Gluten… Beware This Inferior Dog Food Protein Impostor

by Mike Sagman
Share

Hey, nobody likes an impostor. Am I right?

Dog Food Protein Impostor

Yet you may have already come face-to-face with this unexpected trickster and not even known it.

You see, in the world of dog food, protein truly is the Holy Grail.

Dogs crave it for survival. And companies market it for profit.

All things considered, the higher the protein content of a dog food, the greater its perceived value.

It’s Not Just the Amount
of Protein That Counts

But the amount of protein only tells half the story. It’s a protein’s digestibility and its biological value that matter more.

And that’s the problem.

You see, protein can come from just about anywhere… even from non-nutritious sources… like leather, hair, feathers, chicken beaks…

Or that mysterious meat substitute… gluten.

Basically, gluten is what’s left over from certain grains (like wheat, corn or rice) that’s had all of its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) washed out of it.

The rubbery protein residue that’s left is the gluten.

Think of gluten as a sort of vegetable-based protein concentrate.

Now, although gluten can come from other grains, corn gluten, is the most common type you’ll see on a dog food ingredients list.

Even though they can be healthy for humans, glutens can decrease the nutritional value of any dog food.

The Three Most Common Problems
with Gluten Ingredients

Here are three important things to know about gluten ingredients…

1.  Glutens are less nutritionally complete than meat based proteins. They’re low in some of the ten essential amino acids dogs need to sustain life

2.  Glutens are more difficult to digest than meat

3.  Glutens can raise the protein reported on a food label. So, manufacturers frequently add them to a recipe to make a product look better than it really is

The Bottom Line

Whenever you discover gluten on a dog food ingredients list, you should always question the true meat content of the product.

Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


  • Pingback: Corn Truth « frustrations of a celiac

  • Pingback: Gluten… Beware This Inferior Dog Food Protein Impostor « lulufightscancer

  • Efloyd105

    Gluten free has made a big difference not just with digestion issues but overall health, skin and coat.

  • Jonathan

    The chicken one hasn’t changed and the duck formula has actually added duck meal instead of just fresh duck, which was a step in the right direction. I, personally, think that the bison and venison could still be 3-star and the chicken, duck, lamb, and fish could be 3 1/2 star. Of course, I am basing my opinion on efficacy and you do not, so you may see it as the changed formulas are 2 1/2 while the rest stay at 3. I don’t know. I think the product line will still remain at 3 stars. But we shall see!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Jonathan… That’s unfortunate. I’ve added NB LID back on my update list and I’ll check it out soon. If you’re right and they’ve reduced the meat on all of them, it looks like LID may need to be called “LMD” (Limited Meat Diet). It could be a while due to my current work load. But I’ll get to it as soon as I can. Thanks for the tip.

  • Jonathan

    Hey Mike, speaking of “meat impostors”, Natural Balance has, unfortunately, changed the ingredients of the Bison and Venison LID’s and further reduced the meat content. Here’s the current Bison…

    Sweet Potatoes, Bison, Potato Protein, Pea Protein, Canola Oil (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Dicalcium Phosphate, Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Vitamins, Minerals, etc

    Crude Protein 20.0% minimum
    Crude Fat 10.0% minimum
    Crude Fiber 4.0% maximum
    Moisture 10.0% maximum

    They added pea protein and it exclaims this on the bag like it’s some sort of benefit. It’s still great at what it does (being an LID), but the Bison and the Venison formulas, unfortunately, appear to be even more meat-deficient then they use to be.

  • carroll

    This is a response to Sergio…there is a wonderful book that was published in 2007 after the Menu foods recall called “Pet Food Nation”. The author is Joan Weiskopf. She is an M.S Veterinary Clinical Nutritionist and although I only started reading it last night, it may be very helpful for your project.

    Carroll

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Larry… Dogs can be allergic to a food. But dog food is only the third leading cause of canine allergies (behind fleas and atopic non-contact allergies). So, don’t automatically assume food is the cause. In any case, if you still suspect a food ingredient, you may want to try one of the limited ingredient diets (Natural Balance L.I.D. and Wellness Simple Food Solutions) to help you try to narrow down the allergen (suspected cause). You may also benefit from reading an article I wrote last year called, “Dangerous Canine Diseases Linked to Grains in Dog Food“. Hope this helps.

  • larry

    mike,,i have a min schauser with allergies ha.s had steriod shots,two weeks ago and four weeks prior.shot not helping this time.have been feeding him Pedigree dry food.after reading all about corn and wheat glutens , Iam bewildered,what should I feed him.How about canned.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Sergio… There is an abundance of information on gluten. I’d start with Wikipedia on the topic. At the end of the article you’ll see a list of foornotes to in-depth articles and research. Good luck on your project. Hope this helps.

  • Sergio Araya

    hi mike, i have to do a university´s homework about this topic, can you give me some references where i can find more about the gluthen?
    thanks