Since the last edition of our book was published there has been a strong movement towards feeding dogs and cats primarily meat and bones. Along with this, the strange idea has been put forth that grains are harmful or poisonous. Likely this is an exaggeration of the concept that grains in large amounts are not the optimal diet. The situation is more complex, however, than most realize.
The first question is if grains are not good for animals. The short answer is that grains are well accepted by animals if they are properly prepared. By this, I mean that the animal digestive tract is shorter than the human so the grains must be well cooked to be digestible.
Well, then, are they are in some way harmful? They are not if the quality is good. By “quality” we are meaning that the grains are complete, not just “leftovers” from milling. Also they need to be fresh, not rancid or spoiled. One would assume this is obvious but the fact is that commercial pet foods can use the leftovers and rejects from the production of human foods – the spoiled, contaminated, nutritionally inadequate floor sweepings – as their source of grains. Much of the concern about the harmful effect of grains in food for animals is because of the poor quality grain used in many commercial foods. The formula is like this:
Poor quality grain in commercial food = diminished health in animals = avoidance of grain based commercial foods = all grains are bad.
You can see that the first 3 steps make sense but the last conclusion does not as it is not taking into account that the health problems seen in animals has to do with the quality of the ingredient rather than the nature of it, e.g. that it is from grains.
Research into animal nutrition as cited in “Nutrient Requirements for Dogs” and “Nutrient Requirements for Cats” published by the Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition and Cat Nutrition by the National Research Council (about as reliable as one is going to find outside of the industry) reports that growing dogs fed a diet of up to 62% starch (which is an unusually simple carbohydrate, grains being much more complete) were able to digest 84% of the starch and use it for growth and energy. Even more significant these puppies had no apparent health effects from such a diet, growing the same as the group fed no carbohydrates.
Cats have been shown to be able to digest over 96% of starch fed to them.
There is more to this topic we have to consider but we will pick that up in the next posting if there is interest.
Hi Richard,
Regarding the feeding of grains to dogs and cats, could you comment on situations such as when a dog or cat has a cancer?
I was under the impression that along with finding the homeopathic similimum, avoiding vaccinations, or other harmful environmental obstructions to cure, that grains in the diet might be ‘feeding’ the cancer. Therefore, decreasing grains/carbohydrates would be beneficial for the patient.
But according to your comments, if the grains are of good quality, then it would not make any difference?
Interesting format for starting discussions! This is actually the first time I have ever posted anything on a ‘blog’!
Live long and prosper,
Carol Jean
Carol Jean,
This is a common misconception I think (about grains and cancer). It stems from the observation that many cancer cells having become more primitive (less differentiated) are not able to acquire energy through metabolism using the Kreb’s cycle (remember that one?). The Kreb’s cycle depends on the utilization of oxygen to break down protein, fats and carbohydrate to acetyl Co-A — sound familiar? The tissue cells of the body use this efficient system. Cancer cells often have lost the ability to do this and so depend on a less efficient anaerobic use of blood glucose.
So…the idea is that since the cancer cells depend on glucose then to avoid any sugars and carbohydrates, right? Problem is that regardless of what you eat (even if all meat) still the body produces blood glucose as it is needed by all the tissues so avoiding grains does not stop the production of blood sugar and does not make nutrients less available to cancer cells.
I hope this makes sense and explained it well enough. Let me know if not.
Thank you. And as a long time follower and user of your good work, I am pleased to have your URL thanks to my dear friend Dr Rick Palmquist. I’ve passed on your URL to others and will post it on my blog as well.
ATB,
Gayle Eversole, leaving off alphabet soup intentionally
Gayle,
Glad we connected. Hi to Rick. I like the signature, leaving off the alphabet soup. Clever.
Dr. Pitcairin,
I have been feeding my dog a commercially produced product of oats by SoJo’s with her home prepared food. I soak the oats first for a period of time. Do you think this would be enough to get the nutritional benefits from the rolled oats?
Soaking grains for some hours, until they are soft should be adequate. Check the stool. If not coming through as undigested oats then it is all right.
Dr. Pitcairn,
Thank you so much for all you have done to educate people out there. Your blog about grains couldn’t be more timely. It never ceases to amaze me how much misinformation there is floating around on the web… one prominent blogger likes to brag how his dogs have eaten nothing but raw meat and bones for the last seven years (no grains, no fresh veggies/fruit, no dairy) and he thinks the dogs are extremely healthy. I would NEVER feed meat alone! I do not understand the”grains are bad” group. One of my dogs is allergic to rice and potatoes, but she does well with oatmeal, quinoa, bulgar and polenta. She is so active, she needs the carbs for energy!
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, there is confusion it seems to me. I think I explained it in the blog but often the dogs that are not healthy are extrapolated to all of them. Same happens with people. Sort of a lowering of the bar.
Hi Dr. Pitcairn,
I am just starting to feed my dog (and cats soon, hopefully) a raw diet and completely agree with you that grains, of quality and prepared properly, are a healthy part of an animal’s diet… provided they have no allergies to them. From what I’ve read, my own experiences, etc, grains can be a likely source of allergies for dogs, and I am wondering what, in your opinion, are the best grains to include in their diet?
Thank you,
Andrea
Andrea,
I don’t know if there are “best” grains. Most commonly used are rice, oats, corn (polenta, for example). If the grain is organic and whole I doubt there is a big, significant, difference between them. They will vary as to protein content some, and likely as to other ingredients to a certain extent but then when you factor in time it was grown, what part of the country, type of soil, makes it difficult to compare in exact terms.
Therese,
If your homeopathic veterinarian has not been able to help, then I suggest trying someone else. Here is a link to several you can question and work with if you wish:
I have seen homeopathy help or solve this problem. If you are not getting results with the vet you are using, try one of the others on my list.