Complete & Balanced Nutrition ~ what's that?
The biggest "I DIDN'T KNOW THAT" I picked up from canine nutrition studies is that our bodies need consistent intake of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids to keep it functioning properly. If essential nutrients are missed out for long periods ~ things can start going off, weaken or malfunction.
Previously when I looked at supplements ~ I never understood what 'daily recommended allowance' meant. It means the recommended levels of nutrients "experts" suggest we consume daily in order to avoid nutritional deficiencies.
To make sure pet food gives dogs everything they need, regulatory groups have set minimum amounts for lots of important nutrients that food companies have to meet to call their product "complete and balanced".
Here's a glimpse of some of these recommended minimum levels for adult dogs:
Many homemade recipes do not meet minimum nutrient levels. As a result, scare, shaming and alarmist tactics are used to discourage feeding homemade.
There is no denying that nutrients need to be present at certain levels in what is fed. Making sure they are provided for makes complete sense. The question is if there is a need to be overzealous about enforcing minimum nutrient levels for every meal.
Humans don't eat recommended daily allowances of all nutrients at every meal, sometimes not even in a day or a week ~ and we aren't regularly coming down with beri beri, scurvy, rickets or anemia. Recommended levels might be overlooking the fact that bodies are pretty good at storing nutrients.
Something important I discovered while researched dog nutrition ~ recommended minimum levels are buffered given ingredients of lower quality are used for pet food. For example, FEDIAF's guidelines state "considering potential factors present in practical pet foods that could decrease zinc availability, doubling the minimum recommended level may be considered safe."
Take-away ~ knowing what complete & balanced means and what minimum recommended nutrient levels are, empower us to make better decisions about how to formulate recipes for our dogs. Its great guidance but they don't need to be taken to extremes.
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