Many pet owners believe that if the label says organic than the quality of the pet food must be the best. While organic fruits and vegetables have an advantage in that they don’t have chemical toxins and can have more nutrients, a label of “organic” in and of itself doesn’t mean the diet is right for your pet. There are plenty of organic ingredients that can cause problems for pets. Grains such as organic barley and meat protein substitutes such as organic soybean meal are not the same as feeding your pet a raw frozen diet (even if the vegetables are not organic).
High carbohydrate organic diets containing ingredients such as organic brown rice, organic barley and organic quinoa are still going to have the same pro-inflammatory and/or allergic effect as their non-organic counterparts. For example if your dog is getting chronic ear infections and you are feeding dry kibble with organic rice and quinoa, those grains still have the potential to spike your dog’s glucose (making them hungrier faster) and may contribute to yeast, scratching and itching whether they are organic or not. Remember cats are carnivores and most dogs (unless they require carbs due to kidney or liver disease) fare best on a low carbohydrate diet. When choosing a pet food, look for ingredients such as meat, fish or poultry, fish oil and fresh vegetables. Scrap the organic starchy carbohydrates for a healthier, low carbohydrate diet. For more tips on how to keep your pet happy and healthy, visit our pet nutrition library and sign up for our free newsletter.
