Saw this in the Guardian Newspaper today and so was prompted to compare and contrast the worries Prof. Sridhar has in humans with observations made by myself and others in the animal population were I suspect the problem is even more acute.
It is and has been for decades pressed home to veterinarians how important nutrition is, the animals diet has to have just enough, of this and that mineral, protein levels between x and y etc. etc. Nows it is hard to argue that nutrition is NOT important of course it is but not in these highly broken down stats.
Vets and Vet Nurses are ‘educated’ by corporate institutions such as The Purina Institute (Nestle), The Hills Veterinary Academy (Colgate Palmolive) and of course MARS The Waltham & Mars Petcare Institute. Mars Petcare even own vet practices under their own name and Banfield Hospitals in the US and Linnaeus in the UK!
I receive ads for Purina weekly on Facebook inviting me to join. Now these institutions do publish a lot of good research, have dedicated staff, they run fine hospitals and the veterinary industry welcomes their dollars I do wonder if the profits of the core petfood business do not come first?
You can read more about this subject the read “Feeding Dogs The Science Behind The Dry Versus Raw Debate“ by Dr Conor Brady This book is an excellent read.
But getting back to the incidence of Cancers in younger pets as in the article in humans. These do seem much more common in my observations and some other vets. We have also observed more allergies, pancreatitis, Inflammatory Bowel problems and other illnesses being associated with poor Gut microbiomes in pets. We also observe the changes when one feed a raw or home cooked diet. Even some of the gentler cooked diet are so much better than ultra heat treated kibbles. Even if the levels of say iron or even protein are not exactly as in the AAFCO GUIDE BOOK. We can also read of Vegan diets for dogs and there is evidence these are better than ultra heat treated meat and cereal kibbles.
There is another book I am reading with also makes a great read and I highly recommend – It discusses and shows cases of long lived healthy dogs so lower levels of Cancer etc. Written by 2 American Veterinarians Drs Karen Becker and Rodney Habib
The Forever Dog The New York Times and Sunday Times Bestselling Dog Care Guide
We do not fret about the exact amount of B vitamins, for example in our food do we? We balance out over time, we minimally process the foods, eat fruit and veg at least some raw so why is this likely to be appropriate for our pets.
Of course there are so many aspects to reduction in cancer rate and these also will apply to pets as well as people – exercise, fresh water, avoiding chemical poisons such as household cleaners, alcohol, tobacco and the like but also and possibly most important mental well being.
The Authors have recently met a 31 year old dog in Portugal and reported on its lifestyle and diet
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The owner describes Bobi as very sociable and says he loves eating “human food” – which he believes contributed to his longevity.
Bobi has never been chained up nor attached to a leash, and has always enjoyed free roam of the forests and farmland surrounding the Costa family house.
Leonel describes Bobi as “very sociable” as he grew up with many other animals.
In May, Bobi will celebrate his 31st birthday, though it’s likely he’ll be oblivious to the fact he’s made history as the oldest dog to ever exist.
So what do we read from this – human food, freedom Not an exact scientific formula diet, He can of course scavenge the farm for berries, herbs insects if his body feels it needs it. I am increasingly wondering whether 100% raw meaty foods is essential to good health; you know all meat (10% offal, 10% bone of course) & no cereals or potatoes Perhaps it is an ideal but unnecessarily strict. Give scraps, give vegetables cooked if potatoes/squashes/peas etc as long as it is a good minimally processed diet you are having it will not harm your dog.
{Cats are not small dogs though}
I will write more about this in the coming month and give you some ideas for expanding onto a more varied diet for now stick to raw Meats, eggs, fish and some Veg including some raw juiced or ground up and let them scavenge.
More to follow Vegan & Veggie petfoods
Avoid insecticides and other chemicals
