Petfood Industry - June 2013 - 33
NUTRIENTS www.petfoodindustry.com grains destroys their structure and exposes the starch constituent for optimum utilization by dogs that are well equipped to digest high amounts of starch. Grains provide carbohydrates and protein and, when fit into balanced formulas, serve nutritional purposes. It is sometimes said that graincontaining, high-carbohydrate diets cause diseases such as food allergy, very-high-protein diets. When formulated properly, they all provide adequate nutrition for healthy dogs. FOR THE TIME being, it can be assumed that the current recommended nutrient allowances endorse the production of healthy dog foods within the degrees of freedom. At present, there are no indications that one food variant is unequivocally superior over another when fed to healthy dogs. ■ A step further: Novel petfood ingredients To read about the challenges nutritionists may come up against in sourcing functional petfood ingredients, see "The challenges of sourcing novel functional petfood ingredients" at www. petfoodindustry.com/47956.html. obesity, diabetes, osteoarthritis and cancer. Grains do not impose an extra risk of canine food allergy. Wheat induces adverse food reactions as commonly as does beef. Corn and rice rarely cause food allergy. Higher intake than expenditure of food energy causes obesity, irrespective of the composition and form of the diet. The development of diabetes and osteoarthritis in dogs is associated with obesity rather than diet type and this may also hold for cancer. Dogs have no nutritional need for carbohydrates. A carbohydrate-free diet provides energy as protein and fat. Dietary carbohydrates contribute to blood glucose, which is essential for brain function. In a carbohydrate-free diet, protein is the only precursor for blood glucose so its level must be higher than the recommended allowance. Three kinds of dog foods can be distinguished: high-carbohydrate/ normal-protein, low-carbohydrate/ high-protein and carbohydrate-free/ PetfoodIndustry June 2013 Quality affordable testing for palatability and nutritional adequacy since 1982. For details, contact us at 217-356-3539 dowatts@aol.com 33
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