02/05/2023
ARE YOU STILL TUCKED UP IN BED?! I'M NOT. I LEAPT OUT THIS MORNING TO HAVE A WEE RANT...
Going to call this one "Poorina Neurocare IS science..."
Over the last few years, there seems to be a movement of telling people not to involve themselves in matters of health, not to question, not to research, to leave it to the "professionals". Thank God most of us don't listen to that industry line. Social media has completely changed the terrain in that regard. I'll do what I bloody well want!!! Thankfully, many of you agree, happily wandering over to Google Scholar to dig up all sorts of treasures that might counter the narrative.
Yesterday I mentioned it seems the less carbs the better you feed humans with epilepsy and questioned why the hell you would feed a meat-eater suffering seizures an ultra-processed, HIGH carb diet. Then followers start posting dog studies underneath, throwing multiple bones at me.
Eg this: In 2015, big dry food (this time Nestle Purina) compared a group of dogs fed their standard kibble for dogs to a group fed the same muck...I mean kibble, but this time with some MCT oil added.
This is, as I hope most of you now can quickly identify, is a petfood typical UNFALSIFIABLE COMPARISON study, the very backbone of what constitures evidence in dry pet food land.
Why did these scientists add MCT oil? Because MCT oil is long known to reduce seizures in epileptic patients, particularly when it brings the fat content up to around 4:1 (4 parts fat to 1 part protein/carbs, on an energy basis), putting the patient in ketosis, i.e. fat-burning mode, a very natural state for a dog or cat to be in, being meat eaters (which is THE ketosis diet).
And what did these intrepid scientists find? A nice reduction in seizures...
"Seizures in 21 dogs were reduced significantly following a ketogenic diet for 3 months (whereas no improvement was seen in dogs fed a standard diet for the same duration). In 3/21 seizures appeared to stop entirely. In 7/21 dogs, seizures decreased by at least 50% and another 5 dogs experienced a lower seizure frequency overall."
Pretty good!! Not quite as good as the stats yesterday on 20 human children (2 patients were seizure-free, 3 had ≥ 90% seizure reduction, 5 had a reduction of 50-89%) but then, those kids were fed real food.
Studies show dry food is highly inflammatory compared to raw (see comments) but whether that's the lack of good quality protein, poor quality fats, lack of omega 3, bevvy of strange chemicals used in its creations, mycotoxins, glyphosate or MRP content, lack of bioactive compounds etc etc, all known to be highly inflammatory and assumed to aggravate epilepsy, we don't know. So, in reality, the fact this kibble worked in any of the poor, fitting dogs fed it is a colossal nod towards the power of ketosis.
Somehow, the takeaway for the average vet is NOT to move the dog suffering seizures into ketosis (feed them raw....aaaannd, you're done), suggest to the owner they add some very proven, very simple, very cheap and nutritious neutraceuticals such as MCT oil (and CBD!) and ideally reduce the amount of seizure-inducing s**t they sell them on the way out (flea and worm chemicals for fitting dogs with no fleas and worms, boosters for already vaccinated individuals, etc).
No. No. The takeaway for the vet sector, it seems, is to reach for a bag of grossly over-priced kibble (one that may or may not contain a life-threatening amount of vitamin D from a conical flask https://newscenter.purina.com/2023-02-08-NESTLE-PURINA-PETCARE-COMPANY-VOLUNTARILY-RECALLS-PURINA-PRO-PLAN-VETERINARY-DIETS-EL-ELEMENTAL-DRY-DOG-FOOD-IN-THE-U-S-DUE-TO-POTENTIALLY-ELEVATED-VITAMIN-D)..and I guess manage the rest of the fits with the latest, most patented (most expensive) drugs.
So now, thanks to SCIENCE, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Nestle Purina Neuro Care which is CLINICALLY PROVEN (and it is, very sadly, clinically proven...study below...but as ever, WHAT was clinically proved...?!) to offer marginal benefit to your poor, suffering pet.
While Neuro Care may appear EXTREMELY SIMILAR to their standard stuff (at 1/3 of the price), rest assured this product has added MCT oil and lots of.....well.....errrrrr.......SCIENCEY words and captions on the bag.
Let's look at the claims the Poorina website makes for their latest movement. It reads:
- Formulated with medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil
- Enhanced with a unique blend of nutrients and medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil
- Antioxidant-rich nutrition supports the immune system, including a high level of vitamin E
- EPA + DHA, omega-3 fatty acids, to help support brain health
- Chicken is the #1 ingredient
- High in protein to help maintain lean muscle mass
- Great taste
Wow! Sounds cool. But to break each one of these down a little for you:
🚽 Formulated with medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil 🚽
OK
🚽 Enhanced with a unique blend of nutrients and medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil 🚽
YES, YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT
🚽 Antioxidant-rich nutrition supports the immune system, including a high level of vitamin E 🚽
YOU ADDED VITAMIN E BECAUSE THE HIGHER FAT CONTENT DEMANDS IT. WITHOUT IT THE DOGS WILL GET SICK AND DIE.
🚽 EPA + DHA, omega-3 fatty acids, to help support brain health 🚽
THESE ARE ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS. YOU ARE OBLIGED TO PUT THEM IN. EVERY DRY FOOD DOES IT...SORT OF (SADLY, 1/4 OF COMPLETE DRY FOODS AVAILABLE TODAY CONTAIN ZERO OMEGA 3).
🚽 Chicken is the #1 ingredient 🚽
THIS IS WINDING ME UP..."CHICKEN" IS THE #1 INGREDIENT?!! YOU GUYS ARE STILL USING THAT LINE?! FOLKS, THE NEXT FOUR INGREDIENTS ARE COMPLETELY INDIGESTIBLE CORN GLUTEN MEAL, BREWERS RICE, CORN AND WHEAT!!!! THIS IS CALLED STACKING. IT'S A WAY TO MOVE THE MEAT INGREDIENT HIGHER UP THE LIST. NOT ONLY A TOUCH MISLEADING BUT WITH ALL WE KNOW OF SEIZURES, THESE ARE CERTAINLY NOT THE SORT OF INGREDIENTS WE WANTED TO SEE IN THERE.
🚽 High in protein to help maintain lean muscle mass 🚽
OHH YOU'RE TAKING THE MICK NOW. ASIDE THE FACT A LOT OF THIS PROTEIN COMES FROM CORN GLUTEN PULP WHICH IS COMPLETELY INDIGESTIBLE BY DOGS, THIS PRODUCT IS ONLY 29% PROTEIN!!! IT'S AROUND 40% CARBS!!!! THIS MAY BE "HIGH" WHEN COMPARED TO THE STUFF THEY USUALLY PUT OUT, BUT THIS DOESN'T HAVE HALF THE PROTEIN OF RAW DOG FOOD (AND STILL MANAGES TO BE TWICE THE PRICE).
🚽 🚽 🚽 🚽 Great taste 🚽 🚽 🚽 🚽
CAN'T SPEAK AS VOMITING. RAGE VOMIT. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY.
REFERENCE
Law TH, Davies ES, Pan Y, et al. A randomised trial of a medium-chain TAG diet as treatment for dogs with idiopathic epilepsy. Br J Nutr 2015;114:1438–47
