topic Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet in Pet Lovers

Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

SeaMaiden — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 16:40:06 GMT

The FDA named 16 dog food brands linked to canine heart disease –

Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

A year after the FDA warned about “grain free” diets possibly being linked to canine dilated cardiomyopathy, they have gone a step further and have identified 16 brands to be associated with the disease. While FDA is not calling for a complete stop in the use of said brands, many vets are suggesting to move away from grain free brands that don’t meet nutritional standards.

With all this controversy surrounding it, we wanted to share some facts that every pet owner should consider before taking a side.

The History

One of the arguments supporting grain free diets for dogs is the fact that wolves, the ancestors of dogs, don’t eat grains in the wild. However, dogs aren’t wolves, they’re dogs, and that over time they have evolved to be able to consume grains and carbohydrates through living alongside humans. The real reason grain free diets for dogs have become so popular is not because they’re necessary, but because they’re easy to market.

The Science

Not all grain-free diets are created equal, and this seems to be the source of the problem. Many brands that sell grain-free dog foods are replacing nutrient-dense meats with plant-based proteins like potatoes, which are an inadequate substitute for real meat. When you feed your dog grain free food, it usually ends up having more fats and more complex carbohydrates from those replacement ingredients like potatoes and lentils, which leads to your dog gaining weight over time.

The other issue at the heart of the grain-free debate is taurine, an amino acid found only in animal tissue, which plays a vital role in maintaining cardiac functions in dogs. Since many grain-free dog foods are using these real meat alternatives, dogs aren’t receiving the proper protein to produce the taurine they need. This isn’t the case with fresh diets, where whole, quality meats are a sufficient source of taurine.

The Effects

Along with causing weight gain, low quality grain free diets may actually contribute to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and other types of heart disease. There are over 500 grain free dog food brands that are currently being investigated by the FDA for their effect on DCM in dogs, and the FDA has recently released their first list of brands to be directly linked to the disease. While the FDA hasn’t mandated for owners to change their pets diets, they do warn against food that contains lots of lentils, peas, and potatoes, and not enough meats.

The full warning list

Acana
Zignature
Taste of the Wild
4Health
Earthborn Holistic
Blue Buffalo
Nature’s Domain
Fromm
Merrick
California Natural
Natural Balance
Orijen
Nature’s Variety
NutriSource
Nutro
Rachael Ray Nutrish

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

on the bay — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:04:05 GMT

@SeaMaiden -

Thank you for this good comprehensive article!

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

haddon9 — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:11:55 GMT

Thanks!

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:32:10 GMT

So the problem is not the lack of grains....it is the lack of real meat. Who would have thought. Raw feeders use lots of fresh meat, yet seem to be marginalized.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

chessielady — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:12:57 GMT

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

geezerette — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:47:03 GMT

I don’t see where this gives any further information than what they came out with a couple of months ago.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:51:46 GMT

@chessielady wrote:
Wolves ate many small animals that DID eat grains and grasses. The first thng they ate was the stomach and intestines...so yes wolves did consume grain and grass.

Stomach and intestines are not the first choice. And while there would have been some grain, grass, veggies etc.,it was a very small part of the diet. Muscle meat was always the first choice then organ meats such as liver, heart, kidney etc.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

SahmIam — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:54:30 GMT

@SeaMaiden Very interesting, thank you!! Still sticking to the raw diet for my boy

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

Kachina624 — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:08:03 GMT

I'm tired of reading that same old list of "bad" foods. Why dont' they publish a list of brands that contain the adequate nutrients? I have no idea what they might be. All the premium brands seem to be on the bad list. Wonder what they plan to do to fix the situation and when?

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

nyc1 — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:18:11 GMT

Our vet, who is very knowledgeable about canine nutrition and so many important things to maintain your dog's health.... told us from the beginning NOT to feed a GRAIN FREE DIET. She said that from out first visit, almost 9 years ago. Her reply was BALANCE. Give your dog a BALANCED healthy diet with a good food and that will serve her well. That's what we've done, and our almost 9 year old Airedale acts, has the spunk and attitude, of a dog half her age (KNOCK WOOD).

Edited to add.... she even called us about 2 years ago to let us know that the food we were feeding our girl just went Grain Free, and she was no longer recommending it. She didn't like that or their new sourcing.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

quilter61 — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 19:46:48 GMT

Unfortunately, when you have a dog that is allegic you have no choice but to feed dog grain free. He is allergic to corn, wheat, soy and chicken. I know that you can make your own dog food, but that is cost prohibited.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

GSPgirl — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 21:06:24 GMT

My dogs ate one of those foods. Their vet took them off of it and told me to use Purina Pro Plan.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

SeaMaiden — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 21:49:26 GMT

@quilter61 wrote:
Unfortunately, when you have a dog that is allegic you have no choice but to feed dog grain free. He is allergic to corn, wheat, soy and chicken. I know that you can make your own dog food, but that is cost prohibited.

@quilter61 Yes. In those cases you would have to feed what is best at the time....you could add extra taurine powder and try to find a grain free with low or no peas and lentils ( if that is possible ☹️)

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

Kachina624 — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 01:03:58 GMT

@nyc1. So what do .you feed your dog? So far, I've not heard anyone mention a brand that's a balanced diet. You'd think it was a secret.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

katiescarlett — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 02:30:43 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@nyc1. So what do .you feed your dog? So far, I've not heard anyone mention a brand that's a balanced diet. You'd think it was a secret.

I have fed Purina ProPlan or ONE for years and my Labs live to be 15 1/2 - 17 1/2. I feed my little dog Purina Beyond for Small Dogs. None are grain free. The only time I fed grain free was years ago on a temporary basis to see if helped one dog's ear issues. It didn't.

Just as an FYI, the Best in Show and all seven group winners at Westminster in 2019 were fed ProPlan. And no, I don't work for Purina!

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

goldensrbest — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 10:04:54 GMT

This came out a few weeks ago ,not new please educated your self on this problem,it is serious, the WSAVA, has approved some kibble ,along with fda, however ,to my mind the 5 they have aproved are low quality foods, but that is what has been done, waiting for further info. i changed to farmina made in italy, i use with grains, i did feed top one on list,thought i was doing best ,not feeding any food with peas,beans ,legumes period,they need fresh meat.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

CrazyDaisy — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 10:04:57 GMT

Dog foods full of grains such as corn, wheat and rice are just as bad as grain free that are full of lentils and potatoes. Dogs need good quality source of protein i.e. meat. Look at the ingredients as if you are filling up a plate to see if it makes the cut.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

geezerette — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 12:26:30 GMT

Here is another perspective from Pet Business (dot) com:

07.09.2019

By Jen Goetz

In the third update on its investigation into a possible connection between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) grain-free dog food, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) named names, opening up a wave of dangerous speculation that certain brands could be life threatening to pets.

Publishing the names of 16 pet food brands that have been anecdotally connected with cases of DCM, without significant weight behind those claims, is misleading to the general public and could undermine a general understanding of the disease itself.

News organizations CNN, Forbes, International Business Times, CBS and others are reporting on the FDA’s investigation using headlines such as “Dogs in Danger? 16 Brands of Dog Food Could Cause Heart Disease, FDA Warns” and “FDA Identifies Dog Food Brands Associated with Canine Heart Disease.” This makes it sound like there’s a direct connection between these pet food brands and DCM, which has not been proven. However, many readers may not pick up on the fact that the investigation is currently inconclusive and assume that their dogs are in danger.

The fact is, the FDA has found no concrete evidence that any pet food is causing DCM. It has only gathered information on what food brands were fed to pets that were diagnosed with the disease. As Steve M. Solomen, D.V.M., M.P.H., director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, even said, “...we have not yet determined the nature of this potential link [between dog food and DCM].”

While the FDA notes a recent spike in DCM reports, this too could be misleading. In its latest report, the agency said that “the majority of reports were submitted to the FDA after its first public alert in July 2018.” In fact, 517 out of the 524 reports the agency has received since 2014 were filed in 2018 and 2019. Is this a sign of an escalating problem, or the result of growing awareness of a health issue that actually predates the rise of grain-free pet nutrition? The way it has been presented to the public often implies the former.

Of course, everyone can agree that animal welfare should be the No. 1 priority. There have been 119 dog and five cat deaths that need to be addressed. It’s up to the pet industry, the veterinary community and the FDA to get to the bottom of these DCM cases. However, this should be done with sound science, not dangerous speculation, especially when the investigation is still underway.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

CrazyDaisy — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 12:48:13 GMT

@geezerette wrote:
Here is another perspective from Pet Business (dot) com:

07.09.2019
By Jen Goetz

In the third update on its investigation into a possible connection between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) grain-free dog food, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) named names, opening up a wave of dangerous speculation that certain brands could be life threatening to pets.

Publishing the names of 16 pet food brands that have been anecdotally connected with cases of DCM, without significant weight behind those claims, is misleading to the general public and could undermine a general understanding of the disease itself.

News organizations CNN, Forbes, International Business Times, CBS and others are reporting on the FDA’s investigation using headlines such as “Dogs in Danger? 16 Brands of Dog Food Could Cause Heart Disease, FDA Warns” and “FDA Identifies Dog Food Brands Associated with Canine Heart Disease.” This makes it sound like there’s a direct connection between these pet food brands and DCM, which has not been proven. However, many readers may not pick up on the fact that the investigation is currently inconclusive and assume that their dogs are in danger.

The fact is, the FDA has found no concrete evidence that any pet food is causing DCM. It has only gathered information on what food brands were fed to pets that were diagnosed with the disease. As Steve M. Solomen, D.V.M., M.P.H., director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, even said, “...we have not yet determined the nature of this potential link [between dog food and DCM].”

While the FDA notes a recent spike in DCM reports, this too could be misleading. In its latest report, the agency said that “the majority of reports were submitted to the FDA after its first public alert in July 2018.” In fact, 517 out of the 524 reports the agency has received since 2014 were filed in 2018 and 2019. Is this a sign of an escalating problem, or the result of growing awareness of a health issue that actually predates the rise of grain-free pet nutrition? The way it has been presented to the public often implies the former.

Of course, everyone can agree that animal welfare should be the No. 1 priority. There have been 119 dog and five cat deaths that need to be addressed. It’s up to the pet industry, the veterinary community and the FDA to get to the bottom of these DCM cases. However, this should be done with sound science, not dangerous speculation, especially when the investigation is still underway.

Many of the "named brands" are considering legal action against the FDA. There is no definative link and the publication has caused some to take a financial hit. There is also an undercurrent that big brand dog foods are pushing the topic to drive the small companies out of business. Seems to be working.

Re: Unpacking the Myth of the Grain Free Diet

nyc1 — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 18:52:33 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@nyc1. So what do .you feed your dog? So far, I've not heard anyone mention a brand that's a balanced diet. You'd think it was a secret.

We give her Fromm's Duck and Sweet Potato as her dry food. She only gets dry food in the morning, and at night we add some green beans, and some canned (Merrick) wet food (about 2 rounded tablespoons). If I'm making chicken I'll add that to the dry food at night... or some cooked hamberger, along with the string beans. Sometimes I'll add a little carrot. Fromm's dry is her main food. We used to give her Holistic Select, but our vet is no longer recommending it, and I truly trust our vet. Ultimately, it's our decision.