Dogs and cats nutritionist Fiona A. Picton gives advice on the best nutrients for our four-legged friends while dispelling some myths about grain-free pet food.
Myth: Many dog and cat owners believe their pets will get better nutrition by being fed grain-free diets.
Fact: All the nutrients in pet food add nutritional value to the food. These include carbohydrates, proteins and nutrients coming from grains. Grains supply energy. The body’s cells need carbohydrates as a primary source of energy. The brain and nerves need glucose from a carbohydrate to support normal functions.
Grains provide fibre and other nutrients. Fibre is very important in the diet to maintain the health of the gastrointestinal tract. Grains also contain nutrients that contribute to healthy skin and coat, as well as certain essential fatty acids.
Finally, the grain in the diet will spare the protein to be used as the building blocks to maintain muscle and tissue. Breeding females, growing pups and kittens and also dogs that lead an active lifestyle need to have these grains in their diet so as not to suffer the consequences of lack of nutrients.
Myth: Corn is a filler.
Fact: Corn is an excellent source of fatty acids, beta carotene, vitamin E and lutein. These are known as nature’s antioxidants and have been proven to lessen the risk of chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, stroke, heart disease and ageing in pets. Corn also provides highly digestible carbohydrates as energy source to spare proteins, as well as corn which provides good quality proteins for the pet’s growth and muscle building.
Myth: Grain-free pet foods are better for my pet.
Fact: The idea that a food is grain-free is very misleading to pet owners, since the carbohydrate source will be potato or sweet potato which contains more carbohydrates than corn and is proven to release certain amount of toxins when cooked and ingested.
Myth: My dog is gluten intolerant.
Fact: Gluten intolerance is a human condition, not dogs’. There only exists one colony of Irish setters in the north of France that suffer from a kind of gluten intolerance. Gluten in fact is a highly valuable protein in the pet’s diet.
Myth: By feeding my dog with ‘grains’, he will become obese.
Fact: Both proteins and carbohydrates release 4Kcal/g, so both offer the same amount of calories. Dietary fat is much easily converted to body fat, however, carbohydrates and proteins need energy to be broken down.
Therefore, if excess calories from fat are consumed, a dog or cat will gain body fat stores more easily than if the excess calories came from protein or carbohydrate.
A grain-free diet is made primarily of proteins which cause allergies and a high percentage of fat which is the main cause of diabetes, pancreatitis and obesity.