How to select healthy foods for your pet
The overwhelming array of options when it comes to pet food makes it difficult to determine which foods are finest for your pet. In addition, many pet owners stopped trusting industrial pet foods after the huge pet food recall of 2007. Pet owners began preparing home-made diets for their pets or jumped on the raw food bandwagon. exactly how do you understand what food is finest for your pet?
I am not a proponent of raw food diets. While I acknowledge that there are numerous benefits to feeding raw, unprocessed foods, I believe that the dangers for animals outweigh the benefits. Unless you can be one hundred percent sure that the meat you’re feeding your pet is pathogen as well as parasite free, you should not be feeding raw meat. If you want to feed a homemade diet, feed your pet a cooked diet plan as well as make sure it is properly balanced. Petdiets.com provides recipes produced by veterinary nutritionists for healthy pets in addition to pets with special medical or dietary needs.
Most pet owners still prefer to feed a industrial diet, however they want to feed something that’s “natural” as well as free of preservatives. however exactly how do you understand whether the food that’s advertised as “natural” truly is? Often, foods are identified “natural”, however when you inspect the label, you discover that the food truly isn’t so natural after all. A look at the components may show that the traditional brand’s “natural” food is still of quite bad quality. perhaps the main component was altered from poultry by-products to chicken, however the food still contains corn gluten meal, soy meal, as well as wheat gluten meal, components that are high on the listing of culprits when it comes to allergies or digestive problems. This is why it’s important to not autumn for the advertising hype of a “natural” label however checked out the ingredients.
Another typical misconception is that veterinary diets are high quality, healthy foods since they come from a vet’s office. Unfortunately, when you look at the component listing on the veterinary brands, you frequently discover the exact same things you discover in the inexpensive grocery store brands. most veterinarians get extremely bit training in nutrition. Veterinary institutions generally offer only a few weeks of training in nutrition, as well as the direction is frequently sponsored or provided by the exact same business that make these veterinary diets.
Many pet owners are unsure of what makes a food natural, healthy or holistic. the very best method to determine this is to disregard tags such as “all-natural”, “holistic”, “veterinarian approved”, “chosen by top breeders”. ignore the adorable pictures of happy dogs as well as adorable kitties as well as wholesome looking components on the labels, as well as look at the component listing instead. manufacturers are needed to listing components in descending order, i.e., the component with the greatest amount is listed first, the one with the smallest amount last.
Quality components to look For:
Animal proteins – determined by name (e.g., chicken, beef, lamb).
Organic components – meats, vegetables, grains as well as fruits – these are licensed free of pesticides, hormones, as well as antibiotics. inspect for the USDA organic seal on the package.
Whole unrefined grains like barley, brown rice, or ground oatmeal for dogs. For cats, it is finest to look for grain-free foods. most cats can’t digest grains, as well as grain-free foods likewise assist reduce or get rid of hairballs.
Human-Grade components – human grade meats tend to be much better quality.
Whole vegetables as well as fruits – the less processed the much better (for example, whole potatoes are much much better than potato starch). These are important sources of natural plant-based nutrients (phyto-nutrients) as well as antioxidants.
I suggest the complying with brands:
Wellness, Innova (especially the grain-free EVO line), Merrick, California Natural
These brands as well as more are offered at only natural Pet store as well as other on the internet retailers.
Ingrid King
You may likewise like:
Are Dehydrated as well as Freeze-dried Foods a healthy choice for Your Cat?
Natural Doesn’t always mean healthy When it comes to feline Food
Giveaway: Win a $50 whole Foods gift Card as well as try whole Paws feline Food
« two reasons not to utilize dryer sheets
Shift your vibration – smile! »
2 comments on exactly how to select healthy foods for your pet
Ingrid says:
April 21, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Thanks for the link to the NY Times article, Connie. It is worrisome exactly how bit manage we truly seem to have over our food supply.
Unfortunately, I believe there’s no method to be 100% sure about any type of food we choose, whether it’s for us or for our pets. I believe what it comes down to is that we can only inform ourselves as finest we can on the pros as well as cons ofnull