Forgive me, this will be a long read.

Found this article in pet business magazine.
“The Truth About the FDA’s Grain-Free Dog Food Warning”
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Published: 07.17.2018

ARTICLE:

While the FDA’s recent announcement about a possible link between certain grain-free foods and heart disease in dogs could have serious implications for the health of many canines, there is a troubling lack of information behind this announcement—and that could very well result in an unnecessary panic that would have catastrophic impact on the pet food industry.

Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to pet owners and veterinarians that it is investigating “reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as main ingredients”—ingredients often associated with grain-free diets.

Taken at face value, this warning is alarming, to say the least. However, when you look more closely, it becomes clear that there is very little hard evidence about what connection the ingredients might have to DCM—if there is any connection at all.

While the FDA points out that four of the reports involved dogs that had a deficiency of the amino acid taurine in their blood, which is well-documented as potentially leading to DCM, four other dogs involved in reports had normal blood taurine levels. What’s more, the FDA does not mention any evidence specifically connecting taurine deficiencies with grain-free diets. And while some of the research in this area was explained to me by a couple of pet food manufacturers, it is incomplete and inconclusive, at best.

With that said, it seems quite premature for the FDA to speculate on a potential link between grain-free diets and heart disease in dogs, particularly given the mountain of evidence that we have to the contrary—in the form of the millions of dogs that have enjoyed great health while being fed these diets for years. Of course, we all would want to know if real evidence of such a connection is found, including the manufacturers of grain-free diets. But in today’s age of media sensationalism and click-bait culture, issuing premature warnings—particularly from trusted agencies like the FDA—seems like a recipe for disaster.

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JILLS RESPONSE:

While I completely concur with the author :

This is YET ANOTHER reason I advocate feeding dogs and cats WHOLE FOOD.

I feed whole food RAW. This is the ideal.
Cooking food depletes nutrition. Freezing does as well, but a few lost critical nutrients can be supplemented with either cod-liver oil (vitamin D) and veggies, to add back most of what’s lost from freezing meat.

The next best thing is whole food seared or lightly cooked, at least keeping, for example, the inside of a breast, filet, or steak RAW. Only the outsides of those types of meats touch human hands, machines, and packaging.

Folks feel the need to cook food for their dogs, because WE have a pH of 7 (basic) and are therefore unable to kill many strains of bacteria, in our bodies. We tend to think our dogs needs are the same as our own. But to that I say, “…then feed yourself a bowl of kibble, and typically the SAME kibble, every day, for every meal. See how that affects the quality of your life, both in contentedness, and physiology.”

*DOGS have a pH of 6-6.5 (ACIDIC) * and can kill many strains of bacteria. Remember, the dog is designed to hunt and kill prey animals for nutritional sustenance. Their feeding M.O. is to kill an animal large enough to not have to hunt daily, expending energy and wasting calories. They make a kill, and often feed from it, for 2-4 days. This carcass, is NOT REFRIGERATED. It is growing bacteria colonies and hosting insect larvae, starting within an hour of the kill. It’s heavily laden with both, by the time they take their last bites.

Also, they tend to pick off weak, old and SICK animals, again, for less expenditure.

Though we’ve genetically modified the dog to extreme degrees externally, their nutritional needs and digestive design, remains the same. Their intestinal tract is relative short in length. Food they eat today, is also eliminated today. We keep food in our gut for years, but in the very least, it takes 2 full days to eliminate most of what we eat today. The comparatively short GI tract, coupled w an acidic pH, makes the dog PERFECTLY designed to eat ROTTING meat. Nothing stays inside long enough to create havoc inside the gut of the dog. Whatever does linger, is then killed in a highly acidic internal environment.

The BIGGEST HARM we can do our dogs, is feeding a grain diet. Grain is what helps keep us at a pH of 7. That’s GREAT FOR OUR HEALTH. But, changing the pH of an ENTIRE SET OF SYSTEMS in the dog from acidic to neutral, makes EVERYTHING not operate correctly.

There will ALWAYS BE the harmful effects of ANY kibble diet in the news… grain-filled or grain-free.often, it’s often about toxic ingredients, and recalls for harmful product (both ingredients and preservatives.) But, there has NEVER been a negative report on a whole-food fed dog or cat.

I am an ANTI-KIBBLE caretaker. This being said;

IF you continue to use a kibble diet, IT MUST AT LEAST BE GRAIN FREE.

Tips to make better choices for the kibble fed dog:

•GRAIN FREE
• no red or yellow dye
• no or low salt/sodium (only in the last line or two of the ingredient lable)
• DARK richly colored pieces, all consistent in color (not mottled w light and dark areas). The darker the better, like is seen in the Life Source Bits added to Blue Buffalo kibble.
•NEVER corn, wheat or soy
•no white potatoes, or peas (sweet potato/ yams are good)
• WHOLE MEAT (not by-product or meal) as the first —THREE— ingredients
• no by-product ever
• no “animal protein” (this is a finely ground light brown powder created by reclamation factories. It contains road kill, animals slated for slaughter for human consumption that were found to be sick, livestock euthanized with mad-cow disease & other diseases, animals from your veterinarians freezer / including DOGS and CATS & animals with cancers…etc) ( p.s, Mad-Cow disease actually started in sheep. The culprit was feeding sheep meat, back to sheep, in the form of this “animal protein.” We really don’t want to feed dog meat then, back to our dogs. Also, “animal protein” or meat of any kind, should NEVER be fed to herbivores, just as grain should never be fed to carnivores)
•ADD VARIETY (at least 3 different proteins weekly.) This means then, having 3 bags of open kibble. One may be DUCK (hypoallergenic meat) GOAT (hypoallergenic meat) SALMON (anti-inflammation meat) BISON/ BEEF/VENISON (essential red meat for maintaining acidity) RABBIT (game meat is always healthier than agricultural meat). ALL three of your kibble choices must still adhere to this list of “MUSTS.” Keep in air right containers, to prevent mold growing. Avoid chicken kibble.
•SUPPLEMENT: at least add chunks of raw or cooked whole meat, or canned meat and veggies, to every kibble meal. Give the dog a fighting chance to counter the harmful effects of EVERY KIBBLE.
• consider CANNED food. Canned food is always a better choice than KIBBLE. In the very least, the toxic preservatives are removed, as CANNING is the method of preservation. But, the quality of meat protein starts from better sources. And the product is obviously LESS PROCESSED altogether. When you can turn meat into a kibble nugget, and keep it on the shelf without refrigerator for 6mo-1yr…WORRY about the BIO-AVAILABILITY of the claimed nutritional benefits.

I do agree however, with the FDA on one thing; no peas, lentil and other legumes, or white potatoes, should be part of your dogs diet. And remember, FDA conducts business, in support of what our agricultural industry in the US creates. In CHINA, for example, their version of the FDA, supports a rice and fish diet. In the USA, FDA advocates beef, corn and white potatoes. But we know even a corn fed cow, ends up with kidney failure, when raised behind slaughter age. And warnings are constantly arising from our use of high-fructose, or corn sugars.  Being a savvy consumer, is my best advice, because the FDA, can only give limited advice, based on our economic, agricultural  and geographical needs, and abilities.

I hope this has been helpful. Please consider RAW WHOLE-FOOD diet for your cat and dog. See my blog article on “The Ultimate Cat & Dog Diet” for a helpful guideline, to going raw.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU AND YOUR PETS.
❌⭕️, JILL

UPDATE: since posting this, I found another article, in response to the FDA’s warning against grain-free diets (here again, we’re the “grain-basket” nation  & grain is an integral part of our economy, both locally and abroad.) regarding grain-free kibble, in an article written by Dr Freeman, veterinary nutritionist from Tuff’s University. See photo below, to read her article : She really helps set the record straight regarding the grain-free diet, and helps folks navigate the MISINFORMATION that is now circulating. a special thank-you goes out to my friend Matt Gardner, for forwarding the articles to me.

Furthermore:

I agree and disagree, with Dr Freeman:

I am happy to share an additional opinion re grain free kibble, being a wise choice.

I disagree w her warning against raw diet, just as much as I disagree w targeting grain-free diets as a whole, in risks associated w heart disease.

What’s then apparent to me, is that ALL dogs on every diet are coming up more readily, with this specific heart disease.

It’s VERY wise, to start by addressing the most popular diets, as a first suspect. My take-away, is that likely some other factor is creating the increased incidence of this heart disease… maybe flea preventatives, etc. We, the scientific community, just aren’t there YET w research, and don’t yet know the true culprit. But again, the wisest choice was to start analyzing common and popular diets… kudos.

Support for my argument, is that the original hypotheses, in the very least, has been disproved, vs supported. The hypothesis was: Low taurine is the culprit, for increased incidents of this type of heart disease. That’s obviously been thrown out, by consensus. Great start, and EXACTLY the way studies should be conducted (it becomes a battle of the studies, which improves ultimately, the quality of each study.)

I’m about to pull up (after I search my archives and find…) an article by another veterinary expert, in complete support of raw diet.

I feel it’s important that people make INFORMED choices. I cannot (or will not) edit dr Freeman’s article, speaking against raw food diet, despite being in support of raw diet myself. That is counter-productive in my goal, of sharing my experience and  view point. I know there is opposition. I’m ok with that.

The problem is, there are as many opinions and studies, as there are personalities. We want science particularly, to be unbiased. But, it takes the inner bias of a scientist, to first create his or her hypothesis, then establish controls for the study- all cannot exist, without some underlying bias. Competition on the “studies-battlefield” is what ultimately creates valuable studies, and eventually dismisses, biased and unsupported studies. This can take years. But it faithfully works, in the end.

The BEST study, is done in my opinion, with your OPPOSITION on your team of scientists. Only then, can we start to trust results. Food fir thought…

Lastly::

The medical community & vet community(AMA and AVMA) just like the FDA, must support national economy. Pet industry in the USA is probably the wisest stock investment you can make, because it thrives even during recession.

Folks can be poor, and still spoil their dogs. It’s our way.

Both organizations support chemical prescription drugs for example. We all see the commercials daily, for new group lawsuits, against manufacturers of these drugs, due to death, injury and illness, created from their uses.

But “Big Business” has always had some of the largest impacts on our government and official organizations. When pharmaceuticals are no longer a multi-billion dollar industry, you’ll see everyone agree, that something must be done to make medicine that heals vs harms.

The vet community supports annual re-vaccination on some of our species, we keep as pets. Continual vaccinations given to our pets has shown to yield heavy metal toxicity, and allergies to chicken (vaccines are cultured in chick embryos.) Chicken was the main ingredient, and years back, the ONLY, and first meat ingredient in dog food. Our dogs and cats immune system works much like our own: and we stop annual re-vaccination after age 7. The dog/cat equivalent of this is when they reach age 2. Annual vaccinations of pets, is profit motivated. There are GREAT reasons to vaccinate. Polio no longer exists, expressly related to vaccinating people. Epidemics require additional vaccinating. I routinely vaccinate pets until age 2, then stop. (See blog article on vaccinattibg pets)

Remember, processed dog food kibble was CREATED , in response to the depression, when it got too expensive to feed our dogs (and families). Masses of dogs were turned loose in the streets, and dying of starvation on the streets. An all grain based kibble diet was born. So, kibble itself ONLY exists, as a response to our economic status, and resulting epidemic of starving dogs, dying on our streets, creating rotting and bacteria laden carcasses spewed about our communities. RAW MEAT thrown to awaiting dogs, from our butchering of livestock, was the COMMON AND POPULAR diet, prior to the birth of kibble.

And who can deny that is what CANIDS DO, when NO HUMAN INTERVENTION occurs. They hunt, kill, and eat RAW MEAT. But this topic is then subject to the entire NATURE VS SCIENCE debate, where I’ll not enter this platform, at this time. As well, not all countries today, utilize kibble for Pet food. It’s not EXCLUSIVE to the USA, but kibble is thankfully not a “global condition”

Again- what matters MOST to me, is you become INFORMED. Only then can you make any sound choice. Support your decisions with knowledge, and a working experience. When you have negative consequences from your choices, change your choices, until you find what works for you and your pets.

❌⭕️, JILL

more about legumes:  TheHealthCleaner.com