Ingredients to Avoid in a Healthy Diet

Foul-smelling ingredients:  these foods should always be avoided, no matter what the date on the bag.  If it smells at all rancid when you open it, do not feed it to your pet.

 

Greasy Food: If you see oil on the bag or feel a sticky residue on cans of pet food, it is high in animal fats or tallow.  These can include rendered carcasses and recycled cooking grease from restaurants.  These fats are difficult to digest and are often rancid prior to the manufacturing process.

 

Animal by-products: such as "beef by-product," "lamb by-product," and "chicken by-product" are a mixture of the whole carcass including feces, cancerous tumors, hide, hooves, beaks, feathers and fur. "Meat" or "meat by-products" are a mixture of whatever mammals.  Avoid "fish by-product" and especially "poultry by-products." which are a mixture of whatever feathered animals including pigeons, ground together and should definitely not be fed to your pet.

 

Grain by-products: such as "mill runs," "flours," "midlings," "husks," and "parts" should be avoided.  They have no nutritional value because all of the available nutrients have been removed.  They may be harsh to an animal's digestive and eliminatory tracts, and irritate the body as it attempts to process them.  These cheap fillers are used as additional protein sources to increased the finished product's weight and mass, although they are non-digestible and therefore cannot be assimilated.

 

Fillers: such as "powdered cellulose" and cellulose fiber" can include recycled newspaper, sawdust and cardboard. "Plant cellulose" is usually ground peanut hulls-which are very damaging to sensitive colon tissues.  Beet pulp or grain by-products have no nutritional value, but do add bulk and weight to the finished product.

 

Yeast: is a cheap source of B vitamins, amino acids, and some nutrients.  Touted for flea control and a shiny coat, yeast can contribute to poor skin and coat conditions by burdening the liver and interfering with proper digestion.

 

Sugar: is added to most commercial diets and treats.  On pet food labels it can be called "sucrose," "beet pulp," "molasses," "cane syrup," "fruit solids," "and of course "sugar." It is a very cheap, heavy filler (cost effective for the manufacturer) and is also addictive (the pet will want more of the same). Additional sugar in the diet is the primary trigger of excessive shedding, weight problems, diabetic conditions, and behavioral problems in pets.