As many of you know, I have dedicated my life to animal nutrition. Over the years, I have seen my share of erroneous information not based on scientific research. However, in recent years this trend has increased dramatically due to the internet.
Good science, however, can be found online. On the contrary, many scientific journals and associations which promote the wellbeing of our pets can be a source of excellent information. However, what I do find problematic is people – pet lovers they may be – warning the public against specific ingredients in pet food not based on hard data or measured studies.
An excellent example of this is the recent questions I have been asked about peas. In general, are peas healthy for my dog, and more specifically, can the lectin content in peas bonding to bile acids secreted from the gall bladder prevent it from being recycled? Here was my reply:
That is currently a hypothesis that certain factions of peas and lentils fiber content form a substance from the lectins that bind the bile salts so that taurine is not reabsorbed into the blood stream. This is being looked at, but at this time the FDA has not found any data to support this postulated theory. Peas have been fed for decades, without problems, and when a report from an abstract poster paper is presented concerning 33 dogs with heart problems ranging in ages adult to very old have heart problems and some of them are diagnosed as DCM, from a population of the 58 million dogs in North America it is hard without good science to know what is going on until the FDA studies are completed.
Here is the key point: There are many organizations (the FDA, AAFCO, the USDA) whose job it is to protect the public and conduct experiments to ensure the safety of what goes into our pet’s food. There are also controlled experiments in progress by many in the scientific community and academia who are invested in research. I also encourage you to speak with your veterinarian on questions about the health and safety of your pet.
I understand that for the average pet parent probably does not have a Certified Pet Nutritionist at the ready. At Do Only Good Pet Nutrition, we have created, ‘Ask Dr. Johnson’ – it is our way of providing you a forum to ask questions and gain practical knowledge about pet nutrition.
Please visit our website at www.doonlygoodpetfood.com under the tab, ‘Nutritional Facts’ to contact me or check out past articles.
