Let’s talk enzymes, which are made in the pancreas. There are digestive enzymes that have a very specific role of breaking down food to create a fuel source. They can be found in the saliva and digestive tract. And then there are metabolic enzymes, responsible for every metabolic function— everything from eyesight, one’s ability to heal, even cognitive function. Metabolic enzymes help us to live a long life.

Now, the pancreas says “If I get a lot of whole foods with naturally occurring enzymes, I can spend my energy on metabolic functions (like organ functions and the ability to self-heal)”. Enzymes from food sources help aid in digestion, which takes the work off the pancreas. But enzymes have a distinct weakness, which is heat. Around 118° (47°), they become unstable, but if that heat reaches 185° (85°), they’re gone. This is why “gently cooked” food must be cooked low and slow. Kibble is cooked at very high temps, far exceeding 185°. For dogs, the marrow in bones, organ meat, and goat’s milk are good examples of sources loaded with live enzymes.

Moving on to Amino Acids, the building blocks of protein. Amino acids are pieces of a protein molecule that link together like a chain-link fence – the stronger they are, the stronger the protein molecule. The more amino acids one has, the more they can be utilized. When heat is added, they start to change shape, but our and our dog’s bodies are designed to receive the amino acids in a certain shape. With enzymes wiped out at 185° (85°), the amino acids are denatured – meaning they’ve changed their nature or natural qualities of – we/our dogs then have to work harder to get protein.

When amino acids are in a specific order and a specific shape, they form a protein. There are digestive enzymes that fit into these proteins just right, which help break down the amino acids into usable blocks to help build muscle or repair and replace cells. When the amino acids are altered, the enzymes can’t fit right, making it harder to break down.

Protein is second to water for what our and our dogs’ bodies use, so ensuring we have quality, real protein is important. There are 22 amino acids our dogs need for life. Half are essential amino acids, which the body can’t make, so they get through other sources, like food. With cooked proteins, the body does more work and gets less nutrients.

Lastly, when we talk about moisture-dense diets, I’m referring to intracellular moisture, the fluid/moisture within cells, and it is the place where most of the fluid in any living thing (plant, animal, fungi) is contained. To put it into perspective, if you drink a glass of water, you only get 70% of that hydration/moisture, but if you eat an apple, you will get every cell of hydration/moisture because of how complex all of these components are when working together. So for our dogs, if we’re feeding a dry diet, they’re getting zero moisture/hydration from their food. Even if we add water, bone broth, goat’s milk to try to rehydrate it, it’s not intracellular moisture and it’s not as beneficial as if they were to eat whole, real food.

Inflammation is a defense mechanism. Inflammation is swelling to protect organs, even the stomach and GI tract. Chronic inflammation is a state of inefficiency. How can we help to lessen that inflammation? Feed whole living foods. “Let food be thy medicine.”

Ultra-processed foods usually are made from feed-grade ingredients vs human-grade ingredients. Ideally, you want to feed pet food that has human-grade ingredients.