food opinion from a veterinary nutritionist

[Ginny Nightingale]

My daughter, who is a vet and hears me sing the praises of grain-free dog food, posted this article online today from a veterinary nutritionist...grain-free is not necessarily better according to her...but the other foods seem to be all corn or wheat--what is best?

http://now.tufts.edu/articles/grain-free-diet-healthier-my-dogs-and...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are lots of dog foods that contain what we call "healthy grains"; not corn or wheat, but oats, rice, barley, etc. 

These foods are usually cheaper than grain-free foods because they are typically lower in animal proteins, and meat costs more than cereal. :)

Let's look at some of the statements in the article:

"There is no reliable evidence that suggests that it’s harmful to feed grains to dogs or cats. Whole grains contain valuable dietary nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and fiber. "

Well, the fact that something isn't harmful doesn't mean it's healthy, lol. Will it hurt Fido if I give him a piece of my muffin? No, but it won't do him much good, either. He'd get a lot more from a piece of my hard boiled egg. 

Yes, whole grains contain nutrients; all food contains nutrients, lol. Any food that is in kibble has pretty much been depleted of the vitamins anyway, due to the high heat used in processing; that's why the kibble company adds those vitamins and minerals back in in the form of supplements. As for fatty acids, it surprises me that a veterinary nutritionist doesn't know that dogs can't utilize or convert the forms of Omega 3 fatty acids found in plant foods. And fiber is found in any plant ingredient, all plants, not just grains. 

Some grain products have protein that is easier for your pet to digest than some protein from meat.

She's going to have to explain that one. Plants do not provide complete protein, meaning they do not provide all of the essential amino acids (those the body cannot make on its own and must get from food). Cats will die on a vegetarian diet, for this reason. Dogs can survive, but not well. And plant cellulose is impossible for dogs or cats to digest, it's impossible for us to digest, too. As I said, she needs to explain why on earth she would make this kind of statement, because it flies in the face of known science. 

The vast majority of dogs and cats are very efficient at digesting and using more than 90 percent of the nutrients from grains in the amounts typically found in pet foods. 

Maybe so, but they're a lot better at digesting and utilizing the nutrients in animal proteins, which is what Mother Nature designed them to eat. Again, just because they can digest grains doesn't mean it's the best choice for them. 

While food allergies in pets are uncommon, allergies to grains are even rarer. The small number of pets that have allergies are most often allergic to animal proteins, such as chicken, beef and dairy.

This is true. But the number one food allergen in dogs is wheat. In fact, even Hill's states that the top three food allergies in dogs are to beef, dairy, and wheat. http://www.hillspet.com/en/us/dog-care/healthcare/food-allergies-in...

Grain-free diets can vary widely in terms of their nutritional profiles. Some are lower in carbohydrates, which means that they can be quite high in both fat and calories. 

Well, when the carbs go down, the protein and/or fat does go up. There are only three macronutrients. reduce one, and by necessity, the others must go up.  However, dogs require more fat in their diets than humans do, by a big percentage. And the fat content is right there on the label for all to see. Overall, the fat content of foods with grains is pretty much the same as that of foods without grains, because the manufacturer controls that. Moreover, just because a food is grain free doesn;t mean it doesn't contain carbs, in the form of other types of plant foods. As for calories, protein and carbs have the exact same number of calories per gram. Ounce for ounce, grains and meat provide the same number of calories, so eliminating grain would have absolutely no effect on the calorie content of the food if you replace it with animal protein or other types of plant foods. 

I could go on, but you get the picture. This nutritionist's argument doesn't convince me to swap some of the protein in my dog's food for cereal, and I hope it doesn't convince you, either, lol. 

[Stacy]

Karen - This makes me worry that our Fromm Chicken Ala Veg isn't really a good food. The dogs are doing well on it. But would they be better off with one of the grain free foods? I feel like once upon a time I tried a grain free food with the papillons (and I couldn't tell you which one, other than it wasn't Fromm, Orijen, or Acana) and we had some poop problems with it. It was around the time when everyone was doing raw and we tried raw for a while and it didn't work for us either. I know the chicken ala veg is on the approved list, but should I be doing something different? I know I picked a healthy grain food because I have this vague "grain free causes diarrhea" feeling.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would absolutely not change their food if they are doing well on it. It's a perfectly good food, made by a company that has been beyond reproach from the beginning, and it provides everything your dogs need. My comments above are specifically directed to the statements made in the article, by someone who should know better. She seems to be arguing that foods that contain grains are better for our dogs than those that don't. There's nothing wrong with foods that contain healthy grains for some dogs, and there's nothing wrong with grain free foods for other dogs. The truth is, there is no one type of diet that is best for every dog. In fact, I could make the argument that kibble of any kind isn't the best food for dogs, lol. Our choices of what we feed our dogs is based on a lot of factors, including convenience and cost, and not just on what is the healthiest possible diet, just like our decisions of what to feed our kids or ourselves.

My issue is with people who put themselves forth as experts making statements that are not backed up by facts; a lot of that article sounded like it was written by the marketing department at Hill's to me. 

[Stacy]

Thank you! That makes me feel better. I have been very happy with their food. And they seem to enjoy it. I just want to make the best choices for them. It's definitely harder to make the best choices for myself. I really like McDonalds - and I don't care what anyone says! ;) 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Haha! Funny - you are not alone on McDs!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for posting this, Ginny.  From the little I know, I don't agree with it, but  my agreeing or disagreeing is more from an anecdotal stance (which isn't valid in the scientific world), however from the great deal Karen knows, it validates my basic assumptions.  I often think of how much more efficient the grain-free diet is digestion-wise for a dog, that must mean something positive in dog health.

I think the most important point and it is not mentioned is this article, is the world of difference between quality food and cheap crap food, whether with grains or without.  However, if one notices the  ingredients in the cheapest dog foods, they always contain grains like wheat and corn, and the least healthy meat 'parts'  and who knows where they got those 'parts?'  To me it is sort of like choosing between a McDonald's hamburger and a kosher deli sandwich.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Such a good point, Nancy, about the quality of the ingredients, not just "grain or no grain". The thousands of dogs and cats who died from the recalled food in 2007 weren't killed by grain or by grain-free foods, either. They were killed by greedy unscrupulous corporations. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Another thing to throw in which isn't addressed at all in the article is what else goes into the foods is all the additives - preservatives, colors, other things we can pronounce!  It seems like most grain-free are also additive-free.

I don't believe in a diet high in grains (humans or dogs) and one of the reasons I feed grain-free is because the treats I give (I buy natural biscuits or make my own) are mostly grains so Picco's diet isn't grain-free.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One of the things I look at when recommending brands on the Food Group list is artificial preservatives and colorings. None of the brands we recommend uses those in any of their foods, grain-free or not. There are a number of foods on our list that contain healthy grains and do not contain artificial colorings or preservatives.

The same cannot be said for many of the foods made by Purina, Hills, and Iams.  They all make foods that use ingredients which have been shown in studies to contribute to cancer, among other things, and which are banned from use in pet foods in most first world countries. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Unfortunately that goes for processed foods for humans too!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, and our country is sadly behind many others in this respect. The artificial preservatives BHA and BHT, which are known cancer causing agents, are banned from food products in Europe, the UK, Japan, Australia, and Canada, but allowed here in both pet foods and human foods. And that's just one example. There are dozens. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

That is exactly what I was thinking as I read this article. It leaves out the concept of quality foods either grain-free or not. It was a very odd article. It doesn't really say what one should look for in a good diet for their pet. It would be far more effective to help an owner choose quality food than just say that grains can be good for your pet...and then not mentioning how to judge that.