The Truth about Grain-Free Dog Food and Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
Sep 29, 2020
Here’s something that might surprise you…
I wake up every day sincerely excited to scroll through my email inbox and answer questions from pet parents like you.
Yes...I know loving customer service isn’t a normal personality trait. But this isn’t just any kind of customer service. This is the world of canine nutrition. And in this world, I feel a personal responsibility to combat harmful lies and spread the truth about dog food to pet parents everywhere.
So...you can imagine my horror when I came into the office last week and opened an email about the ever-present topic of grain-free dog food and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
The email read as follows…
“Hi Visionary Pet,
My veterinarian recommended I add grains to your food. He says grain-free foods can lead to serious heart problems. However, I feel uncomfortable adding carbs. Can you help me with this?”
Yes, you read that right. A veterinarian actually recommended adding grains in order to combat DCM. If you don’t understand why that’s an absolutely ridiculous idea, then please - keep reading. Because what you’re about to read might save your dog’s life.
What is Dilated Cardiomyopathy?
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition that occurs when the muscles of the heart become enlarged and weakened. When this occurs, it limits the ability of the heart to efficiently pump blood.
In both humans and dogs, DCM is a serious medical condition that can be fatal. This is why the topic of grain-free dog food and DCM is so important. And that’s why I’m writing this now - to clear up all the confusion and tell you everything you need to know about why SOME grain-free dog foods are being linked with DCM.
DCM and Taurine Deficiency
The latest science suggests that DCM is likely caused by a long-term taurine deficiency. Taurine is an essential amino acid for dogs. It’s abundant in the brain, eyes and heart tissue - which explains why problems with taurine deficiency can lead to DCM.
Dogs can get taurine in 2 ways:
-
Direct intake of taurine in their diet; or
-
Creating taurine from the sulfur-containing amino acids: methionine or cysteine.
All of these amino acids - taurine, methionine, and cysteine - are present in large amounts in animal-based proteins. They’re either missing or present in very low amounts in plant-based proteins. And THAT is the key issue regarding grain-free foods and DCM.
Many grain-free dog foods use plant-based protein sources like pea or soy protein instead of real meat. They do this because plant-based proteins are cheaper and easier to work with from a manufacturing perspective. However, using inferior protein sources can lead to serious health problems in the long-term - including dilated cardiomyopathy.
If you want to avoid these health issues, then you need to feed your dog a low carb, real meat dog food - like Visionary Pet. We only use animal protein and never add grains or digestible carbs of any kind.
Which brings us to the real question...
Are ALL Grain-Free Foods Bad?
The answer is NO. Not all grain-free dog foods are bad. And the reason is simple.
Labeling a dog food as “grain-free” tells you ONE thing about that food - that it doesn’t contain grains. However, it tells you literally nothing else about that same food.
For example, let’s look at the important characteristics of 2 grain-free foods. See if you can tell me which one you’d rather feed.
Generic Grain-Free Dog Food:
-
22% protein, 31% fat, and 47% carbohydrates as a percentage of total calories.
-
Protein sources are soy and pea protein isolate.
Visionary Pet Keto Dry Food:
-
40% protein, 60% fat, and less than 1% carbohydrates as a percentage of total calories.
-
Only protein source is real meat.
If you chose Visionary Pet - congratulations! You’ve made an amazing decision for your dog’s health!
Our very low carb, real meat dog food is obviously superior to the sugary, plant protein mix of the generic grain-free dog food. And if you do feed Visionary Pet, you won’t have to worry whether your dog is getting enough taurine - as we only use animal protein from real meat!
But the point I’m trying to make is not that Visionary Pet is a great food. That much is obvious. The important point here is that BOTH of these dog foods are classified as “grain-free”, even though they couldn’t be more different in terms of ingredients and nutritional quality!
So we’ll close with this…
The Truth about Dog Food and Canine Nutrition
If you only remember one thing from this blog - make sure it’s this:
Feed your dog a very low carb, real meat diet.
If you do that, you won’t ever have to worry about whether your dog food is grain-free, or nutritionally complete, or any of the marketing terms that dog food companies use to confuse you.
Feed low carb. Feed real meat. And you won’t need to worry about anything else. That's the truth about dog food. And that's why we do what we do here at Visionary Pet.
Waggy Tails!
54 comments
شركة كيان لنقل العفش بالرياض والمدينة المنورة وجدة ومكة والطائف والدمام تقديم لكم دليل كامل لشركات نقل العفش بالمملكة العربية السعودية
http://mycanadafitness.com/ شركة كيان لنقل العفش
http://mycanadafitness.com/forum.html منتدي نقل العفش
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureriyadh.html شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejaddah.html شركة نقل اثاث بجدة
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituremecca.html شركة نقل اثاث بمكة
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituretaif.html شركة نقل اثاث بالطائف
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituremadina.html شركة نقل اثاث بالمدينة المنورة
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituredammam.html شركة نقل اثاث بالدمام
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekhobar.html شركة نقل اثاث بالخبر
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituredhahran.html شركة نقل اثاث بالظهران
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejubail.html شركة نقل اثاث بالجبيل
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureqatif.html شركة نقل اثاث بالقطيف
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureahsa.html شركة نقل اثاث بالاحساء
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekharj.html شركة نقل اثاث بالخرج
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekhamismushit.html شركة نقل اثاث بخميس مشيط
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureabha.html شركة نقل اثاث بابها
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturenajran.html شركة نقل اثاث بنجران
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejazan.html شركة نقل اثاث بجازان
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureasir.html شركة نقل اثاث بعسير
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturehail.html شركة نقل اثاث بحائل
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureqassim.html شركة نقل عفش بالقصيم
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureyanbu.html شركة نقل اثاث بينبع
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureburaidah.html شركة نقل عفش ببريدة
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturehafralbatin.html شركة نقل عفش بحفر الباطن
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturerabigh.html شركة نقل عفش برابغ
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituretabuk.html شركة نقل عفش بتبوك
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureasfan.html شركة نقل عفش بعسفان
http://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituresharora.html شركة نقل عفش بشرورة
http://mycanadafitness.com/companis-moving-riyadh.html شركات نقل العفش بالرياض
http://mycanadafitness.com/cars-moving-riyadh.html سيارات نقل العفش بالرياض
http://mycanadafitness.com/company-number-moving-riyadh.html ارقام شركات نقل العفش بالرياض
http://mycanadafitness.com/company-moving-jeddah.html شركات نقل العفش بجدة
http://mycanadafitness.com/price-moving-jeddah.html اسعار نقل العفش بجدة
http://mycanadafitness.com/company-moving-mecca.html شركات نقل العفش بمكة
شركة سكاي لخدمات نقل العفش والاثاث بالمنطقة العربية السعودية نحن نوفر خدمات نقل اثاث بالرياض ونقل عفش بالمدينة المنورة ونقل عفش بمكة ونقل عفش بالطائف نحن نقدم افضل نقل اثاث بخميس مشيط ونقل عفش بجدة
https://treeads.net/ شركة سكاي نقل العفش
https://treeads.net/blog.html مدونة لنقل العفش
https://treeads.net/movers-mecca.html شركة نقل عفش بمكة
https://treeads.net/movers-riyadh-company.html شركة نقل عفش بالرياض
https://treeads.net/all-movers-madina.html شركة نقل عفش بالمدينة المنورة
https://treeads.net/movers-jeddah-company.html شركة نقل عفش بجدة
https://treeads.net/movers-taif.html شركة نقل عفش بالطائف
https://treeads.net/movers-dammam-company.html شركة نقل عفش بالدمام
https://treeads.net/movers-qatif.html شركة نقل عفش بالقطيف
https://treeads.net/movers-jubail.html شركة نقل عفش بالجبيل
https://treeads.net/movers-khobar.html شركة نقل عفش بالخبر
https://treeads.net/movers-ahsa.html شركة نقل عفش بالاحساء
https://treeads.net/movers-kharj.html شركة نقل عفش بالخرج
https://treeads.net/movers-khamis-mushait.html شركة نقل عفش بخميس مشيط
https://treeads.net/movers-abha.html شركة نقل عفش بابها
https://treeads.net/movers-qassim.html شركة نقل عفش بالقصيم
https://treeads.net/movers-yanbu.html شركة نقل عفش بينبع
https://treeads.net/movers-najran.html شركة نقل عفش بنجران
https://treeads.net/movers-hail.html شركة نقل عفش بحائل
https://treeads.net/movers-buraydah.html شركة نقل عفش ببريدة
https://treeads.net/movers-tabuk.html شركة نقل عفش بتبوك
https://treeads.net/movers-dhahran.html شركة نقل عفش بالظهران
https://treeads.net/movers-rabigh.html شركة نقل عفش برابغ
https://treeads.net/movers-baaha.html شركة نقل عفش بالباحه
https://treeads.net/movers-asseer.html شركة نقل عفش بعسير
https://treeads.net/movers-mgmaa.html شركة نقل عفش بالمجمعة
https://treeads.net/movers-sharora.html شركة نقل عفش بشرورة
https://treeads.net/how-movers-furniture-yanbu.html كيفية نقل العفش بينبع
https://treeads.net/price-movers-furniture-yanbu.html اسعار نقل عفش بينبع
https://treeads.net/find-company-transfer-furniture-yanbu.html البحث عن شركات نقل العفش بينبع
https://treeads.net/transfer-furniture-khamis-mushit.html شركات نقل العفش بخميس مشيط
https://treeads.net/how-transfer-furniture-khamis-mushit.html كيفية نقل العفش بخميس مشيط
https://treeads.net/price-transfer-furniture-khamis-mushit.html اسعار نقل عفش بخميس مشيط
https://treeads.net/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A8%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A9.html شركة جلي بلاط بجدة
https://treeads.net/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%8A%D9%81-%D9%81%D9%84%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A9.html تنظيف فلل بجدة
https://treeads.net/company-transfer-furniture-jazan.html شركة نقل عفش بجازان
https://treeads.net/best-company-cleaning-jeddah-2020.html افضل شركة تنظيف بجدة
https://companymovers9.wordpress.com/
https://newmoverdotblog.wordpress.com/
https://qwasdew.wordpress.com/
https://gigisaad.wordpress.com/