Food As Medicine

Science Diet and Hills Prescription diets, Iams, Eukanuba, Purina and OM prescription diets are recommended by at least 90% of my veterinary colleagues. These diets are considered the top of the line in pet foods and many caring pet owners, following the advice of their veterinarian, feed their pets these diets. And really it is a shame that this is our gold standard in veterinary healthcare. For it is a standard of nutrition that is dictated by companies whose ultimate aim may not be in our pets' best interests. Millions of dollars are spent every year on researching, developing, educating veterinarians and marketing to pet owners to maintain this gold standard. But are our pets really thriving from the standard these companies have created for pet owners and veterinarians to follow? Are grains the best source of protein? Certainly they are the cheapest source of protein. Which is good for the all important profit margin, but perhaps not so good for our pets. Fortunately, there is a small but growing number of pet owners and veterinarians who are beginning to question the actual ingredients used to make these pet foods. And with good reason.

All veterinarians know the importance that diet plays in the health of a patient. Essential nutrients play a vital role in keeping our pets healthy. Veterinarians know the importance of maintaining a pet on a balanced diet of vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids and that a properly formulated diet should never be the cause of illness. Food should be good medicine. And pet foods are developed to address the basic and essential nutrients required including the necessary percentage of protein, fat, and carbohydrate that our pets need. But with the focus on research aimed at quantity of protein, vitamins etc. where does the quality of ingredients come into play? And herein lies the problem to this standard of veterinary healthcare.

Pet food ingredients in these top of the line diets are not based on quality. Pick up any bag and read the first 5 ingredients and I guarantee that you will see corn, wheat, soy, gluten, and a meat by-product. Read further down the list and you will see flavorings, and preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin. Preservatives banned in Great Britain and Europe. While research seems to suggest that corn and wheat are perfectly acceptable sources of protein for our pets, isn't meat better? Could corn, wheat, soy and gluten actually be causing some chronic ailments in our beloved pets? I believe that they do. It is time that veterinarians and pet owners demand a better standard of pet food and realize that using food as medicine means using quality ingredients.

Start reading the ingredient labels of pet food and treats. Just read the first 5 ingredients and avoid anything that has corn, wheat, soy, and /or gluten. Look for a diet that has meat listed as the first 1-3 ingredients. This is especially important with cat food. Cats are "obligate carnivores" In other words, their anatomy and physiology is designed for digesting meat only and yet most processed cat food is corn based. Why? It's cheap I suppose. But if a feral cat lived in the middle of an Iowa cornfield and there were no mice, voles or birds to be eaten, that cat would not turn to an ear of corn to survive, she would starve to death. A dog would eat most anything to survive if there was no meat, but would that dog thrive? No

Independently owned pet specialty retailers provide diets with high quality ingredients and the cost is no more than a bag of corn based Science Diet. I have listed retailers below and for additional information check out www.naturapet.com.

The Stock Shop - Glendale, AZ (623) 487-9277
Bark Avenue Pet Supply- Mesa, AZ (480) 832-2510
Bone Appetit Bakery - Phoenix, AZ (480) 785-9499
Kodi's Natural Pet Food - Phoenix, AZ (602) 265-0462
Pet Food Depot - Phoenix, AZ (602) 493-7639
Noble Beast Natural Market for Pets - Phoenix, AZ (602) 265-4223
Choice Pet Market - Scottsdale, AZ (480) 575-9292

www.gooberpetdirect.com - for home delivery of premium pet foods.

Kindest wishes,
Dr. Jacquie