Quote:
Originally Posted by maggies-mommy  Wouldn't fillers be good? I mean her vet said there fine choices, but to also give her dry food as well. I don't normally give her eggs, its more of a treat, same with the cheese. |
In answer to your query, I have to say with complete certainty that no, fillers are not good. Cesars ingredients below:
Ingredients: sufficient water for processing, beef by-products, meat by-products, liver, beef, chicken, chicken by-products, added color, calcium carbonate, natural flavors, sodium tripolyphosphate, carrageenan, dried yam, xanthan gum, potassium chloride, salt, erythorbic acid, t-bone steak flavor, guar gum, zinc sulfate, sodium nitrite (for color retention), vitamin A, D3, and E supplements, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1).
Where to begin on this?
I am not a fan of by-products. By-products are not comprised of the lean meats of the animal. Instead, by-products are all the "extras" of the carcass from hooves to beaks, intestines and feet, etc. These all are ground into what is called a meal. The problem with this is that it is labeled on your bag of kibble or your canned food as "crude proteins". Crude proteins are proteins yes, but not all are digestible by our pups. So in essence, what is stated on the bag, for example, 28% crude protein, is not what your pup is actually ingesting. Your pup may be ingesting much less than that.
As I just mentioned in another thread, sodium Tripolyphosphate is a chemical compound used to enhance older meat to its original quality and to increase the PH such that it will hold more water as well. Not good.
Sodium Nitrate is also another one of these "color fixers". The FDA once attempted to ban this in the early 70's, but the meat industry's lobbyists successfully turned the tide.
Xanthan gum is a bacteria used in fermentation and is the cause for black rot on most of your leafy vegees. It is used as a thickener. This thickener is used in salad dressing to maintain consistency. So, no nutritional value at all, besides being a polysaccharide.
Guar gum comes from the cluster plant, and is also used as a thickener or filler. This guar gum until most recently( when the FDA banned its usage) was used in diet pills. It binds with liquid within the stomach and swells to initiate the sensation of fullness. Why would we want our dogs to feel full without receiving the proper nutrition?
Carrageenan is also a gum, but it is derived from seaweeds. I do not have an issue with this one.
Added colors and the same dyes that are added into foods, like red dye number 3 or yellow dye 6 which have been proven to cause allergic reactions in humans and our pups, but worst of all the are now linked to specific forms of cancer.
I could go on but I think you get the just of my post.
One thing I think you should mull over. Vet's like many physicians, are not trained in the nutritional aspects of the society or species that they are treating. Our current healthcare system is one designed to treat disease, not prevent it. This is the same for our pups. Nutritional science is like the beach. One ounce of knowledge is only a grain of sand on the beach. There is always more to learn and more to research. Good luck with yours.