Handling of Dog Food Related to Nutritional Value
August 31, 2011 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under Health, Tips
A trip to a pet specialty store will provide a whole range of dog foods, from kibble all the way to raw. How does the state of the food itself relate to its nutritional value? In today’s canine nutrition tip, expert Tracie Hotchner looks at the link between how the food has been handled and its relationship to how close that food is to its natural state.
To figure out how close to its natural state a food ingredient is, look at how its been handled. We generally say that raw foods retain the most food value – however raw foods require more careful handling, so a raw freeze-dried or dehydrated food is the least processed way to get the nutritional goodness out of those whole foods without worry about spoilage or contamination. Freezing food is the next best way to retain its food value, and then light cooking of food – either served immediately or put in a jar or can. The least nutritious way to handle an ingredient is in a heavily processed food where it retains the least of its original nutrient profile. So if you’re looking at blueberries, for example – the best way to get all they have to offer nutritionally is if they are fresh – next best is dehydrated, then frozen, after that canned, and least if they are baked into a blueberry muffin. You can look at the components of your dog’s dinner from the same perspective.
This Canine Nutrition Tip is from Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and award-winning host of Dog Talk® on NPR station WLIU. Canine Nutrition Tips are sponsored by Proportions, the whole food custom nutrition program for your dog. Visit www.Proportions.com to get a custom 2-meal trial for your dog, or to learn more about canine nutrition from the full Canine Nutrition University classes written by Tracie.
Author photo courtesy www.traciehotchner.com; photo © Ling Li
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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