Dogs Naturally Magazine, a Veterinary based magazine, inspired me to research this incredibly important, Interesting, and alarming article about dog nutrition.
Studies recently show canines eating brand new diets to pups eating brands with nutrition deficiencies (I.e., Pedigree, Beneful, Alpo), which contain large amounts of processed foods, found that dogs eating fresh foods statistically live on average two years and eight months longer than those with the low nutritional diets and/or “cheap” brands.
That’s an extra thirty-two months on your beloved fur baby’s life.
There are many explanations for canines prematurely aging. Contemporary research shows that telomeres – a compound structuring at the end of a chromosome “shortening” could be one connection between processed diets and a shortened life.
TELOMERES, VITALITY, LIFESPAN
The end of each chromosome is a stretch of DNA named telomeres in both canines and homo sapiens.
Telomeres 🧬 are essentially the tough rounded ends of shoelaces. Telomeres conceal the perimeters of your dog’s chromosomes and stop ✋ them from unfolding. 🚫
As canines age, their telomeres get shorter. Generally, old canines have immensely shortened telomeres. Every time a cell divides, the acting telomere for that chromosome gets shortened. Cells are continually dividing, such as surface cells like skin and cells within significant organs such as the liver.
Once the telomeres are wholly gone, its chromosome on the DNA unfolds 🧬 , and the cell will execute one of three plans:
- Self-destruction (apoptosis)
- Go Solo (evolve cancerously)
- Retire (becomes senescent)
The body is continually residing with cancers and stands adequately equipped to handle them. If the immune system is working sufficiently, it can pick up and demolish any cancerous cells. Again, that’s if the immune system is not compromised.
It’s the senescent (or cessation of cell division) cells that do the most damage to the body. Senescent cells are the one guy who ruins the party as these cells come baring early-onset of age-related disease.
Senescent cells lay dormant, and at any given time in the body, they discharge poisonous chemicals. These chemicals begin to grip to encircling healthy cells, causing that cell to become senescent or cancerous.
You need to protect the telomeres.
HOW PROCESSED FOODS DESTROY TELOMERES
Researchers in Spain looked at telomeres size and diets in human participants. They lay the first stone that the more processed diets they ate, the faster they shortened telomeres.
Partakers that ate three or more servings of refined or processed foods everyday stood 82% more apt to bring into light shortened telomeres.
What is refined or processed food? Like yourselves, your canine companions rely solely on the diet you feed them and to enhance longevity, as well as address specific breed diets and needs it’s important to know how to read a dog food label and more important to understand it. Think of processed food as “fillers”. Bad brands of dog food will usually list a filler or a meat “meal or derivative” (essentially ANY part of the protein source, I mean any part) and include a lot of grains such as corn to keep your pet full for longer. Corn, isn’t easily digested whole for humans, and it’s no better for dogs. This does not mean you should feed your pets grain-free food. It means the grains if at all should be healthy, ground up if needed, and easily digested.
Recent articles in both frontline and DVM360 have linked grain-free diets to cardiomyopathy or heart disease/failure. Hills Food Manufacturer sent a disturbing informational article to all associate Veterinary hospitals in June of 2019 showing the research-based evidence and development of grain-free diets and heart failure or sudden death due to heart issues in over five hundred canines.
WHAT IS A PROCESSED FOODS PURPOSE?
A LOT of pet foods and food brands (raw foods included) encompass refined ingredients. The ingredients are exposed to high heat, processing machines, or prepared in a laboratory and approximately entirely nurtured by human reserves. It cuts expenses for the pet food corporation to put fillers and processed food in the nourishment as grain is an inexpensive crop and corn is the cheapest. Corn that is not ground up is not generally tolerated by humans nor pets- the food must contain appropriate grains such as “ground” corn.
The first ingredient listed should always be the protein source (meat). Don’t be fooled by the word meal derivative or meals; this meat is essentially the meat you don’t want your pet to have (I.e., Weird body parts or even meat from untrustworthy or none grass-fed animals from non-accredited farmers).
Dog food standards are not the same as human food standards. The only thing a dog food brand needs is a label listing the ingredients and for it to be visible on the bag. No further testing of the food to date is required by law. PET FOOD DOES NOT need to be FDA tested unless it’s a prescription diet. It does need to pass its own “FDA” mentioned below.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides nutritional standards (called model bills and regulations) that pet food manufacturers must abide by if they want to advertise their food as “complete and balanced.” – dogsnaturallymagazine
While the pet food industry reduces their costs by supplementing essential nutrients with fillers, processed foods and protein meals and maybe save a few bucks on the packaging, this day in age the brands are all aware (if they weren’t before) and still sell garbage to gain more personal profit (though they swim in it as is), they add bills to your veterinary tab and take years off your pet’s life, practically load your dog up with fillers, meat and meal derivatives, and indigestiblele grains. We simply have no idea we are slowly killing our pets. Not to mention they STILL push grain-free when it causes heart failure.
Name brand pet food. Is it malicious? Not all, well some probably are, but there are many brands of food. It’s unlikely intentional all pet food corporations are trying to murder your pet since canine and feline nutrition is only recently becoming a significant component of raising healthy pets, and though many brands have been forced off shelves or forced to re-do their recipe; to this day, pedigree, also, and Beneful cut corners. Will display labels below
What are the ingredients most likely to be processed? What do you need to pay extra attention to? Words.
- Meals (like chicken meal or corn meal)
- Flavors (even natural flavors)
- Colorings
- Vitamins – what vitamins and how much?
- Minerals– what minerals and how much?
You probably already know to stay away from meals and flavors. But many “high end” brands and freeze-dried foods contain vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins sourced in pet food are made with petroleum or fat products and are highly processed in factories. Minerals are also being processed in high heat and can be toxi. Avoid “added vitamins and minerals” or “all-natural and fresh with added supplements”
Processed foods are deficient in antioxidants. A fixed stream of antioxidants is vital to ameliorate oxidative stress harm and telomere curtailing.
HOW TO PREVENT TELEMORES FROM SHORTENING
Simple! Food and lifestyle change. Small adjustments you can make that will help keep your dog’s telomeres long and inflammation down.
Here is a list of supplements proved safe to give to pets that are found OTC. These you can purchase yourself.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fats: Both omega-6 and omega-3 fats have the ability to control hormones — and the hormones they control have very different jobs. The omega-6 fatty acids produce hormones that increase inflammation, which is an important part of the immune response. They also help with blood clotting and cell growth. The hormones produced by omega-3 fatty acids also control the immune system and they work alongside the omega-6 fats in an antagonistic manner. So, balance between these fatty acids is an important part of a healthy immune system. Both fats are important and your dog needs both in his diet. But these fats must be reasonably balanced for a balanced immune system … and today’s modern diets make this balance difficult.
Https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/ (text directly copied)
Sulforaphane: Broccoli and especially broccoli sprouts are rich in a polyphenol called sulforaphane. This is a powerful antioxidant and liver detoxifier … but make sure it’s not heated as heat destroys the enzyme that converts sulforaphane in the body.
Probiotics/Prebiotics: A prosperous stomach includes an abundance of bacteria that reduce inflammation. And as pups age, their microbiomes become less distinct, and this can cause inflammation and telomere shortening.
Those are just expansions to your pet’s diet. Additionally, for an upset stomach, you can serve none-dessert canned pumpkin or boiled chicken and white rice. “Bland” diets are preferred when a dog is experiencing digestive tract issues. What your dog food should contain are the three driving energy sources.
Your dog needs three sources to operate: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. These macronutrients are the only source of calories your dog gets.
Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. Amino acids are important not just for energy but for vitality and tissue assembly in the bodies cell production. They also fire up the metabolic process. (hence energy drinks are loaded with amino acids and bcaa)
Fat is a rich source of energy. Pound per pound fat is two times more highly caloric than the protein source. You need to watch the amount of fat per protein ratio when feeding. Fat is essential in protecting your dog’s cells and aids in making hormones as well as fatty–soluble vitamins. Without a steady supply of protein and fat, your dog will die.
Carbohydrates are not essential for life, and dogs can survive without them, but that does not mean they shouldn’t be removed from the recipe. Carbohydrates help boost the dog’s immune systems and help reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases.
That being said the following sites are great for pet nutrition recalls, questions, and information.
https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-dry-dog-foods/
Example: GOOD DOG FOOD
Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 28-lb bag
Nutritional Information
- Beef, Peas, Garbanzo Beans, Lamb Meal, Canola Oil, Egg Product, Wild Boar, Ocean Fish Meal, Pea Flour, Dried Yeast, Tomato Pomace, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil (A Source Of DHA), Salt, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Chicory Root, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Raspberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bi Fidobacterium Animalis Fermentation Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid. Contains A Source Of Live (Viable), Naturally Occurring Microorganisms.
Caloric Content
- 3,600 kcal/kg, 360 kcal/cup
EXAMPLE: Bad Dog Food- look at the first few ingredients.
PEDIGREE ADULT COMPLETE NUTRITION GRILLED STEAK VEGETABLE FLAVOR DRY DOG FOOD
Ingredients : THE BOLD ARE VERY BAD.
GROUND WHOLE GRAIN CORN, MEAT AND BONE MEAL (SOURCE OF CALCIUM), CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (SOURCE OF OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS [PRESERVED WITH BHA & CITRIC ACID]), SOYBEAN MEAL, NATURAL FLAVOR, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, DRIED PLAIN BEET PULP, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, BREWERS RICE, GROUND WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, DRIED PEAS, DL-METHIONINE, NATURAL GRILLED STEAK FLAVOR, ZINC SULFATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, L-TRYPTOPHAN, RED 40, YELLOW 6, DRIED CARROTS, BLUE 2, YELLOW 5, COPPER SULFATE, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN B5], SODIUM SELENITE, NIACIN [VITAMIN B3], POTASSIUM IODIDE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6], THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID.
Directions :
Throw dog food out.
PETOLOGY 