We all have a wonderful opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle and access a variety of great food. With all the wholefood emporiums and superfood smoothies on offer for humans, it may be time to focus more attention to how nutrient dense, high quality and "free from bad stuff" your pet's meals are.
Natural diets for pet’s are based on species appropriate fresh ingredients & reflects what our pet’s wild cousins would be eating. Natural diets can be home prepared, (raw or minimally processed) or commercially available.
The best diet for your pet is one that your pet enjoys to eat, that is balanced and complete in it’s nutrient profile. It is also important to note that wild felids and canids consume large amounts of water through their diets.
5 great reasons why your Pet may thrive on a natural diet
1: Get up and go - Your pet's zest for life may increase. Remarkably, our clients report back they have a new dog! A natural diet that is biologically appropriate, nutrient and enzyme rich, chemical additive free and easy to digest may reduce the energy it takes for them to extract nutrients from their meals, which may mean less food comas and lethargy and more walkies.
2: Free from disease risks. Take a deep breath - You can be confident that you are offering a diet free from nasty additives. In order for commercial pet foods to withstand extended shelf lives they delete are heated. A byproduct of this processing is the production of acrylamides. These occur in all canned and dry food. Consumption of acrylamides has been linked directly to cancer in humans and rats. There have been no long term studies on the effects of acrylamides on cats and dogs but we know they exist in high quantities in processed pet foods. Many processed pet foods may also contain artificial preservatives, colorants, flavour enhancers, salt and sugar which, just like us, may contribute to diseases such as diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, dermatitis and hyperactivity.
3 : Kissable - Food affects saliva acid levels and may lead to infected gums. Certain foods may be ruining your attempts to keep your pet's teeth from tartar. Diets high in processed (finely ground) carbohydrate alter the natural defence mechanisms of the saliva therefore leading to accelerated progression of dental tartar and subsequent gum inflammation.
4: Beach Bod - Natural diets may make it easier to normalise or maintain healthy weight. Natural diets may promote healthy hormone function and metabolism. This may be through supplying health sources of micronutrients such as iodine, which supports healthy thyroid function, it may also by controlling the level of endocrine disrupters such as BPA/BHA preservatives which may be found in commercial pet foods or pet food packaging. Natural diets tend to be higher in high biological protein and lower in simple carbohydrates which can help your pet avoid the occurrence of the "middle age spread".
5: Chilled out - Has your pet been on a sugar rollercoaster? Balanced protein rich diets can promote relaxation in your pets. Natural diets can be naturally high in mood stabilisers such as tryptophan, and as mentioned above are free from artificial preservatives and grain sugars that may cause hyperactivity or anxiety in your pets similar to the effect they have on some children. A natural diet is what your pet is meant to eat and as such they benefit from real foods based on meat, fish and poultry and vegetables, foods that enhance health and wellbeing and do not contain ingredients that can be harmful.
If you need help implementing a natural diet, whether it involves use of commercially designed diets, a home prepared diet or a combination click here to access nutritional counselling
For examples of healthy natural commercial diets explore here