Exploring the link between kibble, obesity, and diabetes in dogs
While the prevalence of kibble in our dogs’ diets shows how modern convenience often trumps long-term well-being, this trend may echo our evolutionary past.
This month is full of quotes and wisdom that have found their way to me. The first inspirational quote I came across was:
“We can choose to be wise or wounded.”
Then I wrote about learning to fly even when others stole our wings of hope and courage. however, even if we choose wisdom over hurt and learn to fly without wings, there is another trap…
Our dogs and we often choose short-term pleasure over long-term health. But before you start blaming yourself for not resisting a dessert, snack, or processed food, read on to discover why it’s not your fault, and neither is your dog.
How does evolution affect our eating habits?
Let me explain. In the past, eating as much food as possible increased our chances of survival when food was scarce.
However, now that food scarcity is less common, we are still programmed to eat as much as we can, and obesity has become one of the most serious problems of modern times.
Is comfort seeking also based on evolution?
In the past, conserving energy increased our ancestors’ chances of survival up to a point. But, like overeating, seeking comfort and convenience is no longer useful in today’s world. In fact, they have contributed to rising obesity rates in humans and dogs.
Now that you have a better understanding of why most of us struggle to choose long-term health over short-term pleasure, you can be kinder to yourself and find solutions that work.
How do kibble diets help with obesity?
One of the biggest challenges in veterinary health care is dealing with health issues caused by feeding processed dog food, such as obesity and diabetes.
Unfortunately, dog kibble typically contains about 300-500 calories per cup (about 8 ounces or 240 grams), whereas raw food, such as meat and vegetables, contains about 30-100 calories per cup.
Your dog’s food satiety is controlled by the fullness receptors in the stomach, and a typical kibble-fed dog can eat about 10-15 times more calories per meal compared to real food.
In other words, when a kibble-fed dog gets the right amount of calories, they still feel very hungry. And who can resist their pleading puppy-dog eyes?!
This is how dog obesity happens. If you are wondering if your dog is at the ideal weight, refer to the body condition score chart below:
Kibble and diabetes in dogs — are they connected?
To add to the problem, most dog kibble diets have large amounts of carbohydrates, which puts the canine pancreas under increased strain. In carnivores, the pancreas evolved to primarily digest protein, so high carbohydrate intake puts it under an unusual amount of stress.
Such overexertion usually leads to pancreatitisa serious and sometimes fatal disease that is more common in kibble-fed dogs.
Diabetes is almost exclusively seen in dogs that eat kibble, because the burning inflammation of the pancreas leads to an autoimmune response and subsequent destruction of the insulin-producing Langerhans cells, leading to decreased insulin production and diabetes.
Poor quality, rendered, rancid, highly processed ingredients and chemical preservatives are other reasons to stay away from kibble and why I wouldn’t feed it to my dog.
But I also know that some people in our community still feed kibble because of the convenience, lower cost, and also because their vets recommend it.
Why vets still recommend kibble and processed dog food
It’s sad most veterinary clinics rely on the sale of pet food, which makes up a large portion of their incomefrom 10% to 30% of their total income.
It is very difficult to find a human doctor who recommends that people eat processed and junk food instead of healthy food, and hopefully the same is true for veterinarians.
Free tools to help you transition from kibble to raw food
- Trying to find answers to your dog’s health issues or wondering how you can prevent illness? Use the Healthy Dog Tool to access relevant resources about natural dog health and nutrition, as well as a free personalized supplement plan tailored to your dog’s specific needs.
