How To Read Ingredient Lists - Basic Breakdown
This will not be a comprehensive look at this topic. I would suggest that you contact a holistic veterinarian for more details. Prior to becoming a dog owner, I had owned about a dozen cats in my life. None were fed high quality diets, except the last two because by then I had started working in the pet industry and become informed about the benefits of optimizing the health of pets. I use to buy my food from the grocery store for my cats. It was a one-stop mentality and made sense for my convenience, and the price was right. However, I never thought to read ingredient lists or to question whether these were adequate diets for my pets.
It seemed to me at the time that food in the grocery store is healthy for me, so it would be the same for the pet food. I never thought that pets should have the same quality ingredients as me because that would cost too much money. I thought one step down was alright. Unfortunately, the food in the grocery stores is a lot more than one step down - and they are big steps at that. Let me explain.
There are three forms of meat or protein in pet foods. The top quality cuts are simply referred to by their name with no qualifiers, ie. Lamb or Lamb Meat. The next step down is used in most high quality kibble and it is referred to as ‘meal-form’ proteins (rendered meats). Often they can be high in protein content as they are not water-laden like top cuts. That being said, meal form can also be things like compressed skin. Meal form protein is not the ideal, but, for the sake of cost it is a perfectly acceptable form of protein. That is why many great companies concerned about pet health still use rendered meats in their formulas. Further levels down is the one that is quite spurious with regards to pet health - by-product proteins. By-product protein can include beaks and feathers, and by-products are not quality sources of protein.
When it comes to carbohydrates, the bottom line is that you should try to exclude or minimize them from your pet’s diet. However, extruded and baked kibbles require carbs as binding agents to hold the kibble piece together. The top quality level of carbohydrates will be sweet potato, russet potato or organic brown rice. With these carbs, the sugars are broken down more evenly and the breaking-down process does not tax the pancreas and thus does not begin the onset of diabetes. The next step down would be certain kinds of rice and potato. The third step down is similar to the protein sources. Brewers rice is rice by-product and has little nutritional value and will be hard to break down internally for the pet.
Finally, there are certain fillers that should not be in a pet’s diet if you are concerned with the optimal health of your pet. Any kinds of gluten, corn, wheat and soy have no business in a pet’s diet. They are not broken down evenly and will lead your pet across a shaky bridge, risking a fall into a chasm of poor health. There are artificial flavors and preservatives that will also be detrimental to the health of your pet. This has been my experience serving hundreds of customers across a city of six million people while working at six different pet retailers. In my opinion and experience, it is not worth the risk to play around with a poor diet. Too often, it will cost you money and cost your pet happiness, while your relationship with the pet will suffer.
It seemed to me at the time that food in the grocery store is healthy for me, so it would be the same for the pet food. I never thought that pets should have the same quality ingredients as me because that would cost too much money. I thought one step down was alright. Unfortunately, the food in the grocery stores is a lot more than one step down - and they are big steps at that. Let me explain.
There are three forms of meat or protein in pet foods. The top quality cuts are simply referred to by their name with no qualifiers, ie. Lamb or Lamb Meat. The next step down is used in most high quality kibble and it is referred to as ‘meal-form’ proteins (rendered meats). Often they can be high in protein content as they are not water-laden like top cuts. That being said, meal form can also be things like compressed skin. Meal form protein is not the ideal, but, for the sake of cost it is a perfectly acceptable form of protein. That is why many great companies concerned about pet health still use rendered meats in their formulas. Further levels down is the one that is quite spurious with regards to pet health - by-product proteins. By-product protein can include beaks and feathers, and by-products are not quality sources of protein.
When it comes to carbohydrates, the bottom line is that you should try to exclude or minimize them from your pet’s diet. However, extruded and baked kibbles require carbs as binding agents to hold the kibble piece together. The top quality level of carbohydrates will be sweet potato, russet potato or organic brown rice. With these carbs, the sugars are broken down more evenly and the breaking-down process does not tax the pancreas and thus does not begin the onset of diabetes. The next step down would be certain kinds of rice and potato. The third step down is similar to the protein sources. Brewers rice is rice by-product and has little nutritional value and will be hard to break down internally for the pet.
Finally, there are certain fillers that should not be in a pet’s diet if you are concerned with the optimal health of your pet. Any kinds of gluten, corn, wheat and soy have no business in a pet’s diet. They are not broken down evenly and will lead your pet across a shaky bridge, risking a fall into a chasm of poor health. There are artificial flavors and preservatives that will also be detrimental to the health of your pet. This has been my experience serving hundreds of customers across a city of six million people while working at six different pet retailers. In my opinion and experience, it is not worth the risk to play around with a poor diet. Too often, it will cost you money and cost your pet happiness, while your relationship with the pet will suffer.
Sobek the Finnish Lapphund - Monq Sweater
