http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/07/more-nonsense-from-holistic-vets-about-commercial-therapeutic-diets/ below is copied from the comment section of this blog, click on link for the entire article and more comments. Hope this helps
skeptvet says:
August 8, 2016 at 11:04 am
The problem is that definitive conclusions about “good” vs “bad” diets, or about the optimal diet for any individual pet, simply aren’t justified by the available evidence. Just because we want to be able to make firm, reliable conclusions about what to feed doesn’t mean we always can. Uncertainty is frustrating but sometimes it is a reality.
I would say the best advice will come from board-certified nutrition specialists, but this level of input is probably only needed for animals with specific health issues related to nutrition. Otherwise, the basic principles would be something like:
1. Don’t overfeed. Overweight body conditions is the most significant nutritional risk factor for disease known, and reasonable caloric restriction has been consistently shown to have health benefits.
2. Feed a commercial diet that meets basic adequacy standards or a homemade cooked diet formulated by a nutritionist.
3. Monitor body weight, lean body mass, stool and coat quality, and other measures of well-being and if they do not seem to be optimal, feel free to do some trial and error changing of brands or diets, accepting that the results are of limited value for generalizing about the feeding of other pets.
4. Don’t get rigid and dogmatic about specific ingredients, brands, etc. The label really tells us almost nothing of value about the health implications of a particular food.
5. If it sounds revolutionary or too good to be true and isn’t supported by extensive, consistent clinical research, it’s probably just opinion and not very reliable advice.
