Chronic disease is growing exponentially in people and their pets today. There has been a dramatic rise in canine and feline obesity, arthritis, cancer, and diabetes and each share one underlying cause. Dr. Bessent will discuss why these diseases can all be attributed to oxidative stress and how incorporating antioxidants back into the average American pet diet can incite health and longevity.

Chris Bessent, DVM, MSOM, Dipl. OM, L.Ac. has over thirty years of experience in veterinary medicine. At the start of her career, she practiced traditional veterinary medicine, but seeing patient after patient that needed something other than traditional care could offer, she ventured into chiropractic, and from there, acupuncture and Chinese herbology.

With certificates in veterinary acupuncture, veterinary chiropractic and veterinary Chinese herbology, what she came to find in her own practice was that the more proactive she was with patients, supporting their health and wellness, the less reactive she had to be.
After more than a decade of using Chinese herbal combinations in her practice, Dr. Bessent founded Herbsmith Inc. An herbal supplement company, Herbsmith utilizes both proven scientific research and years of veterinary experience to provide innovative, natural solutions for the health and wellness of animals so that they live their best lives, longer.

Dr. Bessent then received her master’s and bachelor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nutrition, respectively. Understanding that food is the foundation of health, she combined the teachings of Eastern philosophy with her veterinary experience and founded The Simple Food Project. Based on food energetics, she formulated limited-ingredient, freeze-dried recipes using nothing but whole foods.

Currently, she divides her time between the Simple Food Project and Herbsmith, both of which are owned and operated out of her facilities in southeastern Wisconsin.