Preventing Disease with Nutrition
Preventative Pet Nutrition = Ideal Weight & Evidence based supplements …but which products ….and in which breeds?
As a practicing wellness veterinarian for over 25 years no area has been as exciting (or challenging!) as treating and preventing disease with nutrition. Now that breed specific nutrition has been introduced it just got (more) interesting!
The following data has been compiled from the following lectures given by board certified veterinarians (all un-affiliated with pet food companies). I have provided links directly to peer reviewed websites so you can do your own research in this very exciting area.
As veterinarians based in science we owe you the best science based perspectives to help you make the right decisions regarding nutritional products, amounts to feed and breed specific wellness issues specific to your breed (or mixture of breeds!).
Important Disclaimer:
ALL OF THIS INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE CROSS CHECKED AND USED WITH THE ASSISTANCE & GUIDANCE OF YOUR VETERINARIAN
Without their guidance with regard to lab testing , a good physical exam, an accurate body condition score and knowing all underlying conditions (and for rescues/mixed breeds their true genetic makeup) much of this information cannot be properly or safely applied.
Most common diseases that we see as wellness veterinarians
- 75 to 85% have Periodontal Disease
- 50 to 60% are above their Ideal Weight
- 20 to 30% have Osteoarthritis
- 10% to 20% have Allergies (inhalant or food)
- 10% to 20% Organ Failure (Kidney, Liver, Pancreatitis, Diabetes)
- 5 to 10% have Urinary Stones (kidney or bladder)
Many of these are breed specific i.e. small breeds get much more periodontitis and larger breeds generally have much more arthritis & orthopedic problems like Cranial Cruciate Ligament disease and hip dysplasia (many small breeds of course can have orthopedic disease such as patellar luxations and even hip dysplasia)
List of diseases we commonly treat with Rx foods & supplements (partial list)
- Diabetes
- Obesity (over 20% of ideal weight)
- Periodontitis
- Renal failure
- Inhalant allergies
- Food allergies
- Liver disease
- Pancreatitis
1) To prevent Periodontitis ( affects 75 to 85% of pets over age 2)
Best resource for products: Veterinary Oral Health Council vohc.org
Best assurance of quality: VOHC seal of approval given if food is at least 20% better than typical commercial brand in preventing. Plaque claim is better than just a tartar claim
Specialists viewpoints Dr Fraser Hale DVM FAVD Dip AVDC
Dr Jan Bellows DVM FAVD Dip AVDC
Products
Rx Foods Hills T/D ® & Oral Care ® (VOHC accepted plaque & tartar claim) & Purina DH ® (plaque & tartar for cats, tartar only for dogs) Iams Dental Defense ® (VOHC tartar claim one product in family)
Rawhide chews Purina rawhide chews® have VOHC acceptance, CET Hextras are not VOHC listed but are similar product with added evidence based ingredients
Water additive healthymouth.com 1st VOHC seal for a water additive (dog product) cat product is identical in formulation so should work as well in theory
Brushing using tooth pastes is the gold standard of dental homecare, a plaque retardant gel (Oravet®) and a periodontal vaccine are outside the scope of this nutritional discussion but are the mainstays of prevention and should be discussed with your veterinarian. more information
Breeds we specifically need to watch
All dogs under 20#, all Brachycephalics (bulldogs, pugs, etc) because of teeth crowding and thin bone around teeth that is rapidly destroyed by bacteria. Greyhounds have a genetic predisposition towards periodontitis.
Best one to one resource: a dentistry oriented veterinarian- ideally an American Veterinary Dental Society Member (AVDS) or a board certified veterinary dentist (We have 3 at U of Wisconsin!)
2) To treat & prevent Obesity (20% over Ideal Weight) affects 40 to 50% of pets
Best website: Association for Pet Obesity Prevention
Best resource for why & how: your veterinarian or westsidefamilypet.com
Products
Prescription Foods: Hills, Royal Canin, Purina, Iams (all available from your veterinarian) Rx because physical exam, lab testing, underlying cause screening and calorie counting need to be performed to be safe and effectively used when over 20% of ideal weight. more info
“Over the counter” OTC foods: “light formulas” (must be under 320 Calories/cup) many see Dr Wards website Can be used when less than 20% overweight or to prevent. Recent paper showed range of 240 to over 450 Cal/cup in so called “weight management” foods
Supplements: L-Carnitine, Isoflavones, EPA/DHA (fish oils), Level 2 evidence exists more info
Breeds we specifically need to watch Beagles, Pugs, Scotties, Dalmatians, Cockers, Labs & Golden Retrievers
3) To treat & prevent Osteoarthritis (includes degenerative disease related to hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, CCL tears) 20 to 30% of pets affected
Best way to prevent JAVMA wt loss study
Best resource for supplements Consumerlab.com
Products
Rx Foods: Purina JM ® & Hills J/D ® (force plate studies have been done by each company) just peer review published for J/D JAVMA reference Feline J/D just released!
Over the counter (OTC) Foods Feed only enough to maintain Ideal Weight
EPA/DHA Fish oils Anti-inflammatory dose of EPA is 20mg per lb per day (details)
Joint supplements (DASUquin ® & Glycoflex III ®) per label (details)
Challenges: Not FDA controlled so there are major quality control & effectiveness issues
Breeds we specifically need to watch Labs, Golden Retrievers & all large breeds, Cavalier King Charles, Boston Terriers, Yorkies, cats over the age of 10! (over 60% have arthritis)
4) To help treat Allergies (inhalant & food) 10 to 20%
Nonspecific treatment only (inhalant blood testing & food elimination trials must be done to diagnose)
EPA/DHA 20mg EPA/lb about 7 to 8 human fish oil capsules for a Labrador
Challenges: dosing & convenience/compliance
Best resource for general info (human & some pet info) consumerlab.com
5) Probiotics (emerging area)
Proviable ® by Nutramax first to have published evidence see more
Purina Nutriflora ®, Vetriscience Everyday ® & Iams Prostora ® all have good compettive products.
Quality control a huge issue (colony forming units etc) Look for at least 5 billion CFU’s. Properly handled & stored, use by __/___/___ dating Current debates are concern is whether single strain or multiple strain is better. Stay tuned!
6) Breed specific nutrition
Royal Canin has established some very interesting information with regard to breed specific nutrition. Although there is certainly not data for all breeds and it needs to be researched much more they have provided some excellent and comprehensive background. See their Yorkshire Terrier example
Iams is doing some similar things
Stay tuned as we sift through for good solid science!
Other useful websites for additional information:
Ohio State College of Vet Med website “Comparing Prescription Diets”
Your thoughts welcomed! Lets begin the dialogue.
Drs Ken, Sarah , Katie & Dawn
References
Recent lectures by board certified DVM’s (Nutrition, Internal Medicine & Surgeons) that I have attended to compile this review.
Naturally Neutraceutical Dr Rob Silver DVM Madison WI Sept 2006
Using Nutrition to Enhance Patient Care Dr Lisa Freeman DVM DACVN Oct 2007
Hills Symposium of Evidence Based Nutrition Dr Phil Roudebush DVM DACVIM Nov 2007
UW Orthopedic Considerations for the Canine Athlete Dr Paul Manley DVM DACVS Nov 2007
Rehabilitation in Veterinary Medicine Sherman Canapp DVM DACVS et al April 2008
International Veterinary Rehabilitation Symposium Dr Julie Churchill DVM DACVIM Aug 2008
Practical Small Animal Nutrition Dr Kathyrn Michels DVM MS DACVN Lake Delton Feb 2009
EPA/DHA Fish oils resources
Freeman, Lisa OSU Waltham 2002 Nutritional Conference
Mueller RS, et al. J Sm An Proc 2004, 45:293-297.
Simopoulos AP. J Amer Coll Nutr 2002, 21:495-505
Bauer JE. I Am Vet Med Assoc 2006, 229:680-684.
Caterson B, et al. Hills European Symposium Genoa, Italy, Apr 2005:14-18.
Brown SA, et al. J Nutr 1998, 128:2765S-2767S.
Smith CE, et al. J Vet Inter Med 2007, 21:265-273.
Obesity resources
1. “Feeding for Fitness” Dr Julie Churchill DVM DACVIM PhD Intl Rehabilitation Symposium Aug 13 2008.
2. “Obesity’s missing link: The union of metabolism, genome & disease” Dr Jane Armstrong DVM MS MBA DACVIM U of Minn
3. “An evidence-based review of the use of therapeutic foods, owner education, exercise, and drugs for the management of obese and overweight pets” Dr Phillip Roudebush DVM, DACVIM et al JAVMA Vol 233 No 5 Sept 1, 2008
4. “An evidence-based review of the use of nutraceutical and dietary supplementation for the management of obese and overweight pets” Phillip Roudebush DVM, DACVIM et al JAVMA Vol 232 No 11 June 1, 2008
5. Effect of weight reduction on clinical signs of lameness in dogs with hip osteoarthritis Mark A Tetrick, Peter Muir Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Apr 2000, Vol. 216, No. 7, Pages 1089-1091: 1089-1091.
Misc resources
Isoflavones Research Report Purina Research Report Volume 12 Issue 1
Obesity’s Missing Link: The union of metabolism, genome and disease Hills
