Disease MAnagement Diets for Pets
By definition, disease management diets help prevent, delay or manage chronic diseases by focusing on healthy foods and limiting unhealthy ones.
These diets are formulated specifically for pets with life-long health conditions. They help manage symptoms, slow and/or stop the progression of a specific ailment, and ensure the body has everything it needs to operate efficiently. For our pets there are prescription dry and canned foods for many of these conditions. However, many owners believe that these processed, generalized diets are their pet's only option, this is not the case. These options may be best for some families due to time and budget - but they are not the only option. Fresh, whole-food diets can be formulated for your pets and often work better for your pets long term health because they are formulated to your pets EXACT needs. They also focus on using fresh, minimally processed, whole-foods to support your pets overall health and quality of life long term. These diets when properly formulated can not only slow disease progression, they can lower inflammation and provide more time/better quality of life. There are endless possibilities with a diet completely tailored to your pets needs using fresh foods.
Disease Management Diets can be made for a variety of health conditions. Some of the most common we make are for pets with… HUA, CKD, Liver Disease (Shunts, MVD, CSD), Chronic Pancreatitis, Heart Disease, EPI, Epilepsy and gerd.
After a diagnosis has been given by your veterinarian, we review all medical records, and a custom diet can be formulated for your pet drawing from both western and eastern approaches. In some cases further testing may be beneficial for the most accurate diet formulation, this will be discussed if necessary. Once on your new custom diet any tweaks needed for your pet will be made and you will continue routine visits to monitor the condition with your vet office, if your pet has a progressive disease, tweaks will be made to the diet as needed at your vets request. There are endless options and possibilities when feeding your pet a disease management diet, specifically formulated for them using whole-fresh foods. There is not a more customizable feeding model, and not only that you know exactly where your ingredients are coming from and how your pets food is being handled, you are in control of their health - not a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Dry and canned “prescription” diets are generalized diets made for a broad umbrella of conditions, and they do not work for ALL pets… they also contain NO medicine, and many are not made for longterm use. They do contain legal allowable amounts of carcinogens, toxins and low-quality, pro-inflammatory processed ingredients. They are intended to manage a condition, but will not provide healing, and can lead to other health issues down the road, (see what the experts are saying here). Nutrition is very specific to each pet, when you are working with a nutritionist trained in disease management diets and food therapy, the diet can be tailored to fit the exact needs of your pet and there is an entire team supporting the health of your pet from you, to your veterinary team and your nutritionist - all dedicated to helping your pet thrive and improve their quality of life.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
SUMMARY
This is a progressive disease, kidney function will continue to decline but the rate can be slowed with a intentionally formulated diet addressing needs shown in testing. Whole food diets can be extremely beneficial for CKD as limiting the number of toxins in the diet is of the utmost importance.
Moisture, Sodium and Omega 3s are also extremely important. Salt and canned seafood/meats/broths should be avoided. A constant supply of water is extremely important in aiding the kidneys, increased thirst is a common symptom of pets with CKD, but typically still not enough to make up for the lack in dry diets, fresh diets provide moisture and it is recommended to add additional. The quality of the water provided is also an important consideration. Pets with CKD have a reduced ability to filter toxins, they can build-up and should be limited wherever possible. Reducing inflammation in the body is extremely important, so a source of healthy Omega 3s can combat inflammation, fats in dry and canned diets are highly rendered and oxidize quickly. Increasing complex carbohydrates can be beneficial, but many also supply phosphorous so the variety is important, this can also increase inflammation so its advisable to avoid grain based carbs as they are typically a source of a variety of toxins (for both but specifically cats). Other considerations should be made based on each pets specific test results, therefore a whole-food diet formulated specifically to meet their needs is a great choice. Routine vet visits are important, tweaks to the diet can be made as conditions change based on new results and your vets recommendations.
Hyperuricosuria (HUA)
SUMMARY
Hyperuricosuria Diets are among some of our most frequently made diets. With over 40% of our current clients being Dalmatians, the majority of whom have the HUU gene. HUA can be successfully managed longterm in the majority of cases with diet alone, and routine urinalysis.
There are some misconceptions that HUA dogs need a vegetarian diet, cannot consume any purines, that high carbohydrate diets are best, that cranberry should be used to help manage the disease, etc.... Dogs with HUA are still carnivorous selective animals, their biological make-up is still the same and bodily processes operate like an LUA animals, with the exception of the their inability to convert uric acid concentrations into allantoin. Due to this they do require a diet LOWER in purines. This CAN be achieved with a meat based diet as the the uric acid content of food changes depending on the variety and cut. By keeping track of the milligrams of uric acid per 100g of food, we can effectively monitor the purine load of a diet while still maintaining a species appropriate diet. We can manage bladder health by using alkalizing ingredients (avoiding acidifying supplements such as cranberry unless for a rare case), using negative PRAL produce, feeding a moisture-rich diet and we can aid in longterm kidney and liver health, function and digestion by avoiding abnormally high carbohydrate dense diets and providing species appropriate digestible proteins, fats, and fiber. Purines are one of the most common organic compounds on the planet and are required for a variety of bodily functions such as; Forming DNA & RNA, Providing energy, Controlling cell growth, they help the nervous system function, and play a part in brain development. HUA Dalmatians can eat nutrient dense organ meats and other moderate-high purine foods in MODERATION. For HUA pets not on a diet where the purines are monitored, avoiding all moderate to high purine foods is advisable, but it's not exactly ideal for health - as these foods (like fatty fish and organ meats) have a plethora of other beneficial nutrients. Read more here…
Liver Disease
SUMMARY
Liver disease is common among pets and can develop from a variety of causes, including; medications, genetics, toxicity, +. Pets with a liver disease do require a special hepatic diet. A disease management diet focusing on whole-foods can not only slow progression it can provide a better quality of life with reduced symptoms.
Decreased protein intake is not needed and will not slow the progression of the disease unless there is a shunt, which will require a reduction in protein.
Things that must be considered for the diet are low ammonia producing proteins such as; Chicken Breast & Thigh, Turkey , Pork Loin, Beef Rib Loin (red meat typically produces more ammonia but this can change depending on cut), Eggs, Rabbit, and Salmon. A reduction in fat may be required for some pets based cholesterol and bile acids, but healthy fats in whole foods are typically well tolerated. Sodium intake must be monitored so canned varieties of fish and shellfish are not recommended. Pets with liver disease benefit from an increase in vitamin e, increased antioxidants benefit the liver and are needed to make up for the reduction caused by increased omegas (500iu vit e. per 1kg of DM). Copper must be greatly reduced, it is stored in the liver and with liver disease the ability to excrete excess amounts of copper is impaired, therefore ruminant organ meats are best avoided. Manganese may also need to be reduced for pets with MVD. L-Carnitine has been shown to help stabilize elevated ALT and AST. I prefer a hefty increase in veg/fruit fiber as tolerated by the pet to increased carbs, as it helps remove ammonia build-up and supplies a vitamin c source (although dogs can produce vit c, increased consumption can assist with the increased vitamin e). Kale is often a beneficial add as it supplies both Vitamin K, Vit C, and Iron as many pets with liver disease are prone to anemia. Other considerations will be made based on bloodwork.
Written By;
Autumn Somers
Certified Canine & Feline Nutritionist
Food Therapy & Disease Management Diets
Custom Recipes, Wellness Plans & Support
Meet your Pet’s Nutritionist…
Autumn is a Certified Canine & Feline Nutritionist who has been working in the Pet Industry for nearly a decade. Professionally, Autumn has been nutrition counseling for the past 8+ years. She was certified through the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies and is trained in Diet Formulation, Food Therapy and Disease Management Diets. Autumn specializes in formulating complete and balanced recipes with a focus on biologically appropriate whole foods, and teaching pet owners how to make their pets food at home and responsibly monitor their pets health. Autumn has had the unique opportunity to study under a wide variety of both, conventional, integrative and holistic veterinary practitioners and board certified veterinary nutritionists. Over the past decade Autumn has helped thousands of pet parents improve their pets diets either by assisting them in finding the right premade food from a trustworthy brand for their pet, or by formulating diets specifically to the needs of each pet.