Hippocrates states: ” Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!” Oh, how relevant this statement is to the practice of veterinary medicine. It is undeniable that food and what pets ingest is the foundation of health. Today, consumers are bombarded with the marketing savvy of huge companies tempting the consumer to purchase certain food products. With this in mind, you ask: “What is the best food to feed my pet?” The answer is: “It depends!!”
The food you choose to feed your pet depends on some of the following factors. 1) Time- time as it relates to actually preparing the meal. 2) Storage- storing a bag of food in the pantry; storing cans on the shelf; or storing a product that requires some sort of refrigeration. 3) Cost-premium foods, although more healthful, tend to cost more. 4) Current Medical Issues-some foods promote health and others promote disease.
When a pet owner asks me for a food recommendation, we go through the previously mentioned factors and try to identify a food that meets their needs. However, pet foods that promote health and longevity have some things in common.
Factors that promote health in dog food:
- Contain by weight minimally 40% animal based protein on a dry matter basis.
- Contain minimal refined grains. Refined grains are grains that remain after the germ and bran are removed. Refined grains are mostly carbohydrate with minimal nutritional value. Whole grains are acceptable as long as they make up less than 15% of the diet. Whole grains provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- A variety of protein sources should be present in the food. Protein should come from muscle meat, fish, organ meat, and plants.
- Minimal amount of preservatives.
- Minimal amount of salt.
In summation, choosing the proper pet food for your pet can be a daunting task. However, remembering some of the aforementioned points may make the task much easier.
Tags: dog foods
As I’ve adopted two shelter dogs, and work in adult human nutrition and medicine, this is terrific information.
Especially because your advice parallels (with the exception of criteria #1 and 2) the best nutritional advice for people: I prefer people receive most of their protein from plants, and that whole grains are a larger percentage of diet—perhaps 20-25.
I like the approach, and wonder if data exist about longevity for this prescription in dogs (as they do in people: see, e.g., RealAge.com and RealAge Diet: disclosure, I co-authored the latter).
Best
JL
Sorry about the delayed response to your question. The answer is “no>.” There is no evidence that this type of diet helps from a Western standpoint. We can only extrapolate from our human counterparts. However, in my practice, the dogs on Pettao exude vibrancy and health far beyond dogs on a more conventional diet. So, i guess the evidence is mostly anecdotal from me. Thanks for your comment!!!!!