Have many of us as pet owners really considered what the ingredients are in our pet food that we feed our small animal companions? It is up to us as pet owners to become educated and make sound decisions when caring for our pets. Our pets can not go to the grocery store to choose what they want to eat, pay for it and then bring it home. If this choice was up to them, I am sure we would see a different regimen of feeding. In this article let's discuss what Natural means to us, the ingredients found in our pet food, and why we should consider feeding a natural diet.

Natural can mean different things to each of us. It can mean feeding a pet food that excludes additives, preservatives and chemicals. It can mean feeding a diet that is wholesome, pure and organic. It can mean feeding a good quality kibble diet or it can mean making your own homemade pet food to ensure your pet eats wholesome quality food. Natural can mean the food nature intended us to eat. This means going back to our ancestors and discovering what they ate. For both humans and pets, most of our ancestors consumed unprocessed, whole, fresh-from-the-farm-food items. There were no other choices. It can mean eating steroid-free foods, antibiotic-free foods, no genetic engineering foods, organic foods, and chemical-free foods. To me natural means eating whole, unprocessed, chemical-free, organic, pure, no genetic engineering foods.

Since evolving in this ever-so-fast paced world, fast food dining has become an everyday outing for us as humans. We do not stop to think what or how the food is made anymore. We do not check labels and we do not eat well-balanced meals like they ate on the farm. So it is only "natural" that our pets consume fast food dining from a bag. Commercial pet food, kibble as we know it, was only developed about 40 years ago. Before kibble pet food, pets ate what we ate which included food from the farm (carrots, broccoli, greens, spinach, eggs, meat, bones, table scraps). I can remember my grandfather saying, "Our farm dogs ate what we ate and they never ever went to the veterinarian with health problems. Now look at today's pets who are frequent visitors of many veterinary clinics." Of course, this comment would come after I had insisted that he not feed my dog table scraps. How times have changed because now my dog eats everything but the table and kibble pet food. Did you know that some European countries do not know anything about commercial kibble pet food? They still feed their pets whole fresh farm foods. Their pets are not consumed with as many health problems as our Canadian and American pets are faced with. Could it be as simple as "your pet is what they eat"? Many people have never stopped to consider what or how the food their pets consume does affect their health.

We all know the following ingredients because they are displayed on many pet food labels: BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Benzoate, Yellow Dye #, Red Dye #, etc. Have we truly considered what these ingredients do in our bodies let alone our pets' bodies? They are certainly not "natural" ingredients. Do they provide any nutritional value within the pet's body? The answer is simply no. Then why do they exist? The answer is as simple as convenience, taste and visual appearance. Animals don't care about what the food looks like and they certainly don't care about convenience. What they do care about is pure goodness. If your pet does not eat a certain pet food, your answer may be as easy as your pet knows what is good for him or her. But because we as humans desire a pet food as simple as opening the bag up and pouring it into the food dish, we have eliminated good nutrition from the important equation of Pet Wellness.

Many pet foods found on the shelves of today's pet stores contain grains and fillers. Have you noticed that the first ingredient is generally meat meal or by-products (we will get to this later) and then there may be 3 to 4 grains (including corn) in the pet food? Carnivores (dogs, cats, ferrets, and any animal that eats meat) can not properly digest grains. Grains act mostly as filler to increase dietary fiber, but many pet foods contain too many grains. Most grains found in pet food tend to be simple carbohydrates. The end products after digesting grains are usually simple carbohydrates, which in other words are sugars and starches. Do our pets need sugars and starches in their diets? Do they have a dietary need for sugars and starches? No. Sugars and starches end up feeding cancer or other diseases. The body works hard to filter the excess or unwanted end products of digestion. Therefore, why feed your pet something it doesn't need and better yet why feed your pet an ingredient that makes its body work hard to eliminate?

I mentioned above about meat by-products and meals. This is a fancy way of saying stomach contents, intestinal contents, hoofs, chicken heads, ears, tails, etc. In other words meat that provides little use in the pet's body. Some pet food companies also go to the extent of putting in the 4D meat. 4D meat means diseased, dying, decayed, and dead animals. Meat quality is very important because raw meat provides live enzymes needed for digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Raw, good quality meat also provides essential amino acids necessary to provide building blocks within the pet's body. Cat's can live solely on a meat diet because they are true carnivores. Therefore we must ensure that they are receiving wholesome, pure quality meat. Dogs are more of a secondary-carnivore and therefore rely on a combination of meats and vegetables.

Speaking of vegetables, have you ever seen a dog or cat food contain vegetables? It is very rare to see this. Vegetables provide so many different nutrients including vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, co-enzymes, fiber, and more. Raw, grated vegetables are necessary to any pet's diet. The vegetables need to be grated or juiced in order for the carnivore's gut to digest the nutrients to the fullest. This assures proper assimilation of all nutrients within the food your pet eats.

Agricultural practices today are not what we have known to exist years ago. Our land is not as fertile as it once was due to the elements of nature (erosion, wind, heavy rains, leaching of our soils, etc) and farming practices. Thus, the foods that are produced in the fields are not as nutritious because the soil has very little to offer the plants. Farmers have come to recognize this now and hopefully they can start to give back to the soil that we have taken from the soil over the years. If the soil does not contain the minerals or nutrients needed then our plants and food does not contain as many nutrients. Therefore, the foods we eat are not of high nutritional quality anymore. It is important that we offer our pet's supplements in order to compensate for this lack of nutrition found in our foods. Kibble pet food is not as complete and balanced as they say it is because of agriculture practices and that is why they add in synthetic vitamins and minerals. As well, kibble pet food is cooked at very high temperatures, which changes the food ingredient nutrients. Proteins are denatured (altered in chemical composition) when they are cooked or processed. Proteins are found in many of our foods. When we denature our foods, the body does not recognize the nutrient anymore and therefore eliminates it as a "foreign" material, hence allergies and disease.

Many pet foods are now promoting themselves that they contain digestive enzymes and probiotics. Digestive enzymes and probiotics are very delicate and can not tolerate heat. Yet they are supposedly in commercial pet food. Are they viable and doing their job? I highly doubt it. Digestive enzymes are made from amino acids and are highly specialized proteins. When exposed to heat or processed they are altered and can become dysfunctional or provide a different function in the body that they were not meant to perform. Probiotics, also known as acidophilus, bifidus, bacillus, FOS, are highly sensitive to high temperatures and light. Generally, they are found in the refrigerated section of health stores. Many pet food companies say they put the probiotics, digestive enzymes and oils on in the cooling stage. The food is still warm and can kill the active ingredients of these delicate essential ingredients.

One last important comment, many pet foods do not contain enough Essential Fatty Acids. Sure they may list flaxseeds, primrose oil, olive oil, canola oil, fish oil on the label. These oils can not withstand high temperatures and can go rancid quickly if cooked or in light. Therefore, does it make you wonder how they can add this type of fat to a commercial processed diet? These oils are very delicate yet offer valuable nutrition. Essential fatty acids are important to keep skin and hair coat healthy, balance hormones, lubricate joints, build the immune system, enhance vision, etc. Many pets that consume commercial pet foods are faced with the following problems: chewing feet, licking and chewing oneself, itchy body, dull coat, etc. There needs to be a balance of oils within the body and therefore omega 3 and omega 6 are needed to achieve a healthy body.

The above is just a quick summary about the importance of good nutrition and why we should focus on a more natural diet for our pets. They deserve the very best, don't you think? Next time you go to purchase your pet's food, check the label. Is it cooked? Does it contain too many grains? Does it have any vegetables? Does it list any meat by-products or meat meal? Are there any ingredients that you do not recognize such as preservatives, additives, chemicals, dyes, etc.? Does it contain any essential fatty acids? In a nutshell, consider feeding your pet 4 life. In other words, choose your pet food wisely because we want our pets to stay healthy for a long time to come. Too many diseases arise from poor nutrition. Your pet will thank you for choosing wisely. If you would not eat it then your pet should not eat it either. That is how I feed my pet, she gets only the best!