Commonplace today in commercial and raw diet pet food marketing is grain-free or no-grain diet. What do these terms actually mean and how do they apply to feeding the pets of today? Good question!
First, I am going to comment on what grains are: Grains are plants, specifically grasses, grown and cultivated for the edible component of the plant. The edible component is called the fruit and consists of three parts: 1) the bran 2) the germ and 3) the endosperm. Examples of commonly cultivated grains include soybeans, barley, oats, and wheat. After grains are harvested, they are either kept in their natural state as whole grains or refined by removing the germ and the bran component. Whole grains are healthful and packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Refined grains are devoid of vitamins and minerals and loaded with carbohydrates.
Since we now know what grains are and what happens to them after harvest, we can better answer the question, “Why are people marketing the no-grain theory?” The no-grain marketing scheme highlights two controversial dog-related issues. 1) The belief that dogs are carnivores and should only eat meat, no grain, and 2) That all grains whether refined or not are unhealthy for dogs to eat. Concerning the first issue, I agree dogs are carnivores, not omnivores. Claiming a dog is an omnivore is irrelevant to the fact that a dog can survive on an omnivorous diet . Yes, a dog can survive on a mixture of different food products and do quite well. However, dogs have evolved as meat eaters and clinically, at least in my practice, the dogs on a primarily meat based diet appear healthier with less disease than their counterparts consuming a more omnivorous diet. Remember, by definition, a carnivore is an animal that primarily consumes the flesh of another mammal not necessarily always. Dogs, however, are not obligate carnivores as some claim. Cats are obligate carnivores as evidenced by science and their particular requirement for taurine in the diet.
Concerning the second issue, in the past and even today, refined grains have been an integral component of most dry commercial based pet foods. As opposed to whole grains, these refined grains are virtually devoid of vitamins, minerals, and fiber while being loaded with energy. This overabundance of energy is primarily responsible for the obesity we see in both pets and people. For health, dogs should consume minimal to none of the refined grains. However, whole grains as long as they are by weight less than 15% of the diet are actually healthful. Whole grains provide vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein in the diet. Some of these vitamins and minerals are not procured through meat only diets.
So the grain-free marketing scheme is, in reality,a misnomer and a play on words. On the one hand, its great that grain-free foods are available however, the term refined grain-free would be much more appropriate. On the other hand, grain-free concerning the whole grains is unfortunate, as dogs gain a variety of health benefits when consuming a modest amount of whole grains in the diet.
