RawPetFood(Part1)

ByDr.KarenBecker

Hi,ImDr.KarenBecker, andtodaywerediscussingmyfavoritetopic:rawfooddietsforpets.Were
goingtodiscusssomeofthemythsandtruthssurroundingrawfooddiets.Butbeforewegetintothe
goodstuff,itsimportanttohaveafoundationofunderstandingaboutbasicnutrition.
Onepointthatnooneisgoingtoargueaboutisthatforoptimalhealthtooccur,animalsmustconsume
thefoodsthattheyweredesignedtoeat.Icallthisaspeciesappropriatediet.So,vegetariananimals
musteatvegetationforoptimalhealth.Andcarnivorousanimalsmusteatfreshwholepreyforoptimal
health.
A good place to start with our carnivorous pets is to go back to a dog and cats roots prior to the
domestication. The domestic dog whose taxonomic name is Canis lupus familiaris is a domesticated
formofthegraywolf,whichisamemberoftheCanidaefamilyoftheorderCarnivora.
Mostscientistsbelievethatdogsweredomesticatedfromgraywolvesabout15,000yearsago.ButDNA
analysis published in 1997 suggests that the transformation from wolves to domestic dogs occurred
morelike130,000yearsago.
DatasuggestsdogsfirstdivergedfromwolvesinEastAsia.And then thesedomesticated dogsquickly
migrated throughout the world. Of course, humans began selectively breeding dogs to create animals
thatsuitedtheirneedsandtheirlikes.
The earliest evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was found buried alongside a human
approximately9,500yearsagoinCyprus.ResearchershavegainedamajorinsightthroughDNAtesting
intotheevolutionofcatsbyshowinghowtheymigratedtonewcontinentsanddevelopednewspecies
asthesealevelsroseandfell.
A2008studyrevealedthatlinesofdescentforallhousecats,whichareFeliscatus,probablycamefrom
selfdomesticating African wild cats up to 10,000 years ago. And like the domesticated dog, humans
beganbreedingcatstosuittheirfancy,recognizingover80breedsofcatsthathavebeencreatedtoday
byoneregistryoranother.So,therearealotofdifferentkittyspeciesnowthathumanshavecreated.
FeedingPetstheWayTheyShould
Despite humans desire to create certain physical characteristics in dogs and cats this is called their
phenotype or how animals look externally both dogs and cats genotype or their genetic makeup
remainsessentiallythesameastheirwildancestors,whichshouldtellyousomethingaboutthefoods
thattheyshouldstillbeconsumingandeating.
Ofcourse,allanimalsarebiologicallyequippedtoassimilateanddigestfoodsthattheyweredesigned
to eat. For instance, earthworms are really designed to process dirt. Their whole GI tract from their
mouthtoexcretionwasdesignedforthispurpose.Andtheyresetupperfectlytobeabletoprocessdirt
astheirdigestivetask.

Cowsaredesignedtoeatgrass,andtheirGItractsaresetupperfectlyforthis.Cowshavebig,round,
flatteethusedtogrindgrassesandanunbelievablerangemotionintheirmandibles,allowingthemto
chew,chew,chew,andchew.Theyhavealotofrangeofmotionlaterallyintheirjaws.
Dogsandcatsdonothavethismotionintheirjaws.Dogsandcatsjawsmoveonlyupanddownlikea
trapdoororahinge,becausedogsandcatsaregulpers;theyrenotchewers.Theydonthavechewing
teeth.Dogsandcatshaveincrediblysharpinterlockingteethdesignedtoripandtearflesh.
DogsandcatshaveveryshortGItractscomparedtovegetariananimalsthatneedtofermentfoods,as
carnivorousanimalsconsumefoodswithpotentiallyveryheavypathogenloads.Theywerereallymeant
togetfoodsinandgetfoodsoutveryquickly.
The ancestral lifestyle of a carnivore includes lots of variety and seasonal variability, meaning certain
preysweremoreprevalentatcertaintimesoftheyear.Theythrivedconsumingfresh,living,andwhole
animals.Butcarnivorousanimalsdonoteatcleanfoods.Dogsandcatsdidnotevolvetoconsumesterile
foods. They have digestive tracts that are designed to be resilient and handle the loads of naturally
occurringbacteriathatarepresentinthefoodsthattheyate.Theirfoodwasmoisturedense,meaning
thepreythattheyconsumedwasprimarilywater.
Thecarnivorouslifestylerequiredatremendousamountofexerciseandexertion.Foodwasnotserved
tothem,sotheyhadtostealthilycatchit.Thisprovidedintensestimulationofalloftheirsenses,plus
nervous, skeletal, endocrine, and circulatory system involvement. Carnivorous animals had daily
rigorousworkoutsinanattempttocatchenoughfoodtonotstarvetodeath.
Whats very important for pet owners to note is that pet food is a relatively new concept. So, dog
foodandcatfoodthatyouwouldbeabletobuyfromthesupermarkethasonlybeenaroundalittle
bitmorethanahundredyears.
However, animals have hunted prey or, in the case of dogs, scavenged for millions of years. And
although recent research has demonstrated that domesticated carnivores have bodily changes that
show some adaptations to metabolizing some starches as humans became planters and farmers of
grains,dogsandcatsreallyhavenotevolvedintovegetariansincethattime.
TheTruthAboutPetFoods
Inthelasthundredyears,sincemajorpetfoodcompanieshaveproducedthemajorityofpetfoodsfrom
thebaseofcorn,wheat,rice,andpotato,ourcarnivorouspetshavenothadaflurryofevolutiontobe
abletoprocesstheseforeignfoods.
Thegoodnewsisdogsandcatsareadaptableandresilientunlikeotherspecies,letssay,snakes.Ifwe
suddenly force snakes to eat grains or die, or consume vegetation or die, they would simply die,
demonstratingrathervisiblythattheywerenotprovidedwiththecorrectfoodsource.
Dogsandcatsaresomeofthemostresilientanimalsontheplanet.Theyareabletowithstandreally
significantnutritionalabuse,inmyopinion,withoutdying.Degeneratingdoesoccur,butsuddenlydying
doesnt.
So, part of the deception in feeding dogs and cats with inappropriate foods for the last hundreds of
yearsisthattheyhaventdiedofacutestarvation.Theyveconsumedtheseinappropriatefoods,which
have kept them alive, but far from the thriving status of their wild relatives. Instead, weve created

dozensofgenerationsofnutritionallyweakenedanimalsthatsufferfromdegenerativediseaseslinked
tonutritionaldeficienciesthatmostveterinarianshavenotacknowledged.
ThePottengercatstudyisoneexampleofhowourcurrentsystemofnourishingpetsisreallycreatinga
lotofchronicdiseaseinourpetpopulations.
The truth of the matter is our current population provides a place for recycling in the human food
industry. Grains that fail inspection, uninspected pieces and parts leftover from the seafood industry,
leftover restaurant grease, downer cows, dead farm animals, deceased livestock and road kill could
almost be picked up and disposed of through rendering, a process that converts all sorts of animal
proteinintorawmaterialsforthepetfoodindustry.
These raw materials are purchased by huge pet food manufacturers you know, the big brands your
parentsandfriendshaveprobablyfedforthelast50years,whothenblendtherenderedfatandmeat
withalargeamountofunnecessarystarch.Theyaddabulkofvitaminandmineralsupplement.They
extrude it at high temperatures, creating all sorts of toxic reactions including advanced glycation end
productsandheterocyclicamines.Andthensellittoyouatanunbelievableprofitandcallitpetfood.
Is the entire system flawed and damaged? Yes. But the pet food industry giants are realizing that pet
ownersarebeginningtobecomemoreeducatedaboutthissystem.Theyare.Andreally,theyaretrying
tocleanuptheirimage.WearebeginningtoseewordslikeNaturalandNobyproductsonlabels.
AndwerebeginningtoseeGrainfreeandNaturallypreservedonlabelsaswell.Manufacturersare
hearing thegrumblesof educated pet ownersand arechangingtheirmarketingto tryandregainlost
customers.
MythsandMarketingGimmicks
Ihavefounditamazingthatpetparentshavefallenformarketinggimmicksthathumanparentswould
haveneverfallenfor.Forinstance,howoftenhaveyouheardapediatriciansay,Neverfeedyourbaby
anything, but X brand of baby food, because feeding a homemade diet could be dangerous to your
childshealth?Never.Butyoudohearthatintheveterinaryworld.
How about this one, Switching your brand of baby food could lead to GI problems, so only feed one
brandortypeofbabyfoodtoyourchildrenfortherestoftheirlivestoavoidGIproblems.Youwould
never hear that. And yet, you do hear that in the veterinary industry. Its a little startling to me that
entiregenerationsofpeoplehaveactuallybelievedthatpetsmusthavepetfoodtobehealthy.
Andthentheresawholehostofothermythsthatyouprobablyhaveheard.Forinstance,thatpetscan
deriveallofthenutrientsforavibranthealthfromadrynuggetthatcanbefeddayafterday,yearafter
year;thatiftheydontfeedcrunchyfoodstotheirpets,theirpetsteethwontbecleaned;thatcanned
foodsistoorich,andrawfoodissimplyarecenttrendycrazethatcouldberisky.
AlotofpeoplebelievethatmyvetwouldntrecommendXbrandoffoodifwasntgoodformypet;that
allcatsshouldeatfishanddrinkmilk;thatveterinariansarethepeopletotrustforthemostuptodate
informationpertainingtonutrition;andthatdisease,degeneration,andpoorvitalityhavenothingtodo
withdaytodaynourishment.Allmyths.
StraighteningOuttheFacts
So,whatarethefacts?

Carbohydrates are not a necessary component of a carnivorous diet. Cats have no taste receptors for
sweetflavorsandhavelowratesofglucoseuptakeintheintestine.Theyshouldnotbefedanytypeof
grainsthatmetabolizeintosugar.
Catshavenosalivaryamylasetobreakdownstarches.Anddogshaveverylowamylasesecretion.Cats
neverhuntedfishfromtheocean,anditsnotanevolutionaryfoodsourceforthem.
The intense heat used to process commercial pet foods destroys and reduces vitamins, minerals, and
enzymesinthefood.Digestibilityofaminoacidsinprocessedpetfoodhaschangedsignificantlybythe
heatingprocess.Processedpetfoodsrequiresupplementationtoreplacelostnutrients.Anddigestibility
ofmeatbasedproteinisproventobesuperiortoplantbasedproteinfordogsandcats.
So,inanutshell,for99.99percentofthetime,dogsandcatshaveconsumedanaturaldiet.For.001
percentofthetime,dogsandcatshaveconsumedanextrudedprocesseddiet.Dogsandcatsevolvedto
consumealowcarbohydratediet.Andinthelast100years,themajorityofpetownershavefedpetsa
highcarbohydrate,lowmoisturediet,creatingsignificantmetabolicandphysiologicstressandtheroot
causes of most of the degenerative diseases and inflammatory processes that now plague our
population.

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