Allergies, Diabetes and Obesity: How A Raw Diet Can Alleviate Health Conditions

If your pet has a chronic health issue, you may be wondering what the best cat or dog food is for allergies, diabetes, obesity and more. You may worry that you’ll need a specially formulated (and very expensive!) diet to manage these conditions — but in fact, a simple and natural raw meat diet may be just what the doctor ordered to keep your kitty or pup playing longer and loving life. A limited ingredient raw meat diet provides incredible health benefits that have helped many dogs and cats regulate or even resolve their health conditions — and it could do the same for your own best furiend.  Before you make any major changes to your pet’s diet, we recommend you first consult your trusted veterinarian about your pet’s specific situation and needs. 

Food Allergies in Pets

What is the Best Food for Dogs With Allergies? What is the Best Food for Cats With Allergies?

Food allergies are one of the biggest concerns for many pet parents when choosing what to feed to their dog or cat. Just like in humans, your pet can develop food allergies suddenly at any time, even if you’ve been feeding them the same food without problem for years! The most common type of allergic reaction to food that dogs and cats develop is allergic dermatitis which results in itchy, irritated skin. You may notice your pet’s skin is red or bumpy or that they are constantly scratching and itching. Food allergies can also cause hives, gas, vomiting or diarrhea.  If you’re feeding your dog or cat a pet food with a long ingredient list, it's difficult to figure out which component is causing the reaction. Pet parents often try changing proteins (for example, from beef to turkey) without success, because it was actually one of the grains, preservatives or other additives in the food that caused the issue.  Constantly changing your pet’s food to try to find the culprit ingredient can be frustrating for you and confusing for your pet’s digestive system — not to mention expensive!  That’s what’s so nice about Vital Essentials’ ultra-limited ingredient list: you don’t have to worry about “narrowing down” the problem. Our frozen and freeze-dried food for dogs and cats consists of real, raw meat, trace vitamins and minerals — and that’s it!  Cutting out all the “junk” ingredients like food dyes, artificial preservatives and bulky fillers eliminates the majority of dog or cat allergies right off the bat — and if it doesn’t, you know that their allergy is to the actual protein itself (for example, a salmon allergy), and not to one of those ‘mystery ingredients’.  Once your dog or cat is on a limited ingredient raw diet, you’ll be amazed at how much healthier their skin and coat looks and how much better they feel when they have relief from irritating and uncomfortable allergies! 

Diabetes

What is the Best Food for Dogs With Diabetes? What is the Best Food for Cats With Diabetes?

Both dogs and cats can develop diabetes. While some factors such as obesity or old age can increase the likelihood of diabetes developing, it can also be triggered by genetics. Dogs typically develop a form of diabetes similar to Type I in humans, where their bodies stop producing insulin. Cats are more likely to develop a form of diabetes similar to Type II, meaning their bodies still produce insulin but no longer respond to it. Both types of diabetes are serious but manageable conditions, and feeding your furry friend the proper diet is a major part of keeping your dog or cat with diabetes as healthy and happy as possible. The best food for your dog or cat with diabetes is high in protein and fiber, but low in carbs. A carb-heavy diet, like a diet based on commercially produced kibble, is linked to extreme fluctuations in blood sugar (the “sugar rush” and then the “crash”) which can make conditions like diabetes difficult to manage. That’s why a low-carb, high-protein diet is a good option for diabetic pets. A raw meat diet helps regulate blood sugar and maintain a consistent level throughout the day, which makes management of this tricky disease much easier — and ultimately means you get as many years to enjoy with your pet as possible!

Weight Loss

What is the Best Dog Food for Weight Loss? What is the Best Cat Food for Weight Loss?

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, over half of pets in the US are overweight or obese, with cats even more likely to be obese than dogs. The problem has only been getting worse in recent years, with the troubling trend of pet obesity on the rise. Pet obesity means more than a few extra rolls on Fido. In addition to reducing your pet’s quality of life on a day-to-day basis, obesity also increases the odds of your pet developing many serious diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. It drastically reduces your pet’s lifespan, literally taking years off their lives! These very real risks have led many concerned pet parents to seek out the best pet food for weight loss. A limited ingredient raw diet can be a huge help in this regard. Returning your pet to a healthy weight is often one of the first changes pet parents observe when they transition their dog or cat to a healthy raw diet. World-renowned animal nutritionist Dr. Richard Patton estimates that a pet switched from a traditional commercial diet to a raw diet will lose around 5% of their body weight from that one change alone. The biological reason for this is quite simple: your little carnivore’s body was made to eat meat! So naturally, that’s what will be easier and more efficient for them to digest than relatively foreign foods like wheat, vegetables, or starch-heavy fillers. Meat is easier for your pet’s body to digest than grains; the empty carbs in traditional kibble just get stored as fat or pass straight through your pet, leaving them hungry for more. On the other hand, protein-rich meals help your pet feel full and every calorie can be used efficiently so it actually goes towards fueling their body. A limited ingredient raw diet is the best pet food for weight loss because you won’t need to feed as many calories or as often on a raw diet, and the calories you do feed are utilized better. That means your kitty or pup is getting all the protein and energy they need without the “junky” ingredients that pack on the pounds. They’ll lose fat, gain muscle and have more vitality overall!

A Raw Diet Helps With Your Pet’s Other Health Concerns, Too!

Heart Health

Our food contains muscles and real vital organs, including hearts. Hearts and muscles are high in an essential amino acid called taurine which is critical for the heart health of both cats and dogs. Cats’ bodies can’t produce taurine naturally, so they are dependent on getting it from their diet. Taurine deficiency causes many heart issues and heart disease in cats, and can lead to blindness or even death. Dogs can produce some taurine on their own, but they really benefit from having a steady source of taurine in their diet as well, for the same reasons: it promotes a strong heart and may even protect against heart disease, especially in larger breeds, possibly because they have trouble producing their own taurine.

Dental Health

Tartar building up on your best furiend’s teeth can lead to rotten teeth, stinky breath, painful discomfort for your pal and expensive vet bills for you.  That’s why it’s important that your pet’s diet promotes healthy teeth and good oral health. A Vital Essentials raw meat diet doesn’t contain the starchy carbs common in most commercial kibbles that contribute to tartar buildup — helping to keep your best bud’s teeth pearly white! Plus, for a bad-breath-busting bonus, treat your pal to one of our Freeze-Dried Turkey Necks or Freeze-Dried Duck Necks from the VE RAW BAR. These tasty natural snacks help scrape off tartar and yuckiness from your dog or cat’s teeth, and promote good circulation for healthy pink gums!

Joint Health

Your little carnivore’s natural diet in the wild would include every part of their prey, even the “miscellaneous” bits of the animal that tend to be scrapped or left out in most commercial pet foods.  A raw meat diet from Vital Essentials includes all those often-overlooked but nutritionally important parts of the animal, such as cartilaginous tissues high in hydroxyproline. This amino acid builds strong joints and connective tissue, and is especially beneficial for any aging pet or pet who has suffered a slipped hip or joint injury. A diet rich in collagen and hydroxyproline can also help prevent such injuries from occurring in the first place, or delay the onset of arthritis!  

One Simple Diet Can Address All The Top Pet Health Concerns

Whether your dog or cat has a serious health condition such as diabetes or obesity, or you’re trying to find relief from frustrating food allergies, the food you feed your pet has a major impact on their health and wellbeing.  For the healthiest pet food for your fuzzy pal that helps address many health conditions and promote overall wellness, consider incorporating real, raw meat into your best furiend’s meals.  A protein-rich raw meat diet from Vital Essentials can help alleviate your pet’s allergies, keep them at a healthy weight, maintain a stable blood glucose level and provide many other health benefits — so your best bud can keep living every day to the fullest, no matter what health challenges come their way!

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Has switching to a raw diet helped your pup stop itching, or brought your kitty’s diabetes under control? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!