The FDA's Report on Grain-Free Diets

Click here to read the FDA report on grain-free diets

The main point I want to make with this video is that you can't believe everything you hear on the news. Shocker, eh!? So, I encourage you to do your own research!

I called BS withing a few minutes of reading the actual report myself.. Not someone else's version of the report, but the one that the FDA released to the public.

I made sure to do some further digging on who funded this investigation (turns out they're funded by Purina) and also took the time to research a ton of info on dog nutrition and ingredients to stay away from. Not ONCE did I come across any negatives about grain-free diets, but hundreds of articles on the affects of grain flooded my screen.

As many of you know, I am very passionate about dog nutrition so I'll be taking you along the way as I find out more. In the meantime, take a look at this video and let me know what you think of the article.

Want the Jist?!

-The FDA put out a report on June 27th that said there’s a potential link between grain free diets and heart issues. The heart issue they're investigating is dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

-The FDA said “that the potential association between diet and DCM in dogs is a complex scientific issue that may involve multiple factors”. Somehow, grain free diets was the only factor blasted on the media.

-The report covers 1/1/2014 to 4/30/19 which is only FIVE YEARS. Within that five years, there were 515 reports of canine DCM (this is a very small percentage of the dog population).

-Guys! There are 77 million dogs in the US and a majority of them are on a grain free diet. You do the math!

-95 of the 515 dogs are golden retrievers (the breed is predisposed to DCM)

-90% of dogs tested were on a grain free diet BUT the real factor to consider is that 93% of dogs were on a diet with peas/lentils. So shouldn't we be concerned about diets with high ratios of peas and lentils?

-The FDA tested grain free brands multiple times and there were no abnormalities. Everything checks out just as grain-diets do. In fact, their results are very similar!

-Environmental factors are also under investigation (heavy metal exposure or poisonous plant ingestion). Again, the media only focused on grain-free diets, but didn't warn parents of anything else to look out for.. when there are MANY!

-There’s a 6 month recheck still in progress so absolutely no results or proof has been found. They’ve only started their initial testing when the report came out a couple of weeks back in June 2019.

-This year, 2019, there have only been 14 dogs that are being tested (out of 77 million dogs). 

-There were only 9 reports of dogs on a raw diet when the reported dogs were surveyed. Which I find funny because last year there was a huge marketing effort to bring down the raw industry because it was popular and trending then. And now it’s grain free that’s trending so it's not a coincidence that we see this all over the media.

What to do:

-If a dog is showing possible signs of DCM or other heart conditions, including decreased energy, cough, difficulty breathing and episodes of collapse, you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible

-Take a look at the ingredients in the food you buy and make adjustments if needed. I'll be releasing a video shortly on the exact ingredients to look out for.

-Add prebiotics & probiotics to your dog's daily regime. The Lactobacillus probiotic helps to increase nutrient absorption which helps your dog get the most out of the food you're already feeding them.

*Just Food for Dogs 60 capsules $40

*Fortiflora (vet recommended) Can be ordered on Chewy.com