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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Immune system & food
| I saw an advertisement for Eukanuba dog food that is touting "prebiotic FOS", and the ad says "almost 70% of your dog's immune system is found in the digestive tract". Anybody know (1) if this food helps the immune system and (2) is there any tie in with the type of food and AIHA? Just curious. Interested in your thoughts. Dave |
| Dave Colorado |
| Don't know the answer to your question, but wanted to at least respond. I know that giving your pet the best food possible is preferable for your pet. Grain free is best. I hope that others with more experience and knowledge can respond for you. Good luck. |
| Mardi Northern Calif |
| Dave, I attended several day long seminars with a vet in charge of nutrition at Cornell U in NYS. He covered in depth how dog food is made, what the government requires for the basic requirements of feeding dogs and what needs to be listed on the package. Needless to say, dog food isn't held to the same high(er) standards that human food is. Dog food companies can advertise all kinds of great benefits for the ingredients in their food. They still have to have the *minimum required ingredients for proper canine nutrition* and list them correctly on the packaging. There is a lot of leeway for them, unfortunately, in how they achieve this minimum level of required ingredients. I won't go into great detail, but suffice to say that you get what you pay for. As far as "prebiotic FOS", this is a beneficial product. It is shown to help humans and dogs with digestion. FOS is Fructooligosaccharides "oligosaccharide refers to a short chain of sugar molecules (in the case of FOS, fructose molecules). Oligo means few, and saccharide means sugar." The question is then, what quantity is in this dog food and is it enough to give beneficial results? And secondly, could you provide this with some other source that would be in equal or greater quantity for the same or less expense? From this seminar, I have learned that many dog food companies put all kinds of "sexy" sounding ingredients on the packaging to entice owners to purchase the dog food, but they may have very tiny amounts of those products in the food! If you look at the label, the ingredient list is designed to have the largest ingredients at the top of the list with smaller ingredients following. Look at this list for the "prebiotic FOS" and you may find it as ingredient number 45 on a list of 52. It's most likely in there, but in what quantity? Again, there is no regulation regarding these ingredients. Only that they be safe. And safe is a nebulous term. Here is some more information about this ingredient: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prebiotic_%28nutrition%29 "Generally, however, it is assumed that a prebiotic should increase the number and/or activity of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria. The importance of the bifidobacteria and the lactic acid bacteria (AKA lactobacillus or LABs) is that these groups of bacteria have several beneficial effects on the host, especially in terms of improving digestion (including enhancing mineral absorption[9]) and the effectiveness and intrinsic strength of the immune system." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructooligosaccharide "now becoming increasingly popular in Western cultures for its prebiotic effects. FOS serves as a substrate for microflora in the large intestine, increasing the overall gastrointestinal tract (GI Tract) health. It has also been touted as a supplement for preventing yeast infections. Several studies have found that FOS and inulin promote calcium absorption in both the animal and human gut.[4][5] The intestinal microflora in the lower gut can ferment FOS, which results in a reduced pH. Calcium is more soluble in acid, and, therefore, more of it comes out of food and is available to move from the gut into the bloodstream. FOS can be considered a small dietary fibre with (like all types of fibre) low caloric value. The fermentation of FOS results in the production of gases and acids. The latter provide some energy to the body." So your choice about what to buy, but be aware that there may not be enough to be beneficial and the heating during processing the dog food may partially destroy the benefits of this. If it is sprayed on after heating, this may improve slightly the amount available. If I were going to use this I would buy the refrigerated kind at a health food store (at great cost). I have used this on occasion this way. It is beneficial, if very expensive. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed on 19/10/2009
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