Chances are you’ve heard about grain-free diets for pets, but there are a lot of misconceptions about this new trend. Please take a moment to read these facts about grain-free diets from Purina.
Properly processed grains are highly digestible.
- While uncooked grains are poorly digested by dogs and cats, properly cooked grains in pet foods are highly digestible.
- Dogs and cats can digest the carbohydrates from grains with an efficiency of greater than 90%.
Diets containing grains provide excellent nutrition.
- Grains are carbohydrates, which are an important source of energy.
- Grains also contain fiber, which supports gastrointestinal health and decreases the total fat and calories in a diet.
- Essential fatty acids and other nutrients in grains contribute to a healthy skin and coat.
- Concentrated protein sources from grains, such as corn gluten meal, can be highly digestible sources of many essential amino acids.
Grains are unlikely to cause allergies.
- Less than 1% of dogs are sensitive to grains.
- True food allergies are caused by immune reactions to proteins in the diet.
- Allergies to proteins in grains can occur, but are far less common than allergies to other protein sources, such as beef or dairy.
Remember
Properly processed grains provide necessary nutrients as part of a nutritionally complete and balanced diet.