Are you really satisfying all of your pet's nutritional needs?
- Providing precisely balanced nutrition is an investment in your pet's good health.
- The right levels of nutrients promotes good health, which impacts your pet's life expectancy and quality of life.
- Transitioning to the right food at each lifestage (typically at ages 1, 5 and 7) helps meet the changes associated with aging.
Common Myths and Truth about Pet Food Ingedients
Myth: Pet foods that contain ingedients listed as "by-products" are inferior.
Fact: Many by-products are excellent sources of nutrients for pets. With extremely rare exceptions, all pet foods contain by-products. Animal by-products allow for nutrient-rich organ meats to enhance diet while avoiding excess minerals from bones that are found in some less-expensive commercial diets.
Myth: "Meat-first" foods are better.
Fact: Healthy pets need nutrients and a complete balance of amino acids from both meat and non-meat sources. Meat is not the only source of protein available, either. Other ingedients, like corn, can provide it as well.
Myth: Grain-free pet foods are better.
Fact: There is no nutritional foundation to support a grain-free diet and foods that have grains are just as digestible as grain-free foods. The term "grain-free" is misleading, as all grain-free foods contain carbohydrates from other sources, such as sweet potatoe, which has more carbohydrates than corn.
Myth: More protein is better.
Fact: Animals cannot store protein. Excess protein forces the kidneys to work harder when they are required to convert it to waste, which is excreted in the urine.
Myth: Articial preservatives are used in the more expensive brands of foods.
Truth: High-quality brand pet foods are naturally preservatived with mixed tocopherols, which is a stabilized for of Vitamin E.
Myth: Dogs are carnivores and need mostly meat.
Truth : Cats are true carnivores; however, dogs are omnivores and require a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins, similar to people. By feeding a balanced blend of meats, vegetables and grains, this aids in controlling excess nutrients that may be a risk for long-term health.
Source: The Simple Truth about Pet Nutrition brochure by Hills Science Diet.
