Question: What's the single most important thing dog owners can do to support their dog's health before the visible signs of aging appear - and why does starting early make such a difference?

"Over the last few decades, we have gained a much better understanding of the complexity of the aging process. Research from the Dog Aging Project and at other institutions and organizations show that dogs and humans share common age-related patterns; a translational research bridge for advancing human and veterinary medicine in parallel.

One area of aging research focuses on how cells function during the aging processes.

Most cells contain little energy factories called mitochondria.

Mitochondria need the right mix of nutrients from our diet to make energy for cells, and it is well known that when mitochondria don't function well our cells pay the price.

The simple answer is that healthy nutritional diet can keep the mitochondria healthy, one way to support healthy aging.

Although it’s never too late, adopting healthy nutritional intake early is better to help slow down age-related changes."