No Grains?

Carnivores cannot maintain long term production of the quantity of amylase enzyme necessary to properly digest and utilize the carbohydrates. In addition, the proteins in grains are less digestive than animal proteins. As a result, the immune system becomes irritated and weakened by the invasion of foreign, non-nutritive protein and carbohydrate particles. Allergies and other chronic immune problems may develop. The pet’s pancreas will do its best to keep up with the demand for amylase. What does this pancreatic stress do over a long time? I don’t know, but it cannot be good. I suspect that dental calculus may be another problem promoted by grain consumption. “ Russell Swift, DVM

No Grains? This is a common question which we at Pets 4 Life and Aunt Jeni’s Home Made are faced with daily. We are very much opposed to having grains in a pet food used everyday. In our opinion from thorough research and by looking at the grain composition itself, grains offer very little nutrition for the dog or cat. Too many times when examining pet food labels, the first ingredient will be meat but when you look at the next three to four ingredients they tend to be grain-based. Therefore, the meat soon becomes a minority with three or four grains composing the diet. Meat is an important ingredient for a dog or cat’s diet. Typically, our cats and dogs are not getting enough meat in their diet. The pet food diets are primarily composed of grains which promotes ill health as discussed below. To feed grains every now and then is fine but to have it as the main dietary ingredient of your pet’s everyday diet is not satisfactory. Grains should be eliminated from the eveyday diet of your pet for reasons of grain composition, nutritional qualities and pet health.

Grains are not a dietary necessity for your dog or cat. Pat McKay states, “I now believe as well as many holistic veterinarians that grains are not necessary for carnivores, because the nutrients found in grains are readily available from the meat, bones and vegetables and supplements already provided in the raw food program.” Grains are composed of soluble and in-soluble fiber. In-soluble fiber is beneficial because it cleanses the colon and keeps the lower digestive tract healthy. Soluble fiber is generally made of starch which lends itself to sugar. Dr. Ian Billinghurst, DVM states, “Unfortunately, starch, once cooked, has a reaction in the body not much different to feeding pure sugar. That is, such products fed over a long period of time are likely to cause any disease which can be attributed to a diet high in soluble carbohydratesþ particularly sugar diabetes. This is particularly true of breads, especially white breads. Of the grains, it is the very popular rice which acts most like sugar.”The excess sugar means that the body has to deal with getting rid of this “energy”. It can store it as fat, or it can use it as energy, or it can get rid of it as “waste”. It means the body has to work harder to use this excess energy. Why put it in the body if it doesn’t need it? The body gains energy much easier from fat. Fat is found in many whole foods such as flaxseed and meat. As well, energy can come from protein. Protein and fat are much better energy sources for your dog or cat. As well, when you have too much sugar in the body, the hormones insulin and glucagon have to work harder to manage the excess. “Unfortunately, rice, the most popular of the grains that people feed their dogs, is the one with the lowest levels of protein, and possibly the poorest quality protein.”, says Dr. Ian Billinghurst, DVM.

The pH of the body is influenced as well. Grains tend to be very alkaline because of increase soluble fiber (sugar). Grains elevate the pH of the body leading to disease. Cats definitely need an acidic urine pH to prevent urinary disorders (FUS/FLUTD). Dogs urine pH should be slightly acidic. pH is essential to establishing homeostasis (balance) in the body tissues and fluids (blood, urine, etc). Excess sugars are also a problem with dental disease. It is not the hard kibble that prevents tartar but rather the sugar-less foods which prevent tartar/tooth decay. This is an important reason why Home Made 4 Life pet food is healthier for our pets. Dogs and cats do not have the teeth or necessary salivary enzyme (amylase) to digest grains properly. If whole grains were consumed they would be excreted whole by the dog or cat which proves how indigestible whole grains can be.

Vegetables provide a large amount of insoluble fiber. Hence we added vegetables into the Home Made 4 Life diet. The vegetables given to our pets, via Home Made 4 Life, are pre-juiced to resemble that which they would have found in the stomach of their kill. Pre-juicing vegetables makes the vegetables more digestible, better assimilated and absorbed within the gut. Grains tend to be highly indigestible without cooking them. When you cook them you alter the chemical composition of the grains and hence lose most of their nutritious qualities. As well, pets can receive some benefit from vegetables because they are chalked full of nutrients. We tried to put only the ingredients into the Home Made 4 Life diet that we felt pets could truly benefit from.

As well grains in our diets are not “natural” they are highly processed. They are not what would be found in the “wild”. This is a huge difference. When I think of food now I think of whole foods. Food which is taken directly from the land and does not enter a manufacturing plant. Wild cats and wild dogs used to forage on grasses and green twigs years before they became domesticated. They did not consume oatmeal porridge, white rice, or cooked grains. There is a huge difference between eating directly from the land and eating directly from the factory. We have forgotten about where food comes from. It is time to reap the benefits of Mother Nature again.

Grains cause too many health problems. According to Dr. Ian Billinghurst, DVM, “There is much circumstancial and direct evidence linking the consumption of both of them (Grains and Legumes) in large amounts to many disease problems suffered by modern dogs. Unfortunately, grain based diets are implicated in all sorts of allergies and other health problems such as arthritis and cancer in human beings.” They can contribute to the ill-effects of allergies, obesity, indigestion, etc. Allergies occur because the body does not recognize the nutrient it is exposed too. Cooking, as mentioned previously, alters the chemical composition of the food. Kibble pet food is over-cooked and highly processed. Grains must be cooked in order to be digested. Therefore, most of the nutrients presented to the dog or cat is in an altered state. The dog’s and cat’s body must try to distinguish whether the food coming into the gut is usuable or toxin. Many times the digestive tract does not recognize the ‘altered’ food given and treats it as a toxin. The body must work at eliminating this toxin. Toxins must exit the body via urine, stool, skin, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. Therefore, the pet owner will see infections, diarrhea, constipation, skin problems, allergies, urinary infections/incontinence, etc. We often think it is just our pet having a bad day when in fact it is our pet eating poor quality pet food which doesn’t promote health but rather degrades health. Why not give our pet’s food which their body recognizes as food? Also, let’s give our pet food which is highly digestible, easily assimilated and absorbed which will allow our pet to play, heal and enjoy life rather than concentrate on digesting it’s food. A homemade diet easily does this and will most definitely build the immune system to prevent disease.

Here are some questions to consider: Can grains build our immune system? No. Can grains build muscle? No. Can grains repair cells? No. Can grains help soothe skin problems? No. Can grains offer dogs or cats proper nutrition? No. Are grains a typical filler in our pet’s diets? Yes. Does the current pet food you feed your dog or cat have 1 grain in it? The answer is most likely Yes. Is the grain in your pet’s food more “whole” (spelt, quinoa, barley, brown rice, etc)? Most likely No. Are the grains we feed our dog or cat “natural”? No. Can your pet derive any nutritional benefit from grains? I will leave this for you to answer.

Grains are not a dietary necessity in a dog or cat’s diet. They cause too many health problems such as allergies, skin problems, diarrhea, alter pH, infections, etc. We should truly consider giving our dog or cat food they can truly derive benefit from. I have seen it time and time again. We eliminate grains from the diet and our pets soon feel and look well. Grains do not provide the nutrition required in fact they provide too many simple carbohydrates in the diet which can lead too dental disease, obesity, diabetes, etc. If we simply provide only the nutrients our pets truly need then our pets will truly be healthy. It is time to truly consider what we feed our pets and go back to nature. After all , our pets do depend on us for their pet food. Please go to your pet food and check the label carefully. If there is one ingredient on that label you are unsure of, please think about why you are feeding it to your pet. If you need further help with deciphering your pet’s food label, please contact Pets 4 Life at info@pets4life.com for help. Your pet is important to us.

References:

Holistic veterinary and optimum pet nutrition
“The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care” by C. J. Puotinen
“Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats” by Richard H. Pitcairn & Susan Hubble Pitcairn
“Reigning Cats and Dogs” Pat McKay
“Give Your Dog A Bone” by Ian Billinghust
“Grow Your Pups With Bones” by Ian Billinghurst
Lew Olson’s article: Dogs - Anatomy of a Carnivore and Dietary Needs
Pet Foods’ Insidious Consequences by Tom Lonsdale