Wholesome Pet Food

27/06/2024

Dogs First is a great site to follow for your pet's health.

RAW V DRY EXPERIMENT UPDATE...
I just posted this little note below on Experiment .com where our study resides (you can learn more about this study using the link in the comments). With all your support, Dogs First managed to raise $50,000 (one of the highest funded studies on the platform...) to run the world's first retrospective analysis of the health status of hundreds of dogs fed dry and raw food, remember that?!

The update reads...

"Hello all, hope you (and your pets) are doing well.

First, the team would like to express how deeply grateful we are for your patience to date. As we explained in our previous note, one of the team had to deal with a very serious health issue which has put us back months. But now we are back up and running.

After a preliminary look at the dataset, we realised we needed extra help extracting the necessary data from the patient notes system that countless vets worldwide use today. It requires a specialists input. We have contacted the company involved and have finally got our hands on the person who can make that happen.

We had a WONDERFUL meeting with this person, who walked us through what is possible, and the news is relatively good. A treasure trove of data but not exactly in the form we need it.

So, the wonderful Vicky is now working with said company to get the data in order so that we can run our stats on it. But even just looking at what's there has given us a lot of exciting rabbit holes to explore.

I just wanted to tell you our tails are now up. We are moving now and hope, shortly, to give you an update on the precise data we are harvesting.

The dream is, once we pave the road with HOW vets can do this, that others will follow with their own data.

Imagine data from 100 veterinary hospitals? 1000?

We will be back soon as soon as we know more. Thanks again folks, onwards and upwards (and, occasionally, sidewards...)

Conor, Vicky & Rich."

01/02/2024

Do you really think raw food is dangerous?

10/11/2023

Be aware!!! Protect your pets!!!!

13/05/2023

27/04/2023

Why rice is unhealthy for your pets?!!! REad the article

I have to admit I have some strong opinions. And I know some of my opinions are completely contrary to “everything you read on the Internet“. But there’s always a reason I disagree.

So what am I talking about today? Rice.

It’s everywhere. Even conventional veterinarians who are adamantly opposed to people food, they’ll tell you “feed chicken and rice“ if your dog has a sensitive stomach or diarrhea or some thing like that.

What’s my problem? There are three aspects that I feel should also be covered:

First, rice is definitely bland for us humans. That BRAT diet thing. Banana, rice, applesauce, toast. So if we have the flu, we’re supposed to eat these bland foods. That’s for humans! There are times what works for humans works for dogs and cats. In the case of a sensitive stomach, it’s absolutely not the case!

Why is that? You might ask

Humans produce lots of amylase. Amylase is a digestive enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates. Specifically rice. Dogs and cats have very little amylase by comparison. And if their intestines are messed up, dogs and cats have even less amylase. So if you feed them rice and their guts are screwed up, you’re likely to make things even worse!

Some people think rice is a good binder. Plug the dog up. I would argue with you that cheese is more likely to plug up the system.
But if you wanted some thing that’s socially acceptable and a little bit easier to digest and known to help with diarrhea: how about canned pumpkin?

So when we’re talking general dietary distress and look at the chicken and rice concept, I would argue that it’s more appropriate to feed chicken. Only. Unless of course the dog or cat is sensitive to chicken.

What do we use rice for? Me personally I think it makes my sushi rolls taste absolutely fabulous! But if I eat 75% carbohydrates at every meal, like many common dog food diets, I won’t fit through my front door. Because most dogs and cats are neutered, they no longer have the hormonal driven ability to maintain lean, muscular body weight. They are like post menopausal women. Say the word carbohydrate and we all get fat.

We can try to argue that there is nutritional value in rice. Let’s be real. It’s primarily a very cheap filler, AKA a source of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates turn into sugar. Excess sugar is stored as fat. Rice makes us fat.

Now here’s my pet peeve. To explain this, I’m going to give a short science lesson. (by the way, every veterinarian, physician, nurse, chiropractor, healthcare, professional, learns this information the very first year of medical training. Maybe they forget?)

Food is primarily made up of protein, fat and carbohydrate. Sure, there’s a little bit of vitamins and minerals but it’s mostly protein, fat and carbohydrate. So we eat our food. It goes into the stomach. A well functioning stomach has high levels of acid. The acid breaks proteins down into tiny little pieces called amino acids. The amino acids are absorbed by the body and turned back into muscle. Like, you know, muscle. Or the heart. Because the heart is a muscle. Next the food goes into the small intestines. The duct from the gallbladder is right across the intestinal street from the duct from the pancreas. The gallbladder contains bile. Bile breaks down fat.

So what’s left? That’s right. Carbohydrates. The primary job of the pancreas is to digest carbohydrates! Not fat. Not proteins. Sure, the pancreas has a small function of digesting fat and protein; the primary job of the pancreas is to digest carbohydrates!

So if a dog has an upset stomach, it’s always possible that it has a pi**ed off pancreas. If there’s any possibility at all that the dog has a pi**ed off pancreas, why in the world would we feed rice which makes the pancreas even more pi**ed off?

Now you’re probably asking yourself why in the world your veterinarian told you that pancreatitis was a fat problem? That is a beautiful question! There is a blood test to evaluate the function of the pancreas. It measures pancreatic lipase. (Lipase is an enzyme that digests fat – AKA lipid.) So if the pancreatic lipase is high, the dog has pancreatitis. But it doesn’t mean the illness is a lipid or fat issue, it just means the lipase is high, but we absolutely need to stop feeding freaking carbohydrates because the primary enzyme made in the pancreas is amylase.

Why are 99.7% of veterinarians continuing to tell people that their dog has pancreatitis and absolutely must avoid fat? Marketing. Pure and simple.

It’s the pet food companies teaching the veterinarians that it’s a fat problem. And it’s a matter of forgetting the first year of veterinary school. I kid you not. Every single veterinary student learns in physiology class first year of vet school the primary function of the pancreas is carbohydrates metabolism.

So please. Skip the rice. It’s a cheap filler, has very little nutritional benefit and could be making things worse especially in dogs with pancreatitis.

27/04/2023

Veterinary prescription diets benefit no other than the establishment selling them. Dry food only leads to further chronic disease in cats and dogs. Stop paying someone for keeping your pets unhealthy. Invest in real nutrition. Species-specific diet for whole wellness. https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=311666779747447

19/04/2023

so true!!

15/04/2023

If you feed kibble to your pets, you should watch this movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6LKP9Prfrs&ab_channel=GravitasHEALTH%7CFreeMovies

The film is an in depth look at the commercial pet food industry, it's lack of regulation, and how is has evolved over the years, as it is now owned mostly b...

26/03/2023

The Alarming Toxic Chemicals Lurking Inside Pet Food Bags
https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/pet-food-bags-toxic-chemicals/?ui=86ad8a91e6fa08ee403a8d0ce9a8ec3f16fdec4f8c3414bcf37c26e5cf5d6674&sd=20211113&utm_source=petsnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1HL&utm_campaign=20230326Z1

If your pet's food comes out of a bag, you need to know about this warning by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Recent testing detected at least seven potentially toxic chemicals on 11 pet food packages from seven pet food brands that could place both you and your pet at risk.

22/03/2023

What is an “obligate carnivore?”
An obligate carnivore is an animal that by its genetic makeup must eat the tissue of other animals in order to thrive. Everything about the cat is defined by its role as an apex hunter. Cats have evolved unique anatomic, physiologic, metabolic, and behavioral adaptations consistent with eating a strictly carnivorous diet. Some examples:
Cats have a higher protein requirement than even most other carnivores.
Cats cannot downregulate protein metabolism. If they do not get enough meat-based protein, they rob their own muscles for it.
Cats must have preformed arginine and taurine (amino acids which humans synthesize). A lack of these in the diet rapidly causes blindness and death: only animal protein provides these at levels cats require.
Cats lack the digestive enzymes necessary to derive anti-inflammatory benefit from plant-based omega 3s. Flax seed is a current popular addition to cat foods – it is marketed to humans as being one of the plant sources highest in omega 3s, yet cats are unable to access the EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) within it. The omega 3 in plants is in the form of ALA (alpha-linoleic acid). According to Dr. Jean Hofve, in IVC Journal (Summer 2015) "while ALA has beneficial effects of its own (particularly on skin and coat health)... even though ALA is technically a precursor of EPA and DHA, dogs and especially cats have an extremely limited capacity for converting it (no more than 1% to 2% for EPA and virtually 0% for DHA after weaning). Only marine-sourced oils (fish oil, cod liver oil, krill oil, green-lipped mussel oil, and some algae oils) contain the pre-formed EPA and DHA that our carnivorous animals can absorb and utilize. Cats and dogs must receive EPA and DHA directly." To derive the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, cats must have preformed omega 3s, available only from animal tissue.
Cats lack the digestive enzymes necessary to derive benefit from plant-based sources of vitamin A and must have preformed vitamin A from animal tissue. Vitamin A comes from two sources: retinoids (animal-based) and carotenoids (plant-based). Cats cannot convert carotenoids (like beta carotene) into usable vitamin A. Cats cannot access the vitamin A from common ingredients we see in cat foods such carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach, and kale.
Cats do not synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, and their bodies use vitamin D from animal tissues (cholecalciferol) much more efficiently than plant-based vitamin D (ergocalciferol).
Cats appear to have a carb threshold,
Energy from carbohydrates cannot replace needed energy from protein.
The sugar transporter in cats’ intestines is nonadaptive to changes in dietary carbohydrate levels.
Salivary amylase, the enzyme used to initiate digestion of dietary starches (carbohydrates) is absent in cats, and intestinal amylase appears to be exclusively derived from the pancreas. In fact, cats have just one pathway for digesting carbohydrates (compared to dogs and people, who have multiple pathways). Of course, these enzymes are not necessary in a prey-based diet with minimal starch content.
The level of pancreatic amylase is only 5% that of dogs.
The evolutionary history of the cat indicates they have eaten a purely carnivorous diet throughout their entire development. It is critical to their long term health that we understand cats are a metabolically inflexible carnivore.

11/03/2023

Great write-up.

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

14/02/2023

Dry food is extremely unhealthy for cats and is an underlying cause of many chronic and acute health conditions. http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and-food/no-kibble/?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR2KXZ6Wd0V1dZWhUuf349ZbZvu748APpm867tnNiYQ6veTtrABeBPttHrw

30/01/2023

The veterinary industry became part of the global commercial pet food market. Do your own research, use common sense and protect your pets. https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/articles/has-your-vet-been-brainwashed?fbclid=IwAR1zAyRrBFO1WOCtby8DviulNYp4gm6_m_RgrLYfDrdY9RegvsgwQhtA9JA

If your vet has recommended a specialist veterinary or prescription diet for your pet, you are not alone. In this article we'll be looking at what veterinary foods are, who makes them and the extraordinary lengths these companies have gone to to ensure that their foods are the only ones on your vet'...

28/01/2023

BE AWARE!!! PROTECT YOUR PETS!!!

24/01/2023

Do you really know what is in your pet's commercial snack? All our treats are 100% natural with no additives!!
https://www.checkyourpetfood.com/fdbeeftreatcopper?fbclid=IwAR0zg_QTPVlZUZJlpx1uCP9uQPn1bvyuBiSqm8EiO-xH96EhVy7msS_FSfk

Freeze dried beef liver treats have been popular training treats for decades. They are convenient, readily available, and of high value for many dogs.

11/01/2023

Never trust a veterinary professional who advises pets should eat processed food and no fresh food, suggesting that fresh food is dangerous.

29/12/2022

https://truthaboutpetfood.com/the-year-in-review-in-pet-food/?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR1D68em_y_Wy278VGV7XxBWXRp6YVhnhXk95P71736KeSJrC_rRUGg3X2U

A review of the pet food news in 2022.