Excess fat is simply a trigger for pancreatitis and may start the cascade of effects in the pancreas, but it's not a cause of pancreatitis nor is raw food a cause of pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is an indication of a sick pancreas, and it can be triggered by many factors - specific types of fat being one, but it's also important to realize that fat is important in a dogs diet too. If your dog has an already-damaged pancreas and you feed it a diet of raw meat or something high in fat, then your dog may have an attack of pancreatitis. The high fat can trigger pancreatitis, but again, the pancreas is already damaged for whatever reason or the dog is not in good health despite "looking" healthy.
Fats are highly digestible, very palatable, and are an energy dense nutritional ingredient which is essential for healthy coat and skin, reproductive efficiency, kidney function and the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K. It is the main source of energy - one gram of fat supplies 2.4 times the energy of one gram of protein or carbohydrates. As a less well known fact is that fat also serves as a metabolic source of water, so a hard working dog is less likely to get dehydrated when fed a diet higher in fat. Fat metabolism produces 107g of water for every 100 grams of fat. Protein produces 40g water/100g, and carbohydrates produce 55g water/100g. The fatty acid ratio is important for reducing the production of inflammatory mediators in the dog's skin, plasma, and neutrophils (a type of white blood cells). Omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratios of 7:1 or lower are optimal.
Typically pancreatitis as studies show is caused by a high fat - low protein diet, obesity, trauma (car accidents, falling), other diseases (Cushing's syndrome, diabetes), tumors, some drugs and toxins (e.g. antibiotics, insecticides), and genetic predisposition (hyperlipidemia, e.g. mini schnauzer, cocker spaniel).
As part of a well balanced diet, pork isn't any more dangerous than beef, lamb or chicken. The fat content is key, and many pets suffer from pancreatitis when fed excessively fatty, greasy table scraps - which aren't part of a balanced diet. The most susceptible animals are those who don't eat anything but kibble all year and suddenly get an overload of goodies. There is a good number of so called premium quality dog foods that use pork meal as a main protein source too and don't suffer pancreatitis.
Further raw diets actually contains fewer trans fats and saturated fats than other dog food diets also, live enzymes found in raw food do nothing but make the pancreas' job easier. The enzymes in raw meat help predigest the meat, which means the pancreas has to release less lipase, ribonuclease, and deoxyribonuclease and thus actually has an easier job. |