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Holistic
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Proteins
are the building blocks in Holistic Cat Food. They are one
of the most important nutrients in the diet and are
currently one of the most widely debated.
Why
do and cats
need protein? Proteins are necessary for all aspects of
growth and development and are very important in structural
make up and the immune system. In addition, they are burned
as calories and can be converted to and stored as fat.
In
reality, our pets do not need the protein but they need the
building blocks that make up the protein, amino acids. There
are 22 amino acids that animals need. Animals can synthesize
12 of them. The remaining ones must be consumed. The ones
that the animals cannot synthesize are called essential
amino acids. They are arginine, histidine, isoleucine,
leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine,
tryptophan, valine, and in cats, taurine. Dogs can
synthesize taurine, and therefore, it is not supplemented in
their food. This is why there is the old adage that dogs can
eat cat food but cats cannot eat dog food. A deficiency in
any of the amino acids can cause health-related problems.
Protein
quality
Every
protein source contains different levels of amino acids and
each protein is different in its ability to be broken down
into amino acids. So not all proteins are created equal.
Some are better for pets than others. The ability of a
protein to be used by the body and its amount of usable
amino acids is summarized as protein quality (biological
value). Egg has the highest biological value and sets the
standard for which other proteins are judged. Egg has a
biological value of 100. Fish meal and milk are close behind
with a value of 92. Beef is around 78 and soybean meal is
67. Meat and bone meal
and wheat are around 50 and corn is 45. Things like hair and
feathers would be very high in protein but would be down at
the bottom of the list for biological value. The actual
composition of individual proteins as well as the
utilization of amino acids is very detailed and beyond the
scope of this article, but in summary, we see that all
proteins are not created equal.
For
complete Petcurean information, call us toll free
1-866-864-6112
Or
email us at info@holisticpetfood.ca |
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