Common questions about dog food
1) Why are raw and fresh dog foods better for your dog than kibble?
Kibble is the most commonly fed type of dog food, but as dog owners have become more informed about canine nutrition they have learned that kibble is not the best option. Even premium, better quality kibble and canned foods cannot compete with the advantages of a fresh or raw food.
Kibble and canned foods, unlike fresh or raw foods, are highly processed, meaning they are rendered and cooked to the point of denaturing live enzymes and depleting the food of the nutrients found in whole foods. Even if the food started with high quality ingredients, once it is exposed to the high temperatures it loses a majority of its nutritional value. Thus, manufacturers try to replace these lost nutrients with artificial additives that are less absorbable by the body. The naturally occurring live enzymes in meat and vegetables cannot be replaced artificially, however, and these enzymes are needed for proper digestion and stomach health. A dog's body must work much harder in order to compensate for the lack of nutrition.
On the other hand, raw and fresh foods have a wide variety of health benefits due to their fresh nature. These foods are exposed to minimal or no heat, resulting in the food's ability to retain most of its nutritional value. Since nutrients are not destroyed, there is no reason to add any artificial additives. The light cooking of food at low temperatures just high enough to destroy any pathogens causes only minimal damage to even the most heat sensitive nutrients. Therefore, if one is hesitant about feeding raw food, a fresh/ lightly cooked food is a good alternative. An added benefit is that a dog owner can actually see the nutrient dense, high quality ingredients used in fresh or raw foods. It is easy to hide poor ingredients and mask smells with over- processing. Whole foods are always better than processed foods, for both dogs and humans, so it makes sense that fresh and raw foods are a better choice than kibble.
2) Why are artificial preservatives bad for my dog? Which are especially harmful?
Artificial preservatives have been linked to cancer, pancreatic disease, allergies, hair loss, blindness and immunodeficiency, so they are best avoided. The most commonly used artificial preservatives are ethoxyquin, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Ethoxyquin is a rubber preservative manufactured by a chemical corporation, Monsanto, and is listed as a pesticide by the Department of Agriculture. BHT and BHA are linked with kidney and liver dysfunction, as well as bladder and stomach cancer. Use of all three of these chemicals is banned in Europe.
Even with modern advances in packaging, dry dog food has to have preservatives to maintain its quality and safety. If you feed a dry food, look for products made with natural preservatives. Natural preservatives such as vitamins C and E do not pose any known health risks, however, they do not preserve as well as artificial preservatives so they are not frequently used. Foods made with natural preservatives should be bought in smaller quantities so they don't go rancid without you knowing it.
The scary news is that even if no artificial preservatives are listed on a dog food ingredient label, it does not mean they are not in it. Dog food companies only have to list what they have put into the food themselves, so if they buy ingredients from a supplier who has already added the preservatives, they do not have to disclose that on the bag. Bottom line, use caution when feeding any food made with either natural or artificial preservatives.
