Species Appropriate Diets

You would never expect a horse to eat steak would you? or a tiger to eat salad? I am of the opinion that species appropriate diets are so very important, ESPECIALLY for captive animals (aka pets) AND humans alike.

Let's take the instance of Dogs: most "scientific" foods are based heavily on grains and artificial colorings, flavorings and vitamin/mineral mixes. Sometimes there is less than 15% meat in these dry foods. Dogs these days are in trouble. They have allergies, hot spots, ear infections, pest infestations, odor, anal gland issues, irritable bowels, coat problems, temperament issues, cancer, and so much more! I believe this is largely do to the "fad" of feeding soley artificial (kibble) and low quality diets. THe majority of their food should be meat, not grain.

Anyway, there is much more information out there to be had about dog food. I currently really like "Sojos" food, a premix to which you add your own raw or cooked meat and desired extras, such as pulped veggies, eggs, or kefir. Next in line is a complete refrigerated food, "Freshpet Select" which is 75% meat! If a caretake is still unable to use one of these foods, then add portions of fresh meat and pulped veggies to a high quality meat based kibble, such as Innova or Solid Gold or PetGuard.

I also believe that humans are overfed and undernourished (Americans especially!) Ancestorally, we did not have the grain, sugars, colors and preservatives in our diet. We ate lean meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. The only drink available to us, unless we were breastfeeding infants, was water. Look at the overwhelming amount of modified 'food' products, chemicals, colorings, thickeners, preservatives, insecticidal ingredients (YES in our food), etc that our bodies are bombarded with! Our bodies are inflammed, literally starving for nutrients but not receiving them even though our bodies are burdened with too much fat. Please read about the Paleo diet. I have been on it nearly 2 months, and feel 100% better now! Fresh veggies, lean meats, poultry, fish, fruit desserts (some are very flavorful!) snacks of nuts and seeds is what now makes up my diet. I have lost 18 pounds effortlessly, I do not exercise!

Take a look at the standard american diet (SAD!) Heavily grain based, full of refined flours, sugar, high fructose corn syrup- practically in everything! MSG (with 11 different trade names to fool you!) colorings linked to aggression in both animals and children, and cancer-causing preservatives (don't get me started on sodium nitrate/nitrite!). People today are in trouble! Obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, chronic fatigue, headaches, cancer, heartburn, etc. These things are NOT normal! Our bodies are SCREAMING at us... STOP eating this stuff!

Grains contain gluten (sound it out- GLUE-ten) which is a thick substance that coats the delicate villi in your intestine. Your body raises the amount of stomach acid trying to break that stuff down. If the villi are coated with glue then it cannot absorb nutrients. Your body's cells are starving and malnourished. Dairy as well has it's own gluey substance called casein. Milk is only consumed through adulthood by humans! Other animals consume it until they triple their birthweights and never taste a drop again. Not only that, we are not drinking milk made for Humans, but milk made for Baby COWS. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it?
Milk is touted as a "great source of calcium" however when our villi are coated with the gluelike casein, they are unable to absorb much calcium at all. American women today are plagued with osteoporosis. Green leafy vegetables, some nuts contain plenty of calcium which is readily absorbed by the body without the need for dairy.

Species appropriate diets is one of my FAVORITE topics! Species appropriate diets are not only important, they are vital for our health... they help a body thrive instead of survive.