

I remember the first time that a parallel between human and animal nutrition became very clear to me. I was at the Alltech annual conference in the US, where they handed out Selenium (Se) supplements for human use in the “goodie bag” we received in the press room. Se is a strong antioxidant. The company was already well-known for producing Se-based feed additives for farm animals and the associated benefits on zootechnical performance, but taking Se was just as important for humans, as explained by the late Pearse Lyons during the opening session of the conference. He addressed that Se levels in the soil differ around the world and this has an effect on how much of the Se enters the food chain from livestock feed, meat, milk and eggs, and the end consumer. This was a trip I made around 11 years ago. Earlier this year, Alltech announced the launch of its subsidiary Acutia to provide high-quality supplements for humans that enhance everyday nutrition and improve long-term wellness.???

Since then, I see more parallels between production animals and humans popping up in the ‘supplement world’. Take Astaxanthin for example. This red-orange carotenoid pigment is a powerful biological antioxidant that occurs naturally in a wide variety of living organisms. In animal nutrition, it has been used for many years in farmed salmon and crustaceans to compensate for the pigments that they would normally consume with certain algae in the wild. In human nutrition, Astaxanthin is used as a strong anti-aging supplement. Learning from the insights gained in humans, this ingredient also has potential to boost fish health and performance. And this has sparked more dedicated research in fish nutrition around this antioxidant, as done by several research groups in Australia. Exciting! In the meantime, I ordered a bag of Astaxanthin supplements for my home office. ?? Won't hurt right?

Another one that is worth mentioning is Creatine. Although it is less of an antioxidant, but more of an energy source (the human and animal body forms it from amino acids), it is really interesting to see how this supplement is also finding its way in animal nutrition. Creatine is well-known in sports nutrition as an effective way to increase intramuscular creatine concentrations (on top of the creatine the body produces itself), leading to athletic and exercise improvement, enhanced post-exercise recovery, injury prevention and more. In animal nutrition, creatine is seen as an important energy source that can help animals at different stages where there is extra need for energy. This can be during an environmental challenge or during hatch and the first days after. Creamino is a great example of a creatine source that is used effectively in animal nutrition today. And no, I haven’t ordered a bag of creatine for my own consumption (as I am more of a (longer) distance runner ??♀? than a gym person ??).?

In closing, it is interesting to see the parallels between human and animal nutrition and the focus on cellular nutrition (keeping cells happy and in balance) in both worlds. And we can definetely learn more from each other's R&D and insights. I only mentioned a few examples here, but there are many other potent antioxidants that are used for both humans and animals that are sold in the form of supplements or feed additives. Think of zinc, vitamins and its precursors such as beta-carotene, carotenoids, and a variety of plant extracts and essential oils. But humans should not forget the ‘normal foods’ to grave on. Blueberries, citrus fruits ??, matcha tea, dark chocolate (??), kale, beans, and beets are just a few of the food choices that are packed with the good stuff and will give you an antioxidant boost for sure. And this is proabably where the parallel ends. Humans make their own food choices and some choose to take the healthy route, including the kale, matcha and the supplements to top it off. Others don’t bother. Farm animals have the luxury that a well-balanced and healthy diet is often formulated for them, backed by years of R&D done in animal and human nutrition.?