The “Highly Digestible Pet Food” Myth
Digestibility is a measure of how easily a pet food ingredient is broken down by the digestive system and absorbed into the body. The more digestible the food, the quicker the nutrients enter the pet’s bloodstream.
Pet food companies sometimes brag about their food’s digestibility. On the surface, this sounds like a good thing. Who wants to feed their pet a food that is not well digested and assimilated? Why would you not want a pet food that is highly digestible?
Whether or not it is good to have a highly digestible food depends on exactly which nutrients we’re talking about. We certainly do want a food with highly digestible protein. Dogs and cats need lots of readily available protein in their diets because they are genetically programmed to eat lots of it. Dietary protein leads to lean body mass and it sends signals to the brain that make the animal feel satiated so they are less likely to over-eat.
We also want the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals in a food to be highly digestible. These are called micronutrients because the body needs them in very small quantities (compared to macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates). Even though they are needed in tiny amounts, these vital nutrients are necessary for the body to function properly.
So, what pet food component might we not want to be readily digested? Carbohydrates! Most commercial pet foods are loaded with carbohydrates which are composed of chains of sugar molecules. Highly refined carbohydrates are quickly converted to sugar in the GI tract and absorbed into the bloodstream. They are indeed highly digestible. When these sugar molecules hit the blood stream they trigger the release of insulin (the hormone that allows the absorption of sugar into the cells of the body). An excess of insulin in an animal’s system promotes systemic inflammation and the formation of fat.
It is not good to have a highly digestible food if that food is laden with carbohydrates. So, the desirability of “highly digestible” depends on the composition of the food. Your pet would be better off if they did not digest any of the typical dry pet foods at all. Feed a balanced raw diet.
Has diet made a difference for your pet?
My dog seems heavier since adding the Honest Kitchen meat base mix & not even adding as much as listed.
Our older dog (deceased last February at almost 16 yrs old), developed explosive bloody diarrhea when she was about13 yrs old. We had switched to a raw diet and she did not handle it — or anything else at the time — well. In the middle of this she had an HGE episode. That was really the only time she acted like a sick dog. After having the vet run numerous tests on her, the conclusion was that she likely had IBD…but since she never acted ill, we declined to put her through a definitive diagnosis. The vet said there really was no “cure” but that with a canned diet we could manage it. I knew what was in those cans and agreed for the time being to allow her gut to heal and because if she was having some type of food allergy, we had no idea what to feed her. We put her on that for about 6 weeks…and slowly, cautiously weaned her onto raw ostrich (meat, organs, bone). She thrived and never had another episode! In time we were able to add back other proteins and other ingredients (veggies, fruits) as well as supplements. She had no more issues with anything — ever. Do I believe in a raw diet? Absolutely!! Conventional medicine said we could only “manage” her problem. Unconventional thinking cured her. Enough said.