Natural Pet Health Blog

How Low Quality Foods can be Hurting Your Pets

A few short months ago, pet owners everywhere were afraid to feed their pets for fear of what they might be ingesting. Every time you turned on the news, there was an update on the “Pet Food Scare”.

Although the situation has now subsided after more than 60 million bags and cans of pet food were recalled, concerns with production and safety standards were raised regarding the high levels of hazardous food that slipped through to the retail market. The situation caused pet owners to question the quality and safety of even the well-recognized brands on the market.

Disturbing Findings on Nutritional Content

James Morris and Quentin Rogers, two Molecular Biologists at the University of California at Davis, found a lack of information on the bioavailability of nutrients in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. “These ingredients are generally by-products of the meat, poultry and fishing industries, with the potential for a wide variation in nutrient composition,” the biologists stated.

Given the varying degrees of quality, it is impossible to be sure that your particular batch of food will be of the same nutritional value as another.

Understanding Packaging Lingo

If you examine the ingredients listed on a bag of pet food, chances are you’ll see the word “meat byproducts”. While this may seem like a harmless term, by definition, it means that the food is of such low quality that it is unfit by human consumption standards.

The Animal Protection Institution explains that when an animal goes to the slaughterhouse, the nutritious lean meat is used for human food, while remains of the carcass end up in pet food.

“Bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans — are known as “by-products,” “meat-and-bone-meal,” or similar names on pet food labels. Many of these remnants provide a questionable source of nourishment for our animals.”

Common Ailments Linked to Low Quality Food

In addition to your pet not receiving adequate nutrients, they can develop serious health problems by eating food of poor quality. Common problems reported among both dogs and cats are Urinary Tract Infections and urinary system problems.

These are most commonly the direct result of a poor diet, as the Animal Protection Institute reports that many pet foods have an overabundance of certain minerals that can cause stones and blockage in the urinary system.

Pets can develop Heart Disease as a result of a deficiency in certain amino acids. Since the protein sources for most pet food are byproducts and of such low quality, they don’t provide full nutritional value.

Other conditions that have been linked to low quality food and insufficient diet are Hypothyroidism, Prostate and urinary conditions, liver troubles and a wide range of Digestive Problems. Some reports indicate that low quality pet food may cause trouble with managing Diabetes in pets as well.

What You Can Do

While most commercial pet foods still leave something to be desired in terms of their ability to provide complete nutrition for the life of your pet, some are much better than others. Get Tips on How to Read Pet Food Labels

Supplementing your pet’s diet to receive optimal system functioning is also key. Natural Remedies can be an extremely effective way to both guard your pet against some of the negative effects of poor food as well as to keep their immune systems and natural detoxification systems working at their highest potential.

Natural Remedies work to treat your pet’s system as a whole so that it can protect and heal itself.

ThyroPet - Treat causes and symptoms of Hypothyroid conditions

Heart and Circulation Tonic - Improve Circulation and promote heart and artery health

Immunity and Liver Support - Strengthen and improve Immune System and Liver Functioning

Digestive Support - Treat Digestive Conditions and improve Digestive Functioning

Liver Aid - Stimulate and improve Liver Functioning and prevent disease

ProsPet Drops - Maintain Prostate and urinary health

UTI Free - Treat causes and symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections

If you are making a switch in your dog’s diet, consider detoxifying his or her system if you are worried about the effects their old food may have had on them.

Controlling your pet’s diet and nutritional intake is one of the most important ways to help maintain health and happiness throughout their life, and the Native Remedies line of natural herbal and homeopathic products can help.

Detox Plus - Cleanse the system and Eliminate Toxins from the body

LiverAid - Stimulate and improve Liver Functioning and prevent disease

“Your DetoxPlus capsules have been marvelous for my Golden Retriever who has been looking under the weather lately due to, we believe, preferring to eat our food than hers! Your Detox Drops for people have helped me and so I thought I would try them from your Pet website. I have been very happy with the results. Now… my husband????”-” — Freda

“I have a tiny Yorkie name Tiffy. At about 6 months of age, she developed a liver shunt. She has been on Liver Aid and Liver Detox products for about three weeks now, and we cannot believe the positive changes, particularly in her Energy Levels. I also decided to give my Maltese both of these products, and I realized that she stopped Itching and licking herself all the time. I am so glad I found your products and I look forward to trying many others. I would recommend your products to anyone. I had nothing to lose, and I gained everything because our animals are everything to us. They are part of our family, and they are priceless.” — Dena

—–

Pamper Your Dog: 130 Treats for Your Canine Friend - Free Ebook > http://www.remedies...-dog-130-recipes.pdf

Pamper Your Cat: 100 Treats for Your Feline Friend - Free Ebook > http://www.remedies...-cat-100-recipes.pdf

For Guaranteed, Effective, 100% Natural Herbal Remedies for Pets, please visit PetAlive!

Does your pet need a new Collar or Leash? How about a beautiful winter coat or a fashionable outfit? Perfectly Pampered Pets is Pet’s #1 Choice in Fashion and Great Gifts for Your Pampered Pet!

An I.D. Tag can save your pet’s life or bring him home again. Visit Tags For Pets now!

Last 5 posts in Cats & Kittens

• Taking a Bite Out of Food Borne Illness - May 15th, 2008
• When Their Bark Isn’t Worse Than Their Bite - May 13th, 2008
• What to expect with liver disease in cats - May 5th, 2008
• Herbal Skincare for Pets - May 4th, 2008
• Garlic and Your Pets - May 2nd, 2008

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!