The No. 1 Forgotten Ingredient In Your Pet's Diet
Updated: Jul 25, 2020
Read this blog post to find out:
What is the no. 1 forgotten ingredient in your pet's diet?
What's so good about this ingredient?
How much of this ingredient you should feed?
Where is the best place to source this ingredient?
In my experience as an animal nutritionist, there is one ingredient that is commonly forgotten when feeding a home-prepared diet.
That ingredient is organ meats.
What's so good about organ meats?
Organ meats (think liver, kidney, spleen) are nutrition powerhouses for your furry companion and they are an essential component of an evolutionary natural diet for cats and dogs. You may have noticed that I haven't included heart in this list. Heart is commonly identified as organ meat but heart is technically a muscle meat and should be fed with that in mind.
Organ meats have health-promoting properties for your cat or dog due to their high nutrient content. For example, liver is a highly concentrated source of vitamin A, which is beneficial for vision, the immune system, mucous membranes, skin health, adrenal glands and for growth. For this reason alone, dogs and cats should be fed liver on a regular basis.
Check out the graphics below for the nutrient profiles of two organ meats I strongly recommend clients include in their pet's diet - liver and kidney.
How much organ meat should I feed my pet?
In terms of quantity, organ meat should only be fed in minimal amounts, that is about 5% to 10% of the diet should be organ meat.
Where should I source organ meat?
One important thing to note when feeding liver and kidney is that these organs are the body's elimination organs. That is, they are the organs primarily responsible for the removal of heavy metals and toxins from the body. Animals farmed in non-organic systems are exposed to much higher levels of toxins that those who are farmed in organic environments.
I therefore recommend that feeding organic organ meats is the best way to go (or at an absolute minimum, grass-fed). They don't cost much and considering that only 5-10% of a cat or dog's diet needs to consist of organ meats, they are an affordable and natural addition to your pet's fare.
You also want to ensure that you're not feeding your cat or dog organ meats from animals who had Hydatid disease. Hydatid disease can occur when the animal has been infected by the Hydatid tapeworm and cysts have formed. These cysts contain tapeworm embryos and are most commonly found in sheep, but can also be found in cattle, kangaroos, wallabies and pigs. The cysts are very visible so if you purchase infected organ meats, you will no doubt see the cysts.
To avoid Hydatid disease, make sure you purchase poultry organ meats (poultry animals do not carry Hydatid disease) or that you only purchase organ meats from a butcher, preferably an organic butcher.
In a nutshell, be sure to include organ meats in your pet's diet and remember that organic is best.
Do you want to learn more about the best diet you can feed your cat or dog? Book in for a free clarity session today and I'll share with you how I can help you achieve this for your furry companion.
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