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Plant-based diets have many benefits. But some people arent willing to try them because of misinformation. In this article, well tackle the most common myths about plant-based diets and let you decide whether a plant-based diet will work for you or not.

Plant-based proteins wont make you lose muscles and become weak. In fact, they are just as effective as animal protein in building muscles.

In this study, researchers found that participants who ate rice protein increased muscle mass after workouts, almost as much as those who ate whey protein, an animal-derived protein.

Whey protein eaters gained slightly more muscle mass because whey contains more protein per gram compared to rice proteinnot because animal protein builds more muscles than plant-based protein.

Complex carbs arent bad. They give us energy and help fuel our organs. Processed carbs are unhealthy since they spike blood sugar and cause weight gain.

Plant-based diets will give you adequate amounts of complex carbs plus vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

This couldnt be further from the truth. Veggies and legumes contain fiber which keeps us full for longer. And theyre also low in calories, so you dont have to eat small portions to avoid excess calories.

Switching to plant-based diets is one of the best ways to control hunger. Whole foods dont spike blood sugar and take longer to digest.

You dont have to combine beans with rice in every meal to get all the nutrients. Research shows that eating different plant-based foods throughout the day will give you all essential amino acids.

This protein combining myth has been debunked in detail in this article.

Cooking whole foods may feel like eternity if youre used to eating packaged foods. But there are ways to simplify the process. First, you can prep meals for a whole week, or use a slow cooker. Simply, toss everything in a slow cooker, and dinner will be ready when you get home.

Research shows that plant-based diets lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease while high intake of red meat has been linkedto cancer and heart disease.

Some folks assume that switching to a plant-based diet is all it takes to lose weight. This makes sense because plant-based foods are low in calories and very filling. But these benefits wont mean anything if you continue to consume sugar and processed foods.

In short, a plant-based diet promotes weight loss only when you avoid processed junk food.

Eating plant-based foods doesnt have to be expensive. Beans and other legumes are quite affordable. You should also consider buying fruits and veggies from farmers market since theyll probably be cheaper than in the supermarket.

After all, grass-fed beef is more expensive than most plant-based foods

Which plant-based diet myths have you heard?

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8 Plant-Based Diets Myths You Should Ignore - Care2.com

They were saying, Well, shit, if you get cholera, it means that youve been doing certain things. Youre having sex outside of marriage, youre smoking, youre drinking alcohol, says Engs. And, above all, youre eating improperly. Graham actually wrote a whole book on cholera and how to prevent it. You dont drink coffee or tea, or eat raw vegetables. Now, the point about raw vegetables was probably good advice he gave, in terms of cholera. Cooking would kill the bacterium, and many other foodborne pathogens. Certainly, Graham didnt know that then. He believed that cholera was caused by, a particular acute manifestation of overstimulation of the stomach. Therefore, food should be soft, bland, devoid of strong flavors or flavors that might excite or stimulate a person. He ate this way, and he didnt get cholera, after all. Therefore, cooked (what wed now consider overcooked) vegetables became a central element in his dietary creed, which he preached in packed lecture halls across the country, drawing thousands at a time. And thanks to this incredibly lucky coincidence, his word soon became gospel.

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The Secret, Sordid History Of The Graham Cracker - Refinery29

To the editor: The Times fails its readers with its sophomoric characterization and reductive understanding of the issue and the people affected. (Blowback over road diets, Editorial, July 30)

We are not "selfish," we are concerned residents who want safety and honest representation.

We want emergency personnel to move quickly, not be stuck in traffic.

We want to turn right without hitting cyclists.

We want local businesses to flourish, not lose money. We want [L.A. City Councilman Mike] Bonin to understand that surveys from 1% of Mar Vista's residents do not equal "extensive outreach" or "clamoring" for this change.

We want safe streets, not dangerously designed, clogged ones.

Catherine Melody, Mar Vista

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To the editor: Your editorial was excellent, but missed a very important aspect of the problem.

Yes, our neighborhoods are drive-throughs for commuters. My street in Venice has become a narrow and dangerous freeway that is used by South Bay and Playa Vista drivers to get to jobs in Santa Monica. Most cars speed down the street and almost none stop at the stop signs. There is a park at the end of my street, and there are kids everywhere.

I have tried unsuccessfully to get traffic law enforcement or even just speed bumps. LAPD and Bonin say that they don't have any officers to ticket the speeders. Less enforcement results in more violations of the law.

It isnt the job of the L.A. city government to ease the drive of these people to and from work. It is their job to make our city streets safe. When will they start to do so?

Jack Schwartz, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Regarding road diets, you point out that the loudest critics of the Vista del Mar reconfiguration dont live there.

Who lives there? Commuters were the only ones impacted.

You mention that taking half of the traffic lanes might slow traffic. Might? Really? Try standstill.

And why add bike lanes when just a few yards away theres a bike path on the beach?

Sure, cutting car speeds from 40 to 20 mph reduces the chance of pedestrian fatality. Why stop there? If we all travel at 10 miles per hour there will be no fatalities.

We dont do that because it makes no practical sense. Neither do road diets.

Paul Konwiser, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: The juvenile characterization of the hundreds of thousands of folks who live too far from their jobs to bicycle or use our meager transit system as homicidal narcissists is unworthy of an essay on the serious and complex issue of how to make this city work better.

At best, the so-called road diet is little more than a high visibility feel-good vote getter that may or may not actually save lives.

Allen Coulter, Burbank

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To the editor: Your editorial depicting motorists as insensitive louts was ridiculous and an insult to every resident in this city who drives to work.

The fact of the matter is that because of the great distances in L.A., most people simply have no choice but to use their cars to reach their places of employment.

Thats how Los Angeles was designed from the beginning. Until the city can come up with a mass transit system that truly eliminates traffic, people will continue to commute by car.

The road diets were a bad idea, and worse than that, they were implemented without the publics input.

The resulting furor that it caused is a prime example of bad planning and ineffective city management.

Charles Reilly, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: Your editorial needed to spell out that some of the loudest critics of the traffic lane changes in Playa del Rey live in the affluent cities of Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.

These rich commuters feel that they have a right to drive through L.A. city residential neighborhoods at high speeds to avoid 405 traffic. (The driving speeds in their safe beach cities are much lower.)

Meena Rao, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I disagree strongly with your endorsement of the city's Vision Zero program. The reasons for eliminating traffic lanes may be very altruistic, but they are not realistic.

A large number of people cannot ride bikes or reach their destinations via public transportation.

The resulting horrific traffic jams lead to increasingly frustrated drivers, leading to more road rage.

Return our lanes, and continue to encourage people who can use alternative transportation to do so.

Myra Kraus, West Los Angeles

To the editor: The tone of the editorial that people from the South Bay are selfish and anti-safety is not true. Bonin's apology was condescending.

It's not about parents coming home late and missing reading time with their toddlers. Doctors, nurses, emergency workers and thousands of other people are impacted by the unpredictable extra road time every day.

The problem is with Bonin and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and their pet project to get cars off the road. It's certain to take a long time to get this vanity pilot project properly corrected, and at what cost to the citizens?

Joyce Handschmacher, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: It's true that residents of South Bay beach cities Manhattan, Hermosa, and to some extent Redondo use Vista del Mar as a way to commute to Culver City and the Westside.

They have done so for decades, thereby taking traffic away from the 405, which should merit applause, not criticism.

Julie Bisceglia, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: Venice Boulevard is the best way for those of us who live west of Lincoln to travel east weekday afternoons, since Washington is not direct and I-10 is nearly impassable.

The only thing wrong with the Venice road configuration is the section where Venice Boulevard loses a car lane on each side for about a mile, causing a bottleneck that slows traffic to a crawl, making it harder for emergency vehicles and buses to get through.

I write this as a man who cycles more than he drives, often down Venice Boulevard.

Bring back the old street configuration, with 3 lanes of traffic on each side, a lane for parking and a bike lane.

Paul Suchecki, Venice

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To the editor: Is it possible that the government just might be totally wrong and the people absolutely right when it comes to the misguided notion that bicycles should have equal access to our city streets ?

Taking away needed traffic lanes in the name of increased bicycle use is a myth. All that has been created is an animosity that people trying to get to work in a reasonable amount of time are somehow the bad guys.

As an avid bicyclist, the changes that have been made make my plight more dangerous because drivers cannot see me at stop signs and intersections.

Im a member of the Parking and Transportation Committee for the Venice Neighborhood Council, and we had nearly 100 people at our recent meeting. An overwhelming number opposed these ridiculous changes.

The only ones in support were not-for-profit bicycling advocates, city bureaucrats and non-Venice residents pretending to speak for those phantom supporters of this ill-conceived and poorly planned proposal.

Nick Antonicello, Venice

The writer is a member of the Parking and Transportation Committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council

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To the editor: I have lived three blocks from Venice and Centinela in Mar Vista for 40-plus years. I was ignorant of the fact that this intersection was included in the most dangerous in Los Angeles and worthy of a road diet.

I have utilized this intersection almost twice a day for most of those years going to work and back and have never witnessed an accident. I guess I'm not there at the appropriate time.

The new configuration of only two lanes in each direction on Venice is clearly a mess. It's one lane when someone tries to parallel park.

I did not receive any documentation for any kind of input, ideas and or suggestions pertaining to this Vision Zero concept. Just wait till school starts and the traffic increases.

The increased population density is the real problem.

Glenn Zweifel, Mar Vista

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To the editor: The city needs to focus on creating win-win solutions, rather than pitting cyclists vs. motorists and making both sides more resentful of each other.

Los Angeles needs to crack down on hit-and-run drivers. Letting drivers who've injured people avoid accountability while punishing all motorists via lane removal is not useful.

Then the city needs to expand the network of cycling options on secondary streets, so cyclists can take advantage of lighter traffic and motorists can use major thoroughfares.

Finally, the city needs to look at repurposing/augmenting existing infrastructure for cyclists/pedestrians. There are lots of lesser-known aqueducts, access roads, and even larger storm drains (during the dry seasons) that could offer nonroad cycling and walking routes.

John Brown, Los Angeles

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We want safe streets, not 'road diets' and we are not 'selfish' - Los Angeles Times

New research shows bear bait makes up more than 40 percent of a black bears diet in northern Wisconsin. Researchers say bait could be playing a role in the high density of bears up north. The region is home to around 20,400 bears.

Dave MacFarland, large carnivore specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, co-authored the findings published in the Journal of Wildlife Management last month.

"It was a study designed to better understand the ecology of bears in the state and the role that the various foods on the landscape play in the population," said MacFarland. "That gives us information on the impact of regulations. Its sort of a first step to better understanding the role of bait in bear diet."

Baits often consist of high-calorie foods like meat, candy or cookies.MacFarland, along with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,sampled bear bait and native foods in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest for the study. They then compared those samples to tissues taken from black bears during the 2011-2013 hunting seasons.

The study was restricted to areas that were primarily forest and wetlands to minimize the influence of crop cover on results.

The Wisconsin DNR estimates around 4 million gallons of bear bait are used annually on the landscape, and researchers noted northern Wisconsin black bears had a higher percentage of bait in their diets than food-conditioned bears in Yosemite National Park.

Female black bears that eat bait have been known to experience increased fertility, but researchers say further study is needed to assess the impact of baiting policies on the bear population.

"Itd also be interesting to see what in states with different policies and different regulations what role bait is playing in the diet of those bears, said MacFarland. "Theres some more work potentially to be done, but I think its an important first step in us better understanding this.

The baiting period in Wisconsin is roughly three times longer than neighboring states Michigan and Minnesota. The state allows baiting from April 15 through early October.

View original post here:
Research Says Bait Makes Up More Than 40 Percent Of Bear Diets In Northern Wisconsin - Wisconsin Public Radio News

To better understand the relationship between a Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular health, a team of Italian scientists recently turned to the data in the Moli-Sani cohort study, a longitudinal study of the cardiovascular health of thousands of people in southern Italy.

Across a sample of nearly 19,000 people aged 35 and older, researchers saw a 15% average decrease in participants risk of cardiovascular incidents for every two-point jump on the scientists nine-point scale of diet adherence. That wasnt terribly surprising: previous studies have linked the plant-rich diet to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

But upon closer inspection of the data, the researchers realized that those benefits werent equally distributed. They only appeared for the well-off and well-educated. Participants with post-secondary education saw a 57% decrease in cardiovascular risk after following the diet, and those earning more than 40,000 (about $47,000) a year saw a 61% decrease. Those of lower socioeconomic status saw no benefits.

Adhering optimally to a Mediterranean diet is not enough, co-author and epidemiologist Marialaura Bonaccio told Quartz via email. Other factors beyond quantity and frequency of Mediterranean food appear to influence future health outcomes: one of them may be quality of foods.

A Mediterranean diet consists primarily of plant-based foods, with smaller proportions of seafood, dairy products, and meat. Those broad guidelines allow for a lot of individual variation.

The foods eaten by subjects of this study varied widely depending on their socioeconomic status. The more educated the participants, the more likely they were to report eating a broader variety of vegetables, plus more whole grains and organic vegetables. More educated participants had daily diets that contained higher proportions of monounsaturated fats like those found in olive oil and nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, and fiber. Meanwhile, higher-income study subjects ate more whole grain breads, fruits, nuts, and fish, and fewer meat products than subjects with lower incomes.

The Italian study couldnt answer precisely why the diets effectiveness varied by income and education. Previous research in the US found nutritional inequalities between the rich and poor, driven by both knowledge of what constitutes nutritious food andmore importantlythe means to buy it.

It is reasonable to think that higher socioeconomic groups are more conscious of what a healthy diet is and have greater material resources to afford a healthy dietary style, Bonaccio said.

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The secret ingredient that makes the Mediterranean diet work is money - Quartz

New research this week confirmed the heart-healthy benefits of a Mediterranean diet.

But there's an expensive catch.

A team of Italian scientists matched up the popular food plan with income and level of education in nearly 19,000 men and women living in southern Italy from 2005-10. They reached the eye-raising conclusion that the diet significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, but only among the rich and well-educated.

"We found heart advantages were limited to high socioeconomic status groups, even if groups showed the same adherence to the Mediterranean diet," Marialaura Bonaccio, the study's lead author, said in a CNN report. "No benefits occurred for participants in the low income and low education group."

She said the same problem may apply for other diets, saying diets focus on "quantity, rather than on quality" of the food.

Along with considering education, household income and marital status, researchers also took physical activity, body mass index (BMI), smoking status and health history into account, according to the study.

Bonaccio and her colleagues examined the variety of fruits and vegetables, meat and fish consumed by their subjects, along with cooking methods.

The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Bonaccio told CNN that differences in the quality (and price) of what people ate and what they used to make it may have led to the result. She used olive oil as an example.

Assuming that a person with higher income would be more inclined to buy a bottle of extra virgin olive oil costing 10 euros as opposed to 2 or 3, she said, "our hypothesis is that differences in the price may yield differences in health components and future health outcomes."

Link:
Apparently, Mediterranean diets only work for the rich - PhillyVoice.com

Oklahoma City, OK, Aug. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The ketogenic diet is a commonly used tool for rapid weight loss that works by inducing ketosis: a metabolic state where the body burns through its fat reserves for energy instead of carbohydrates. The keto diet also has benefits for those with elevated blood sugar levels, since carbohydrates and sugars are reduced if not removed entirely from the diet. In cases of obesity, quick weight loss on the keto diet can significant cut the risks of heart attacks and strokes in mere weeks or months. In spite of these benefits, Diet Doc warns that anyone looking to this diet as a long-term weight loss or wellness solution might want to tread carefully.

Keto dieters may not be getting the proper balance of nutrients overall, given that overconsumption of unhealthy fats and proteins is quite prevalent for many who attempt the diet. Choosing to opt for the South Beach Diet or low-carb option meant to many that large portions of protein was fine, just as long as there were little to no carbs. Ultimately, many failed to eat healthier and instead focused on losing quick inches, resulting in diets that were high in cholesterol and saturated fats. Keto dieters werent instructed to choose healthier fats such as olive oil, avocados and leaner proteins.

The addition of low-carb, processed meals to the market has also become problematic since several of these brands contain varying forms of added sugars and preservatives. Many low-carb products can actually sabotage weight loss goals due to its high sugar content. Furthermore, carbohydrates are not all bad. Carbohydrates are wonderful fuel sources for the body, which often contain important grains, vitamins, fiber and minerals. Carbs are also necessary for muscle growth, and Diet Doc recommends that you choose complex carbs rather than starchy substitutes. Legumes, oats, brown rice, fruit and other foods with complex carbs can actually aid in weight loss.

If done correctly, the keto diet can assist you in achieving your weight loss goals. Diet Docs doctor-supervised, low-carb diet plans can work intimately with your unique body composition without sacrificing nutrition. Patients can get started immediately, with materials shipped directly to their home or office. They can also maintain weight loss in the long-term through weekly consultations, customized diet plans, motivational coaches and a powerful prescription program. With Diet Doc, the doctor is only a short phone call away and a fully dedicated team of qualified professionals is available 6 days per week to answer questions, address concerns and support patients.

Getting started with Diet Doc is very simple and affordable. New patients can easily visit https://www.dietdoc.com to quickly complete a health questionnaire and schedule an immediate, free online consultation.

About the Company:

Diet Doc Weight Loss is the nation's leader in medical, weight loss offering a full line of prescription medication, doctor, nurse and nutritional coaching support. For over a decade, Diet Doc has produced a sophisticated, doctor designed weight loss program that addresses each individual specific health need to promote fast, safe and long term weight loss.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DietDocMedical

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DietDocMedicalWeightLoss/

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/diet-doc-weight-loss?trk=biz-brand-tree-co-logo

CONTACT INFORMATION

Diet Doc Contact Information:

Providing care across the USA

Headquarters:

San Diego, CA

(800) 581-5038

Info@DietDoc.com

Homepage

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/430d463c-8cf0-4c51-bb0b-3681316f2937

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Diet Doc Shows Dieters How to Make the Keto Diet Work to Their Advantage - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Today on First Coast Connect, we discussed a study looking into ways to make roads in Jacksonville safer with Pond Director of Development Allan Iosue (01:15). Our Movable Feast segment featured Nicole Franques (35:04) of Claudes Chocolate, and we spoke with Katherine Ludwig (45:10), co-author of the book Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age.

Road Diets

New development in Jacksonvilles Brooklyn neighborhood has brought shopping, restaurants and apartments in the past few years. But it also has increased road and foot traffic. With Riverside Avenue, a six-lane road, its sometimes difficult for pedestrians to get across the street. And thats not a problem unique to that area. According to the most recent Pedestrian Danger Index released in January by The National Complete Streets Coalition, Jacksonville ranks as the fourth most dangerous city for pedestrians in the country. Iosue is performing a study for the Downtown Investment Authority in the Brooklyn neighborhood. One concept is called Street Diets, where lanes are removed to improve access for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Moveable Feast- Nicole Franques

Claudes Chocolate is a delicious business founded by a renowned chef. It all began when St. Augustines Claude Franques turned his talents to the art of chocolate making. In todays Moveable Feast, our look at dining and culinary trends around the region, Leigh Cort of the Womens Food Alliance speaks with the companys Nicole Franques.

Humility Is the New Smart

The American economy is about to undergo a major transformation, with warnings of massive job losses that dont have anything to do with trade policies or immigration. According to United Kingdom advisory firm network PwC, worst-case predictions find that over the next 15 to 20 years, up to 47 percent of jobs in the U.S. will be lost to technology and artificial intelligence thats over 70 million jobs lost. The authors of Humility Is the New Smart say the fixation on bringing back manufacturing jobs is a mistake. Instead, they argue for a new mindset about the world of work.

Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.

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8/1/2017: Road 'Diets'; 'Moveable Feasts'-Nicole Franques; 'Humility Is The New Smart' - WJCT NEWS

5 Points LocalTheres a reason to visit the often over-looked 5 Points area near Elmira and South Flores. Actually, there are several and most can be found inside 5 Points Local, another hit project by Lisa Asvestas of The Cove.

Once the home to the first location of Green Vegetarian Cuisine, 5 Points Local added a communal table, more patio seating and an airy dining room perfect for meetings. Stop in for breakfast for signature granola available with whole milk, almond or coconut, or try a hearty Rise & Shine bowl filled with a seasonal scramble, black beans, arugula and avocado crema.

Lunch and evenings at 5 Points Local mean you can stick to a gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian or Paleo diet with ease. Fresh bowls topped with locally sourced meats and vegetables, all made to order, are whats in store. The popular Puro SA Bowl is a must with its roasted sweet corn in cilantro butter, drizzle of black garlic aioli, cotija cheese and avocado on fresh greens.

And if your practice needs work, let the yogis at 5 Points help. Namaste, indeed. 1017 N Flores St., 5pointslocal.com.

Bok Choy The third joint from the minds behind Green brings Asian flavors to the Broadway corridor. From vegan ramen to pad thai to fried rice to tofu summer rolls, the whole continent here. 5130 Broadway, (210) 437-2200, eatbokchoy.com.

Earth Burger Try the original Earth Burger (veggie patty on a whole-wheat bun with lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes, mayo, mustard and secret sauce spread) or choose the tofu fish sandwich. Dont skip the coconut soft serve. 818 NW Loop 410, eatatearthburger.com.

Evergreen With vegan pizzas winning over diners, this Stone Oak shop is gaining popularity beyond its confines. 523 Med Ct., (210) 437-1057, evergreenclover.com.

Green Vegetarian Cuisine With locations at The Pearl and Alon Market, folks have more ways to eat green. Entres can instantly be made into a vegan dishes with the substitution of regular cheese to Daiya cheese for a buck more. Multiple locations, greensanantonio.com.

La Botanica Helmed by chef Rebel Mariposa, this restaurant/bar/community center feeds your strongest vegan cravings with black bean empanadas, molletes and oyster mushroom-based ceviche Huehuecoyotl. 2911 N. St. Marys St., (210) 716-0702, vivalabotanica.com.

Pharm Table Ayurveda diet or not, diners will find plenty to nosh on in this vegetable-forward oasis by chef Elizabeth Johnson. Expect bountiful salads, and worldly techniques. 106 Auditorium Circle, (210) 802-1860, pharmtable.com.

Powerhouse Bakery Eating on-plan doesnt mean missing out on all of the goodies. The dietitian-led shop is 100 percent gluten free. 4902 Golden Quail, (210) 722-8464, powerhousebakery.com.

Seor Veggie Southtown gets its share of greens from this joint that takes vegan fare from across the globe. Find hearty dishes like the Good Karma Bowl of quinoa, kale, tempeh, sauted mushrooms and sprouts. 620 S. Presa St., (210) 228-0073, senorveggie.us.

Sweet Yams The first restaurant to offer vegan options to the eastside and oh how sweet it is. Chef Gus brings organic southern food and juices. 218 N. Cherry St., (210) 229-9267.

Viva Vegeria Now under new ownership, Viva Vegeria is still making the hits. Go for the vegan nachos, mole poblano or the chicken flautas. 1422 Nogalitos St., (210) 465-9233, myvegeria.com.

Zedrics Sometimes you just want to leave the cooking to the pros. Let chef Zac Lutton and his staff-prepared meals (more than 80 at any given time) help you stick to your eating plan. Multiple locations, zedrics.com.

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Where to Find the Best Restaurants for Alternative Diets - San Antonio Current

I work with clients all over the world who share an important connection: They understand the power of nutrition and aspire to feed their dogs the best diet possible. But opinions about what is the best diet differ. Some people believe that raw food rules as the optimum diet for dogs, while others are adamantly against it. Others would like to try feeding raw but dont know how to go about it. Wherever you stand, my Raw Dog Food Rules can help you fine-tune your raw-feeding practice or determine if a raw diet rules for your canine companion.

Would you feed your dog a raw dog food diet? Photography by humonia/istock.

Raw meat-based diets tend to be high in fat, which can cause problems for many dogs, especially those prone to pancreatitis, obesity and gastrointestinal issues. Fat also contains more than twice as many calories per gram as protein and carbohydrates. Because dogs typically eat to satisfy their need for calories, dogs who consume less of a higher-fat food may not obtain enough vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients, while those who consume more may become obese. Fortunately, preparing your own raw diet enables you to control the fat content.

My rule: Select lean meats that contain no more than 10 percent fat.

Edible bone refers to the bone without the skin, fat, connective tissue and muscle meat. Edible bone fed in the appropriate amount provides the calcium and phosphorus dogs need without the use of separate supplementation. If your raw diet does NOT include bone, and youre feeding an adult dog, you must supplement with calcium. Growing puppies, regardless of breed, require more of both calcium and phosphorus than adults, so puppy diets without bone must include both a calcium and phosphorus supplement. Avoid feeding excess bone, which can pose health hazards such as hard stools that are painful to pass and hypercalcemia, excessive blood calcium levels that can lead to organ damage.

My rule: About 10 percent of a raw diet (by weight) should consist of edible bone.

Some raw feeders believe that vegetables and fruits have no place in the canine diet, but I hope youll keep an open mind on this one. Phytonutrients (beneficial plant chemicals) such as carotenoids and flavonoids exert numerous benefits on the health of people and animals, including: serving as antioxidants; enhancing immune response; inducing cancer cell death (apoptosis); enhancing cell-to-cell communication; repairing DNA damage caused by exposure to environmental toxins; and detoxifying carcinogens in the body. On a cellular level, phytonutrients can trigger genes to express in a manner that defends against disease.

My rule: Include colorful, non-starchy, dog-friendly vegetables and fruits as about 15 percent of a healthy raw diet. Read up on some dangerous fruits and dangerous veggies for dogs here.

In todays modern world of depleted soil, factory-farmed animals and environmental toxins, even raw diets benefit from supplementation. As previously mentioned, bone-free diets for adults require a separate calcium supplement, while bone-free puppy diets need a calcium/phosphorus supplement. Diets with bone still often come up short in several nutrients, including vitamins D and E, linoleic acid (especially if using red meat rather than poultry), EPA and DHA (omega-3 fatty acids) and trace minerals such as iodine, manganese, selenium and zinc. The more varied the diet, the fewer the supplements that will be needed and the more likely the diet will be balanced over time.

My rule: Identify nutrients that might come up short in your home-prepared diet, and compensate with high-quality supplements. Do not use a copper supplement in diets containing beef liver, which is high in copper. Consult with a veterinarian who is knowledgeable about nutrition regarding the supplements you use. Inappropriate supplementation could cause issues with your pets health.

Healthy intestines contain a barrier of cells that allow the absorption of desirable nutrients from the digestive tract, while blocking harmful molecules from crossing into the blood stream. Leaky gut is a condition in which the bond that connects these cells becomes compromised, creating a permeable, or leaky intestinal environment. Dogs with leaky gut are at increased risk of pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli from raw foods crossing from the digestive tract into the blood stream.

My rule: If your dog suffers from symptoms of any condition commonly associated with leaky gut, including food intolerances, inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, lightly cook the meat (but never cook bone) until the symptoms resolve.

This rule closely relates to Rule #3. Veterinarians often treat gastrointestinal symptoms in dogs with medications, such as Pepcid, designed to decrease the amount of acid produced by the stomach. Unfortunately, this attempt to resolve one issue can lead to other problems. Strong stomach acid and low pH helps protect a dogs stomach from pathogens in raw meat. Take it away, and you have a recipe for disaster, especially if the dog also suffers from leaky gut.

My rule: Avoid feeding raw meat to a dog on a medication designed to decrease stomach acid. Whether you already think raw food rules or you are just testing the waters, I hope these tips will help you and your dog get the most out of the raw food experience.

Read more about dog food and dog diets on Dogster.com:

Diana Laverdure-Dunetz, MS, is a canine nutritionist and co-author, with W. Jean Dodds, DVM, of two books, including Canine Nutrigenomics: The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health. Their online course, Complete Canine Nutrition, can be found at myhealthydog.dog.

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6 Essential Rules for Raw Dog Food - Dogster.com

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