Grain free food

[Gew]

FDA: Grain-free dog food may cause heart disease - Story | FOX 13 Tampa Bay

Just found this FDA warning. It warns about grain-free food being linked to heart attacks in dogs, especially if within the first five ingredients there are peas, legumes, lentils and potatoes.

Gew

[Lovetodream88]

Yeah Brittany posted about this too. That’s what happens when these fads come about and they don’t do the research until afterwords.

[Rachael1983]

Very interesting. Emma’s food is grain free, pea is the 3rd ingredient and this is what she’s ate from puppyhood. The breeder recommended it . Emma’s done well on it so I never thought of changing it . Like what works don’t change it . I think bc I went through kibble wars with Troy I buy what has worked.


I’d like more details on the research but happy some vet found it to be a good research area or we would have never known what to look out for

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Rachael1983

Very interesting. Emma’s food is grain free, pea is the 3rd ingredient and this is what she’s ate from puppyhood. The breeder recommended it . Emma’s done well on it so I never thought of changing it . Like what works don’t change it . I think bc I went through kibble wars with Troy I buy what has worked.


I’d like more details on the research but happy some vet found it to be a good research area or we would have never known what to look out for

I will bump what Brit posted

[Gew]

Sorry to have repeated a post. I didn’t see the other article about the FDC warning. The article says the agency has more information coming.

I spent quite a bit of time researching dog food because Audrey uses a grain free with peas within the first five ingredients. Once again, I will have each dog on a different food. Oh well, i’d rather be safe than sorry.

We each have to do our best and realize sometimes it just won’t be good enough, but much of the time it will be just right.

Gew

[pstinard]

Potatoes and peas are ingredients #4 and #5 in Wellness Core Grain Free Small Breed. Bella is doing well on it, so I won't change for now, but I'll keep an eye out for an update on the research. I'd be interested in knowing how common the heart ailments are.

[maggiefromnj]

Maggie is on The Honest Kitchen "kindly" base mix that we mix chicken breast or low fat ground beef with. She went from 11.1 pounds to 10.3 during the first year on it and has stayed at that weight. Before that she ate Royal Canin dry yorkie food, but every night we had to mix in chicken or beef. I was afraid we were over feeding the protein at that point, and she didn't like it that much. She eats this pretty well, so I'll be following too.
I don't know what I'd switch too since she will make us add chicken or beef to whatever we switch to. Hopefully they will announce that these diets just need to add taurine...I'll keep an eye on this...hopefully someone will update if they see anything.

Here is a snip from the report, followed by the ingredients of The Honest Kitchen Kindly base. Note that carrots and parsnips aren't legumes, but acording to this https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables site they are a higher carb veggie.

“Early reports from the veterinary cardiology community indicate that the impacted dogs consistently ate foods containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds or potatoes as main ingredients in their primary source of nutrition for time periods ranging from months to years,” the FDA explained earlier this month.

All ingredients dehydrated: Carrots, organic flaxseed, parsnips, peas, organic coconut, pumpkin, celery, kale, organic kelp, marjoram, garlic

minerals [tricalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, iron amino acid chelate, potassium iodide, copper amino acid chelate, sodium selenite]

vitamins [vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), d-calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D3 supplement

[maggiefromnj]

I just sent a message to The Honest Kitchen. I suggest we all contact the mfg of our grain free food and inquire what action they intend to take based on the report.

[maggiefromnj]

me again. The Honest Kitchen responded quickly
https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/blo...ardiomyopathy/

[pstinard]

Here's an article about this from Tuft's University Veterinary College:

A broken heart: Risk of heart disease in boutique or grain-free diets and exotic ingredients – Clinical Nutrition Service at Cummings School

Tuft's notes that it's not just grain free food that may be associated with cardiomyopathy in dogs, but exotic ingredients such as duck and lamb, and home cooked and raw diets as well. I'll include a few choice quotes below:

In my 20 years as a veterinary nutritionist, I’ve seen vast improvements in our knowledge about pet nutrition, in the quality of commercial pet foods, and in our pets’ nutritional health (other than the unfortunate rise in obesity). However, in the last few years I’ve seen more cases of nutritional deficiencies due to people feeding unconventional diets, such as unbalanced home-prepared diets, raw diets, vegetarian diets, and boutique commercial pet foods.

No matter what the reason, the number of dogs with taurine deficiency and DCM subjectively appeared to decrease since the early 2000’s. However, recently, some astute cardiologists noticed higher rates of DCM including Golden retrievers and in some atypical dog breeds. They also noticed that both the typical and atypical breeds were more likely to be eating boutique or grain-free diets, and diets with exotic ingredients – kangaroo, lentils, duck, pea, fava bean, buffalo, tapioca, salmon, lamb, barley, bison, venison, and chickpeas. Even some vegan diets have been associated. It has even been seen in dogs eating raw or home-prepared diets.

So, is this latest rash of DCM caused by taurine deficiency? Most of these affected dogs were eating boutique, grain-free, or exotic ingredient diets. Some of the dogs had low taurine levels and improved with taurine supplementation. But even some of those dogs that were not taurine deficient improved with taurine supplementation and diet change. Fortunately, cardiologists reported the issue to the FDA which is currently investigating this issue.

Why are pet owners feeding these exotic ingredients? I think is it primarily because pet owners are falling victim to marketing which portrays exotic ingredients as more natural or healthier than typical ingredients. There is no truth to this marketing – and there is no evidence that these ingredients are any more natural or healthier than more typical ingredients. This is just good marketing that preys on our desire to do the best for our pets.

What is the consistent factor between the diets being implicated in diet-related DCM? It may be related to companies’ inadequate nutritional expertise or rigorous quality control. We published a study several years ago in which we measured a single nutrient in 90 canned cat foods that all claimed to be nutritionally complete and balanced. We found that 15% of the diets were deficient in that nutrient (all of those diets were made by small companies). If companies don’t have the quality control to ensure all nutrients are at the minimum levels, deficiencies could occur and could contribute to DCM. However, these problems could also be related to problems with bioavailability or interaction with other ingredients in the diet (especially the more exotic ingredients, which are not as well studied or understood). And DCM could even be the result of an ingredient in the diet that is toxic to the heart. The FDA is investigating this potential association between diet and DCM but, in the meantime, there are some things you can do.

And finally, Tuft Vet Med's advice on how to handle this news (emphasis added):

What should you do?

Reconsider your dog’s diet. If you’re feeding a boutique, grain-free, or exotic ingredient diets, I would reassess whether you could change to a diet with more typical ingredients made by a company with a long track record of producing good quality diets. And do yourself a favor – stop reading the ingredient list! Although this is the most common way owners select their pets’ food, it is the least reliable way to do so. And be careful about currently available pet food rating websites that rank pet foods either on opinion or on based on myths and subjective information. It’s important to use more objective criteria (e.g., research, nutritional expertise, quality control in judging a pet food). The best way to select what is really the best food for your pet is to ensure the manufacturer has excellent nutritional expertise and rigorous quality control standards (see our “Questions you should be asking about your pet’s food” post).

If you’re feeding your dog a boutique, grain-free, or exotic ingredient diet, watch for early signs of heart disease – weakness, slowing down, less able to exercise, short of breath, coughing, or fainting. Your veterinarian will listen for a heart murmur or abnormal heart rhythm and may do additional tests (or send you to see a veterinary cardiologist), such as x-rays, blood tests, electrocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram).

If your dog is diagnosed with DCM and eating one of these diets, I’d recommend the following steps:

Ask your veterinarian to test whole blood and plasma taurine levels (I recommend the University of California Davis Amino Acid Laboratory

Report it to the FDA. This can be done either online or by telephone. The FDA may be able to help with testing costs for your dog. Reporting it will also help us to identify and solve this current problem.

Change your dog’s diet to one made by a well-known reputable company and containing standard ingredients (e.g., chicken, beef, rice, corn, wheat). Changing to a raw or homecooked diet will not protect your dog from this issue (and may increase the risk for other nutritional deficiencies). If your dog requires a homecooked diet or has other medical conditions that require special considerations, be sure to talk to a veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist (acvn.org) before making a dietary change. You can contact the Cummings Nutrition Service to schedule an appointment (vetnutrition@tufts.edu)

Start taurine supplementation. Your veterinarian or veterinary cardiologist can recommend an appropriate dose for your dog. Be sure to use a brand of taurine with good quality control.

Any improvements in your dog’s DCM can take 3-6 months. Your dog will need regular monitoring and may require heart medications during this time. There’s no guarantee she’ll improve but is certainly worth a try.

Make sure your dog is getting the best combination of medications to treat his heart disease, as this can make a difference in his outcome. You can find a board-certified veterinary cardiologist near you on this website: Veterinary Specialist Directory - Find Veterinary Specialists - VetSpecialists.com

[KatysMom]

Thanks everybody. This is really good information--news we need. --KatysMom

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Here's an article about this from Tuft's University Veterinary College:

A broken heart: Risk of heart disease in boutique or grain-free diets and exotic ingredients – Clinical Nutrition Service at Cummings School

Tuft's notes that it's not just grain free food that may be associated with cardiomyopathy in dogs, but exotic ingredients such as duck and lamb, and home cooked and raw diets as well. I'll include a few choice quotes below:

And finally, Tuft Vet Med's advice on how to handle this news (emphasis added):

thanks