Are you confused about what to feed your pet? Why are so many supplements available on the market if commercial diets are considered "complete and balanced"? Can you get the truth from the industry, your veterinarian, the pet food store employees? Are home made diets really bad?I will attempt to help you make an informed decision.
Why would I link nutrition to Evolution and God? What I mean
by God is not the secular view but a universal one. God is responsible only for
evolution and sustainability of life on earth. Once accomplished; how we
conduct our lives is up to us. All life from the simplest one cell organisms to
complex mammals are linked by Evolution and God.
The article is written for you to think about the evolution
of life over billions of years and how all life forms are linked intimately
together. I do not give references for this theory on the evolution of life but
through understanding and a political will we may help preserve and stabilize
the health of our planet , thus our own survival.
I have been retired from academia for over a year now during that period of time I have had time to reflect upon my career and the impact that I might have had on the veterinary students that I was fortunate enough to teach over my academic lifetime. Although I taught in large animal medicine, pathology, clinical pathology, animal science and finally small and medicine the main focus of my academic career has been nutrition. As a veterinary student and as a new academic, I accepted as truth what my professors and what the pet food industry representatives told me concerning nutrition.. When I started teaching nutrition I embraced pet food industry I invited them to come in and talk to my students about their products, I recommended their products to clients I really had only a superficial understanding of nutrition and its influence on both the health and longevity ourselves and pets.
SNAP Smart Nutritional Advice for Pets: An app for android and Apple phones
SNAP will
individualize the nutritional needs and the health status of pets over their life time. A pet’s current diet can be evaluated or you can use SNAP to evaluate potential diets. Treats can be included in this evaluation. SNAP is a diary of a pet's diet and health.
No longer will guesstimates be part of a pet's dietary history.A pet's current nutrient intake can be compared to the industry nutrient standards and/or to the ancestral or prey diet.. You will be able to evaluate and score pet store, specialty and veterinary diets; both kibble or alternative, to determine if they are suitable.
SNAP is a valuable tool for pet owners, veterinarians, veterinary animal health technicians and veterinary students, or any one interested in pet nutrition
a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pet-food-safety_55b67875e4b0a13f9d1976e7?kvcommref=mostpopular">Looking for the safest, healthiest pet food?Good Luck with that.
This is a link to article that sums up the complex interactions among the pet food industry, government, FDA and the Food Safety Modernization Act. This was originally posted on the American Academy of Veterinary Nutritionist Discussion site. by Craig Datz AAVN President
Go to your backyard or the park and pick up a handful of soil, smell it, run it through your fingers even taste , fell the texture and check the moisture. If each reader did this and then submitted their findings to me to summarize; the results in most cases would be significantly different depending on your location.This close scrutiny of the soils still does not tell you the soil pH, nutrient content and availability, the amount of fibre and organic matter. As well we will have no idea of how healthy the soil 's microorganisms are. In many cases that soil represents the types of soil that our food is produced on whether primary crops or as feed for livestock and poultry. But do all these different soils produce crops of similar nutrient value and do we understand all those factors that influence the nutritional adequacy of the plants grown on soil or do we care?
Chronic renal
failure (CRF) is a problem in small animal practice, with 15-20% of all older
dogs and cats exhibiting some degree of renal azotemia.4 The first
goal is to identify the underlying cause of the renal disease, often this is
not possible so treatment is directed at managing the complications of renal
failure and maintaining quality of life.7 In dogs, CRF is
progressive and irreversible, leading to uremia and death within months or
years after the initial diagnosis. In contrast,cats often have long periods of clinically stable renal function
interspersed between episodes of progression.15 In addition to
medical therapy, nutritional modification is one of the mainstays of treatment
for chronic renal failure. Renal diets are formulated to modulate the metabolic
disturbances and slow the self-perpetuating destruction of nephrons associated
with CRF.
These papers were written in 2010, by my students as an
assignment for their 4th Nutrition Elective. The data, results and
conclusion drawn from this paper can be compared to the diets presently
available from the same companies, to determine if any modifications of the2016
diets were made by the same companies. If changes have occurred have they cited
the research to support the changes? One major change has been the sale of Iams
to Walthams.
In
human medicine, food allergy refers to adverse food reactions involving a
humoral response mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE). Other food
hypersensitivities involve cellular immune responses mediated by T lymphocytes.
Food intolerance, by contrast, is a non-immunologic adverse food reaction
(Hillier and Griffin, 2001).
Figure
1: Classification of adverse reactions to food (Kennis, 2006).
Both
Type I and Type IV hypersensitivity reactions have been reported in dogs. The
ACVD task force recommends using the terms “adverse food reaction” in
veterinary medicine to refer to an aberrant reaction after ingestion of food or
additives since the true pathogenesis is often very difficult to determine
(Hillier and Griffin, 2001).
Diabetes mellitus is a relatively
common disease in our companion animals.Dogs typically have decreased insulin production and are dependent on
insulin to manage the disease.Diet may
play a role in management as often these dogs are overweight. In dogs, weight loss, complex carbohydrates,
and fibre in the diet can help manage diabetes mellitus. Cats, however, tend to
have a problem with insulin resistance, not insulin production, because of being
overweight. One theory is the high processed carbohydrate content in most
commercial dry diets may be contributing to obesity and the development of diabetes mellitus; thus, a
diet low in simple sugars and higher in protein may be beneficial.
In
recent years, the human-animal bond has become very important.People are treating their pets as part of the
family and providing them with the best possible care has become a
priority.Along with this trend, the pet
nutrition industry has also been growing with diets specific to a life stage,
health condition, and even breeds.Due
to increasing demand, the number of pet diets available has increased
exponentially .To a client, the number
of food choices can be overwhelming.In
addition to the over the counter diets, some wellness andtherapeuticdiets are available only through a veterinarian.
The task given to us as veterinary students was to evaluate
the prescription veterinary diets available for diabetes mellitus and choose a
corresponding commercial diet to compare to that is available from a pet store
that might be appropriate for a diabetic patient, which, generally resulted in
choosing weight loss diets for dogs and kitten diets for the cats.
This series of paper was written in 2010, by my students as an
assignment for their 4th Nutrition Elective. The data, results and
conclusion drawn from these paper can be compared to the diets presently
available from the same companies, to determine if any modifications of the2015
diets were made by the same companies. If changes have occurred have they cited
the research to support the changes? One major change has been the sale of Iams
to Walthams.
Introductionto the Series (written by Meg Smart DVM,
PhD)
Veterinarians are spokespersons for
the pet food industry. A responsibility that should not be taken lightly. As
advocates of the industry, veterinarians must understand nutrition and be able
to judge independently what is best for the clients and their pets. In the
past, veterinarians have left this responsibility in the hands of the industry
and now the time has come forthe
profession to take over the reins.
Our
professional associations and veterinary schools have formed lucrative and
mutually beneficial partnerships with the pharmaceutical and pet food industry.[i] These
affiliations leave us as veterinarians accountable to the public, as trained
professionals, to the verify the claims made on our behalf by these companies.
The Canadian veterinary medical Association suspended the operation of its pet
food certification program in 2007. In the fall of 2007 a brief survey of CVMA members indicated that:
“— 82% of CVMA members surveyed think
the CVMA should continue to be involved in the certification and on-going
monitoring of pet foods ensuring they meet nutritional standards.
— 85% of CVMA members surveyed want the
CVMA to be actively involved in the certification and ongoing monitoring
of therapeutic diets distributed through veterinary clinics.
84% of CVMA members surveyed support CVMA involvement in potential new
federal regulation regarding pet food.”[ii]
An
article appearing in Veterinary Economicssuggests that during these tough
economic times, veterinary practices need develop strategies to grow their
revenue. One opportunity is to increase the sale of therapeutic diets. Client
awareness and education can be accomplished by “a nutrition advocate” position
to increase this market. This individual must be well educated about the
therapeutic diets sold; in order to serve as liaison between the veterinarians
and clients.[iii] But who will educate this advocate ?
Data have shown that while veterinarians place between 35% and 45% of patients
on therapeutic diets, less than 7% of pets remain on the diet year-round. If
owners have to come to the clinic each time they need more food, most will only
keep their pet on the diet for about 3 months.[iv]
In 2014,
at the PIJAC (Pet Industry Joint Advisory Committee) trade show at
the International Center. Mississauga Ontario, the number of new pet
treats is noticeably increased from previous years. This increase is in
part related to a consumer fear of potentially unidentified
fatal substances in treat ingredients sourced off shore. Should we also be
cautious of treats made from local or north American sources? I visited
many of the booths that were selling treats (freeze dried,
dehydrated, baked, extruded, frozen, raw, HPP (high pressure pasteurization).
The question I asked was simple: "When you formulate your treats do you
determine based on the nutrient content of those treats how many treats
can be fed without upsetting the nutrient balance of the pet's diet?" The
answer was a unanimous" no " followed by "I never really
thought about it."
This is a draft of a proposed research
project that examines the role of the gut micro biota and diet in the pathophysiology of obesity and
diabetes in cats. I am retired June 30th, 2014; so am sharing my thoughts with my readers, as I think it is a proposal worth considering.
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