Mizzou CVM Nutrition Club - Public

Happy sunday everyone! This week we are myth-busting!

The Myth: Processed foods are bad for your pet

The Truth: Processing foods actually increases the bioavailability and digestibility of the nutrients so your pet can get the most out of their foods! According to the cambridge dictionary, "processed" means "having had some sort of industrial treatment in order to preserve it, make it safe, or change its taste or appearance". According to a study in 18 adult beagles consuming raw, pasteurized, and high temperatures sterilization processed foods, there was actually increased bioavailability of proteins and fats. In another study grinding increased digestibility of corn starch (from 79 to 94%) and wheat starch (from 92 to 97%) in cats. Raw potato and corn starch are poorly digested but by cooking it the digestibilty increases by 65% and 37% respectively. In laymen's terms, that means that these processed foods are actually better utilized by your pet decreasing wasted nutrients. This also means you get more out of less money spent. By processing these foods you can get more available nutrients out of less food!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8769318/

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/processed

Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. The National Academies Press, 2018.

Welcome to our page! We are excited to announce the launch of our public page! We will be posting the latest information research has to offer on optimizing your pet’s nutritional health as well as some much needed nutrition myth busters! Stay tuned for our first informational post with weekly posts to follow. These posts are designed to help you navigate the world of pet nutrition but are NOT a substitute for a veterinarian! Your pet’s nutrition is very reliant upon their individual needs which may not align with our weekly posts.