Dr. Garnett's Nutrition Corner

Transcription

1 What can you tell from the pet food bag? Dr. Garnett's Nutrition Corner My answer - not a lot. It is very difficult to look at the bag and determine the quality of the ingredients in the bag. You also can't tell manufacturing quality either. Some things to look at that are important: Find the AAFCO seal (required on all non-prescription pet food) and look for the words "FEEDING TRIALS" instead of the word "formulated." Pet food does not have to have been fed to the animals it is designed for, believe it or not, so a product tested with dogs or cats is going to be more reliable. ALSO - look for the lifestage the food is designed for. If you see the words "suitable for dogs (or cats) of all ages" - this is the same as saying puppy or kitten food. A lot of these products have extra calories to support younger animals, so older pets may gain weight when eating these foods. To ensure optimum health and achieve an appropriate nutrient balance, it is better to feed a product appropriate for the life stage of your pet. For example: 'suitable for health and maintenance of adult dogs' would be good for dogs between 1 and 7 years of age, or for cats 1-10 years of age. Some of the factors that make pet food brands different Commercial pet food diets are all processed and cooked in a similar fashion. The big differences between the pet foods are in the quality of ingredients used, and how well they control manufacturing quality. Higher price does not always mean higher quality; it may simply mean more profit for the pet food company. I worry about diets from pet food marketing-distribution companies that don't make their own foods. I think they may potentially fluctuate more from batch to batch than a company where it's all done in-house. What do I recommend? I strongly recommend using a food from one of the larger pet food manufacturing companies like Royal Canin, Hill's Pet Nutrition that makes Science Diet products, Nestle Purina, and Iams PetCare. They will control all aspects of development, manufacturing and sales, so there is more company oversight of the pet food process. These are also the companies that are investing in research that promotes veterinary medicine and veterinary nutrition. They are pushing the bounds of what we know about improving health and treating disease through diets. In contrast, a pet food marketing company may outsource all of the food development and manufacturing to a third party, which makes the food and returns it to the company to sell. What about using a "grain free" diet for my dog? Here are some nutritional facts to consider when listening to the new hype about grain-free diets. 1. Corn, wheat, rice and soy are usually innocent when accused of causing food allergies in dogs. 2. The recent negative thoughts about food grains as pet food ingredients may be myths started by small pet food companies as a way to compete with larger, established companies.

2 3. The idea that grains are negative comes from no current data. There are excellent diets that contain one or more grains. 4. Saying that these ingredients are "common causes of food allergies" is not accurate. 5. If someone in marketing puts on a bag of dog food "Contains no soy" that immediately suggests something is WRONG with soy. Then a consumer goes home, sees that soy is in the product they are feeding, and assumes they should stop feeding that food. It is a marketing strategy with no facts or data to back up their implied "warning". 6. Food allergy is an abnormal immune response only to a protein, not to a fat or carbohydrate. Corn is 8 % protein and 80% carbohydrate, and rice has less than 10% protein. These grains are very rarely incriminated in a food allergy problem. In summary, if a pet food says a grain-free diet will help a dog with allergies, that would be a company I would be suspicious of - as only a dog that has an allergy to a specific grain would improve on a grain-free diet, and grain allergies are quite rare. Should I consider a grain free diet for my cat? As reviewed in the section above, the grain free craze for both dog and cat foods has very little merit. Most pet food companies say that the reason their products are grain free is to prevent food allergies. As discussed last month, both dogs AND cats are usually allergic to the protein in the pet food they are consuming. Grains contain very little protein (corn is only 8% protein and 80% starch, and rice has less than 10 % protein). So, claiming that grain free pet food leads to fewer food allergies cannot be substantiated. Grains are VERY low on the lists of things that dogs and cats can become allergic to. True or False Cats are true carnivores This is true. Protein metabolism of cats is unique. Kittens require 50% more protein than puppies to support growth. The relative maintenance requirement for protein in the adult cat is even higher: adult cats need about 200% more protein than adult dogs True or False Cats require amino acids that are essential to their health and MUST be in their cat food This is true as well. Cat food must have arginine, taurine and methionine to be nutritionally complete for cats. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT that cats and kittens be fed products designed for them, and NOT dog food. True or False Cats should not eat carbohydrates because they are carnivores. False: Although it is true that cats are carnivores and have a high dietary protein requirement, cats can use carbohydrates efficiently for energy. The starch levels found in commercial cat foods (up to 35% of the food s dry matter) are well tolerated. True or False - Cats should not eat carbohydrates because of the risk for diabetes False: Currently available evidence does not support a direct cause and effect relationship between increased carbohydrate intake and diabetes in cats. Doctors at Care Animal Hospital do recommend a canned food diet plan

3 (which usually does mean less carbohydrates) for diabetic cats because ONCE DIAGNOSED with diabetes, it has been proven that most diabetic cats require less insulin and do better overall when fed canned food. Suggestions in feeding cats: The doctors at Care Animal Hospital recommend feeding a high quality dry as well as canned cat or kitten product to support growth. As mentioned before, Purina s Pro Plan and ONE, Hills Science Diet foods, Iams, and Royal Canin products are ones that are well studied and have been formulated to meet the needs of the age group they are intended for (cats or kittens). These companies have veterinary nutritionists on staff formulating their foods. What do the terms Organic, Natural and Holistic really mean? Organic 1. The ingredient was grown with only animal or vegetable fertilizers, such as manure, bone meal, compost, etc. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) rules, the term "organic" may only be applied to pet food labels that meet regulations. Natural 1. Of or arising from nature, in accordance with what is found or expected in nature. 2. Produced or existing in nature, not artificial or manufactured. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), the term "natural" requires a pet food to consist of only natural ingredients without chemical alternations Holistic There is no legal definition of this term under laws devoted to pet foods. Any manufacturer can make claims of "holistic" in literature and brochures regardless of ingredients chosen.. Myth: Natural means organic Truth: Natural and organic are NOT interchangeable. Only food labeled "organic products" has been certified as organic in accordance with USDA and AAFCO regulations. If Organic ingredients are important to you - look for the USDA Organic seal. The seal can only be displayed if there are % organic ingredients. What Do I Need to Know About By-Products? A definition of By-Product is 'Secondary products produced in addition to the principle product,' according to the AAFCO Official Publication of What is AAFCO - you might ask? AAFCO = The Association of American Feed Control Officials. This organization sets the nutritional standards for pet foods sold in the United States. As discussed in a prior newsletter, each bag or can of dog or cat food will have an AAFCO seal on it, telling how it was tested (whether the food was fed to the animals it was designed for or just tested in a lab), and which life stage the food was designed for (puppies, adult dogs, dogs of all ages (which means must supply nutrition for puppies since they require the most energy and caloric density). Remember,

4 food FED to animals it was designed for, and food with a definite life stage profile (...for the complete and balanced nutritional requirements of a specified age group) are considered superior products. Myth: Pet foods containing ingredients listed as "by-products" are inferior Truth - By-products are common ingredients in both human and pet food. A by-product is simply something produced in the making of something else. Examples: 1. When processing soybeans, the by-product vitamin E is produced 2. Vegetable oils (such as flaxseed oil, rice bran oil, corn oil and soy oil) are by-products extracted from the seeds that are processed for consumption purposes. 3. Chicken fat is a by-product of the chicken industry 4. Pork, chicken and beef liver are internal organs of animals used for human consumption 5. Beet pulp is dried residue from sugar beets 6. tomato pomace comes from tomato skins, pulp and seeds So - Vitamin E, Jell-O brand gelatin, beef bouillon and lamb meal are ALL by-products. When the pet food label says "contains meat by-products" - that only means that these products were generated when the meat sources were processed. It does not mean that these by-products are going to be an inferior source of nutrition. What About Raw Food Diets for Pets? Are They Safe? Are They Nutritious? Each year in the US there are 76 million reported cases of food borne illness in people. Although the majority are selflimiting, 323,000 people are hospitalized and about 5,200 deaths are attributed to food borne illnesses each year. These figures are important because homemade and raw diets for pets are made with ingredients from the same food supply chain. In veterinary medicine, few topics are associated with such strong opinions as the feeding of raw meat to dogs and cats. Both proponents and opponents are firmly entrenched in their views. Unfortunately, much of the information on both sides is based on anecdotes, theoretical concerns and personal opinion. While objective information is increasing, this is still a field based largely on passion and opinion. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind if you are currently feeding a raw food diet to your pet or are considering doing so in the future. 1. Raw meat feeding was popularized by Dr. Ian Billinghurst after the publication of his two books: Give Your Dog A Bone and The BARF Diet. The latter book introduced the term BARF, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bone and Raw Food, which has become widespread terminology. These books, which lack any scientific evidence, are based on the author s belief that commercial pet food is contributing to serious health problems in pets. While Billinghurst claims that there are numerous feeding trials that show dogs fed raw foods are much healthier than dogs fed cooked foods, there is no objective evidence suggesting a beneficial health effect of feeding raw foods. 2. Some published BARF recipes contain deficient and excessive levels of Key Nutritional Factors such as protein, calcium and phosphorus for an adult dog or cat. 3. Food poisoning and bacterial contamination are obvious safety hazards not only for pets, but also for humans handling raw foods.

5 4. Pets eating a BARF diet or other raw food formulas are at an increased risk for intestinal obstruction, fractured teeth and gastrointestinal perforation. 5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for preventing opportunistic infections among humans in high risk groups state that eggs, poultry and meat products fed to pets must be well cooked. The doctors of Care Animal Hospital cannot support the feeding of raw foods because of the concerns listed above, but would be happy to provide further literature to those who would like to know more about Raw Food Diets. The Great Debate: Canned vs. Dry (Most of this material was taken from an article in Cat Watch Newsletter, January 2013, written by Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, DVM, PhD., Associate Professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.) Q: Which is more nutritionally sound canned or dry food and why? A: They are pretty equal in terms of nutritional soundness, and there are many brands and styles. They go through similar manufacturing processes, although kibble gets extruded (a shaping and drying process) and canned gets retorted (heated at high temperature in a retort sterilizer), so it has to go through a heating process. For cats, canned is slightly better. Cats don t like new things, so give kittens both kibble and canned so they know both. If they end up with issues where one or the other is preferred due to a medical condition, you can choose the appropriate form. Q: Which has the most calories? A: Volume to volume, dry is more calorically dense and canned is typically higher in fat. Since canned is 75% water, on a volume basis it s actually lower in calories. Q: Does kibble have any advantage because it can help prevent dental tartar buildup, or is that a myth? A: Most kibble doesn t have any evidence that it helps control tartar. The tooth hits it and it shatters. It doesn t grind it up. Some kibble is designed to have a fiber matrix that actually allows the tooth to sink into kibble, and those are good for tartar control, but there aren t many of those on the market (Hills T/D (tooth diet) is one of them and CAH has both cat and dog formulations of this large kibble). Q: Is it true that plant protein is used more frequently in dry food than canned? Can cats be healthy on plant protein without any meat-based protein? A: Plant protein is found in both canned and dry foods. Canned or chunk style uses wheat-based protein. Dry more often uses corn-gluten protein, and both use soy-based proteins at times. Cats can use plant-based protein but need more of it than they would need of an animal-based protein. This is because the amino acid balance in plant-based proteins is not as good. Still, the right mix of plant-based proteins can be used to make a diet complete. Egg, dairy and meat are best for cat amino acid balance. Soy is the best plant-based protein source. Q: Does canned or dry make worse-smelling feces than the other? A: In general, canned is usually higher in protein, so canned will likely have a stronger odor. A high-protein kibble, though, will do the same. Q: Which is the best financial value?

6 A: Between two similar brands of foods from the same manufacturer, dry usually wins the price war. Understanding Preservatives Used in Cat and Dog Food The definition of a preservative is Having the quality of preserving n. anything that preserves; esp. a substance added to a food to keep it from spoiling. So Preservatives are ingredients used in pet food to prevent spoilage and rancidity. Historically, the synthetic preservatives ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT were commonly added to commercial pet foods to prevent oxidative damage to polyunsaturated fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. In other words, the fat used in pet foods needed to be preserved or the products would become rancid quickly. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received a number of adverse event reports concerning these synthetic compounds (ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT), although such effects could NOT be replicated in laboratory studies at similar concentrations. Interestingly, BHA and BHT are added to many breads, cheeses, margarine, potato chips, meat, and frozen and dried fruits that we humans currently consume on a daily basis, yet there has been little outcry that humans are being harmed by such use. Nevertheless, the increasing preference for natural diets has prompted the replacement of such compounds with natural alternatives, such as tocopherols (Vitamin E), rosemary extract, and other antioxidants. One trick that some pet food companies use to make it unnecessary to list the preservatives that are used in the products is to use fat sources that have the preservative added before it is purchased by the pet food company. That way, since the pet food company didn t truly add the preservative, they don t have to list it. This can be a confusing issue for owners, but preservatives are necessary to preserve fats and extend the shelf life of pet food products. The evidence was never substantiated that BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin were truly harming dogs and cats, but today, you will usually see Vitamin E, citric acid, and other natural alternatives listed to avoid the controversy. Should I Cook for My Pet? Sometimes, pet owners cook food for their pets due to concerns about pet food ingredient sourcing and quality. These home-cooked diets may be viewed as an alternative to raw foods. A hybrid home-cooked diet of commercial pet food and prepared ingredients may be fed to overcome perceived dietary deficiencies, often leading to even more unbalance in the overall diet. Advantages of home-cooked feeding cited by owners include the ability to: a. Treat multiple conditions b. Provide ingredient control c. Ensure ingredient freshness d. Offer dietary variety Possible disadvantages 1. In one study, 90% of homemade pet foods were found to be nutritionally unbalanced and incomplete for pets. 2. Pet owners and pets may be exposed to dangerous bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria, harbored by raw or insufficiently cooked meat.

7 3. Pet owners might assume dogs and cats require the same nutrition as humans and provide improper levels of multiple nutrients 4. Homemade meals can contain an inverse calcium and phosphorus ratio that is dangerous to pets. These deficiencies are most problematic during growth and can lead to lifelong disability. Severe bone diseases have been reported in both puppies and kittens fed unbalanced home-prepared diets. What should you do if you want to cook for your pet? There are on-line veterinary nutritional specialists that will help design a homemade diet that would be nutritionally complete for your pet as well as treat specific disease problems. One such site is The doctors of Care Animal Hospital will help you in your quest for a recipe that will provide balanced nutrition for your dog or cat. Dr. Garnett s comments about the To cook or not to cook question usually start with the statement, It s harder to make a well-balanced dog or cat food than you would think. She herself feeds a high quality commercial pet food for all of her animals, including her foster kittens, and thinks that the quality is actually higher than a homemade diet she might design. She and the other doctors of Care Animal Hospital would be happy to discuss cooking for your pets, so don t hesitate to ask. A few more definitions of terms on the label on a bag of food What do these terms mean? Guaranteed Analysis, Ingredient Statement, and Ash Content? Also what s the difference between dry matter basis and as fed basis? Guaranteed Analysis gives the minimum and maximum for protein, fat, fiber and moisture. It does NOT give the true amount of the nutrient. Looking at the actual nutrient content of the manufacturer is a better way to evaluate the food. REQUIRED on the pet food bag is the minimum amount of protein, minimum amount of fat, maximum amount of fiber, and maximum amount of moisture. Ingredient Statement Ingredients are listed in descending order by their predominance by WEIGHT according to the product s formula. The nutrient value of ingredients cannot be identified from the ingredient statement. Ash Content - Ash is the total mineral element of the formula. Ash is the sum of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium etc. The ash is the material that remains after combustion or hydrolysis of the organic material. Dry matter basis versus as fed: The best way to compare foods is dry matter basis (DMB). Looking at the DMB helps us to understand what specific nutrients are in a product. To convert a food from as fed to DMB First: Subtract 100 by the moisture content Example 100% - 75% moisture = 25% DMB Another example 100% - 10% moisture = 90 % DMB Second: Divide the nutrient by the DMB Example 10% protein, as fed / 25% DMB = 40% protein Another example 18% protein, as fed / 90% DMB = 20% proteintop of Form