Behind the Labels
Back to Basics Human Grade Food for Pets
All Life Stages Formula
Nutrition is the cornerstone of a healthy, long-lived pet. Nothing else we do for our friend will carry as much importance in his continuing vibrant health as the choices we make on what he should eat. We love them so much and we try very hard, but most of us are going into battle armed with very few facts and many advertising innuendoes. As with so much else in this century, we have complicated the notion of what to feed or not to feed our pets to such a degree that many of us feel quite frustrated. To clear up some of the smoke screen, let's look at a few basic facts.
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Fact One
Dogs and cats have survived and maintained a high level of health throughout history, (without most of the current health problems) on fresh whole foods. Prior to the manufacture of processed pet foods, they not only survived, but thrived on the feared "table scraps". It wasn't until our animals began eating 100% manufactured food that we began to see the onset of hip dysplasia and a myriad of other nutritional diseases, such as CCD (Osteochondritis Dissecans), HOD (Hypertrophic Osteodtstrophy), FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrome) and Pano (Panosteitis).
Fact Two
Dogs are omnivorous. This means that they are able to digest and use nutrients from both animal and plant sources. Left to the wild, a dog will eat the belly of their prey first. From this they receive the grains, fruits and vegetables, and the enzymes vital to their survival. They will consume the meat of the prey last. This is not to say that the canine does not need meat, they do, but in less quantities than we have been led to believe through the marketing of the high protein products. We know today that high protein is damaging to the dog's growth and overall health and high carbohydrates interfere with their ability to metabolize fats, which are vital for true health.
Fact Three
Cats are carnivores. Therefore, cats require more protein than dogs. The catch is cats need a high quality, highly digestible protein for their bodies to function properly. Most protein in commercial cat foods is not of the highest quality, therefore, our cats are not getting the required amount of protein a carnivore needs. The proteins are often derived from a low quality vegetable source that is almost impossible for your cat to digest. This attributes to the digestive problems, urinary tract, and bladder problems that have become common in our pets.
WEIGHED WET
Remember, feeding your pet is big business and not all companies are putting our pets' welfare above the bottom line. Armed with knowledge, we can make good choices on what pet food to feed. The first place to start is by looking at the ingredients list of the food you are currently feeding. Often pet food companies are very good at meeting the letter of the law, not necessarily the intent, and deceive the consumer in the process.
For example, the first ingredient is listed "first" because (according to AFCO, Association of American Feed Control) placement is determined by weight prior to processing. To get around this, some companies will list the protein source in its wet, raw, state, showing chicken or turkey or lamb, etc. on the label as the first ingredient. Seventy-six percent of this weight is water weight. Therefore, once the protein source is processed into the "meal state", the form necessary to be put into dog food, it is approximately 5 times lighter, falling to 4th or 5th on the ingredient list.
Were you deceived?
YES
Is it legal?
YES
When you search for a new pet food, look for an ingredient list that begins with a "meal", (ie: Chicken Meal, Pork Meal, Lamb Meal, etc.). The "meal" is not a by-product. "Meal" simply means the meat was weighed after the water had been removed. Therefore, it is truly the first ingredient on the list.
FILLERS AND CARBOHYDRATES
Another commonly used tactic to bring a protein source to the top of an ingredient list is to break up the carbohydrate many times. Here is an example of what you would see on an ingredients list... "(protein source)", Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Corn Flour... the only whole carbohydrate ingredient in that line up is the ground corn, the others are known as "fillers". Any carbohydrate source followed by the words "Bran", "Flour", "Gluten Meal" or "Hulls" is filler. Fillers hold little to no nutritional value. In fact, corn gluten meal is very nitrogenous and used as an organic weed killer. Fillers are what remain of an ingredient after the healthy, useable part has been removed. The reason they are used in dog foods is because they are a way to "fill" dog food with cheap ingredients rather than the much more expensive whole ingredients.
Manufacturers don't want you to know that if you added up these fillers they would out-weigh the protein source and, in reality, the carbohydrate source is truly the first ingredient. If you see the carbohydrate source broken up you have been deceived in two ways. First, your protein source is not really the first ingredient, and secondly the manufacturer has added cheap ingredients, lacking in nutrition to your pet's food.
Too much carbohydrate in an animal's diet can be detrimental. Obesity in animals is most often caused by foods with excessive amounts of carbohydrates, NOT high fat levels.
Excessive carbohydrates in a pet's diet cause obesity and obesity is never a healthy state. Industrial preservatives are known to store in fat cells and have been repeatedly implicated as being carcinogens (this does not include natural mixed tocopherols). Therefore, obese animals are at greater risk from these preservatives. Further, sugars (such as glucose produced from carbohydrate burning) have been shown to promote cancer cell growth.
Carbohydrates are very important to an animals diet; however, inundating our pets with them is unnecessary and harmful. Remember dogs are omnivorous not herbivorous.
WHAT ARE PRESERVATIVES?
"The average dog consumes 26 pounds of preservatives each year!" (Anderson, John "The Poisons in Pet Food", Alternative Medicine, May 1998) Have you ever wondered how the bag of dog food you buy at the store is marked to last as long as the next two inspections on your car? This is due to the miracle of preservatives. They have been closely linked with a laundry list of problems ranging from cancer to severe birth defects in litters. The main preservatives used in dog food are BHA, BHT, and Ethoxyquin. BHA and BHT have been shown to cause liver and kidney failure and in high doses have been implicated as carcinogens. Ethoxyquin in one form is used to prevent the break down of rubber, another form is used as an insecticide for apples, and the "food grade" form is used to preserve dog food. It is banned in Europe, blamed for skin, reproductive, and nerve problems. You may wonder why, given all the dangers to our animals, manufacturers would use chemical preservatives? That's easy; they give pet foods the shelf life of approximately two years and are much cheaper than natural preservatives such as Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Rosemary. The most widely used argument for the use of BHA and BHT are that they are found in human foods as well. (Humans had the sense to avoid Ethoxyquin) This point is invalid with animals, however, because animals eat the same diet twice a day for years. Humans vary their diets, reducing how much they consume and are therefore at a lower a risk. Be aware that some manufacturers will say they use Vitamins to preserve their food, but that food still has an extended shelf life. The chemical preservatives are not added by the manufacturer, but rather the ingredients are pre-treated with the chemicals. If the manufacturer did not specifically add the "ingredient", they do not have to list it. This is another loophole for manufacturers and just as unhealthy for your animal. Make sure to check yourself. A truly natural food will have a shelf life of one year or less.
BY-PRODUCTS
If you are reading an ingredient list and see ANY ingredient followed by the word "by-product" put down the bag immediately and run. For example Chicken By-Product, Lamb By-Product, etc... why? By-products are defined by AFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) as including but not limited to: lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomach, and intestines free of their contents. Basically, by-products are anything other than the meat you thought you were feeding. This seems bad enough but what is worse (if that's possible) is that many of these materials are diseased and cancerous, termed as unfit for human consumption (Belfield, Dr. Wendell. www.belfield.com/article3.html). You wouldn't want this within 100 yards of your house, let alone in your dogs' food dish. Further; each production run of pet foods that contain by-products are varied because the manufacturer cannot control which parts of what are put into each batch or what chemicals, toxins, and steroids are already in those items (aside from those added directly to the food at the manufacturing facility).
BEET PULP
Beet pulp is one source of fiber with a twist; it swells up to 10 times its original size when it come into contact with fluids. This slows the movement of food through the digestive tract and in effect, allowing more time for moisture to be absorbed. To translate what that really means... if beet pulp were to be removed from the formula, animals would likely have constant diarrhea. What would you say about a food that gave you constant diarrhea? Adding beet pulp to a formula is another low cost way to manufacture a poorer quality food and still keep animals stools hard and small.
However, as much as humans may be thankful for those easy to pick up, hard stools, they do not depict a healthy animal. An ideal stool is actually soft but well formed. It is important that an animal's stool not be "manufactured" because an animal's state of health can be monitored by their stool. For example, if they are stressed or sick, you can see the difference in their stool. Remember hard, small stools do not equal a better food. Digestibility is measured by weight not size. Hard stools are painful coming out and strip important micro flora from the intestinal lining.
THE GOOD GUYS
DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
Digestive enzymes are micro-flora preparations of useful bacteria needed for healthy digestion. This was the missing link in our pets diets for many years. Digestive enzymes include such unpronounceable names as Dried Streptococcus Faccium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Saccharomyces Cervisiae Fermentation... to name a few. Digestive enzymes are of great benefit for any animal. If a pet is not metabolizing his food properly, sometimes due to advanced age or extreme youth, the digestive enzymes are vital. Beowulf's Back To Basics understands this and adds the necessary digestive enzymes to their product after it has cooled.
YUCCA
Yucca Schidigera, which aids the micro-flora system of the gastrointestinal tract, allows for a more efficient assimilation of nutrients and reduces fecal odor intensity by 20%-30%. Fresh vegetables are great to see in pet food along with Alfalfa or Kelp.
HIGH FAT
A high fat diet contributes to increased stamina and protects against heat stress. We have been bombarded about the "evils of fat" in humans to such an extent that we have carried that phobia over to our animals. But our animals do not metabolize fat the way that humans do! Animals need high fat for energy. Many pet food manufacturers will use our phobia of fat to their advantage. Why? High fat means that the food has a much shorter shelf life; a truly natural pet food will only have a shelf life of 1 year or less, stored properly. Another reason is that "quality" proteins and fats are very expensive. If a low quality protein is used with the necessary levels of fat (high fat) then animals have a hard time assimilating it, often causing diarrhea. Especially in puppies, whose young systems have a very hard time with poor quality ingredients. So, the food tells on the manufacturer and beet pulp is then added to stop the diarrhea.
What is ideal for our animals is a natural, high fat, low protein diet that uses only the best ingredients from human sources.
Facts about a high fat diet are:
- Increased stamina
- Helps maintain hydration during strenuous exercise
- Improved efficiency of energy utilization
- Resistance to heat stroke, heat exhaustion
and hypothermia
- Reduces breathing efforts during exercise (less fatty acids are burned as fuels, as compared to carbohydrates, therefore lower levels of carbon dioxide in the blood)
Feeding a good food is the most important thing you can do for your animal. But, here are a few tips and supplements that are also great for our pets.
- Never give calcium supplements without
veterinary approval
- Fat pets are unhealthy pets
- Balance your pet's intake with their level of exercise
- Always give Sodium Ascorbate, or Calcium Ascorbate, or Ester C (All are forms of Vitamin C) twice a day for life, more during times of stress or illness
- Give dog's fresh vegetables and fruits daily (stay away from night shade vegetables such as eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, onions etc.)
- Give a small amount (golf size to baseball size) of raw meat twice a week to replenish flora in the intestines.
- It is a good idea to fast (offering only water) your pet one day every couple of weeks. This helps them to naturally cleanse their bodies. (Though not in times of illness)
- Growth that is too quick can reduce ultimate growth potential of your dog, in that it will interfere with skeletal growth plates.
I hope this information has given you a better idea of what is healthy for your pet and how to see through the advertising nonsense. Beowulf's Back to Basics is committed to "Quality and Health through Nutrition". We wish you and your pets health, longevity and joy.
