I’ve been reading a lot of entries in
forums about dog nutrition. When the subject
of vegan dog nutrition comes up, I frequently read the criticism that dogs do
not produce amylase, and therefore they cannot break down carbohydrates
(starches and sugars). Therefore, dogs should be fed an all raw, all meat diet
and I am doing a disservice to my Great Dane puppy by feeding her a vegan diet.
After having read the range of internet information and advice (much of it conflicting), I have come to the conclusion
that a lot of people are misinformed or underinformed: humans produce amylase in the salivary glands and
in the pancreas. Dogs get their amylase
from their pancreas. And we all get amylase from the many fruits and vegetables that are available
to us. (In the wild, dogs would also get amylase from eating some of the
entrails of their prey.) All mammals need amylase, and produce it in the pancreas, but only humans, primates, rodents, and lagomorphs produce it in the salivary glands.
Whether you are talking about dogs or
people, it really doesn’t matter: we all need enzymes in order to live. I must admit that, having been a vegan for
almost 36 years, for most of those years, I have chosen my nourishment a bit by
happenstance. It was only about four
years ago that I began looking into the basic elements of food and digestion. This is made possible by myriad nutrition websites. I’m not saying that my nourishment was
poor. Even before I became a vegan/vegetarian
I adored vegetables, and always lived by the principle that if you eat a
rainbow variety of colors of vegetables you are getting a wide variety of
nutrients. I always made sure that I ate
protein, carbohydrates and some “good fats” every day. Having a thoracic
surgeon father and a nurse mother, my exposure to the world of nutrition, science,
biology, and medicine was ongoing as I grew up. My
mother always had a variety of fresh and cooked vegetables, carbs and protein as choices on the dinner
table. I guess you could say that as
long as I’ve been a vegan, I’ve always been a partially cooked/partially raw
vegan because I love raw foods. When I began researching the raw vegan diet – as a result of viewing the
DVD Raw for Thirty: Reducing Diabetes in Thirty Days, and the DVD Raw
For Life: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of the Raw Food Lifestyle – I began to
really internalize the ultimate power of raw food, and why it must be an
integral part of everyone’s diet. I became a green smoothie enthusiast (It reduces chewing, breaks down the cell walls and facilitates absorption of nutrients, and is just plain delicious!). I ordered
my Excelsior dehydrator (actually two: one for the US and one for Mexico). I
purchased one and then another Vitamix blender.
You get the picture. I have no
official degree in nutrition, but when I become interested in a subject, I dive
into it. My bookshelf on the raw vegan diet is overstuffed – and growing! Many enlightened
nutritionists frequently quote the ancient paradigm, “Let food be thy medicine,
and medicine thy food.” As I began to
understand the number and kinds of nutrients that are destroyed in the cooking
process over the temperature of 110 degrees F, I came to realize how important
raw food is in the diet of all mammals, and how its lack in the diet can cause
a plethora of problems.
I am not a nutritionist, and can only
offer my humble opinions on the subject, so I offer the caveat that you should definitely verify all
this information yourself before changing your dog's diet. I am only
offering what I have gleaned from many sources I have researched.
Batteries Included
Simply stated,
enzymes are like batteries for your body’s processes – without batteries your
iPod, portable boom box, toys, cell phone, etc. will not work. Enzymes produce the “spark” responsible for
starting the necessary interactions in the body that keep it running. Without enzymes, there is no miracle of
life. There are thousands of them in the
body, and they each have their own functions. Some are responsible for
interactions in the processes of cellular function and energy; some work in
repairing the body; some help in concentrating various elements in the blood;
some work in ridding the lungs of carbon dioxide; some aid in detoxifying the
body of various wastes.
Some enzymes are
catalysts in the process of assimilation and digestion. When a “shipment” of food arrives in the
body, digestive enzymes go to work,
break it down into small, “decoded” parcels and send it to the necessary “departments”
for utilization in the many other processes necessary for life. Metabolic enzymes at
the cell level, like “biological translators”, take the “raw energy parcels”
and translate them into usable energy for use in the body. Nature has provided many of these enzymes that
are necessary for digestion of the food within the food itself (batteries
included!). In many cases, raw food not only provides the enzymes necessary for
digestion, it provides extra enzymes that can refill the body’s stores of
enzymes. All these miracles happen
automatically in your body. You don’t
have to do a thing other than supply the “batteries”. If you don’t supply the batteries, your body
will have to pull them from a precious store of enzymes stored within the body that
it may need for other processes. And, it takes a great deal of energy for the
body to do this.
I don’t know about you, but when I buy various
electronic items, allowing for similar quality, I always look for the item that
has batteries included. And now, I do
the same with food.
Viva Enzymes!
If you eat a food that has been cooked
at a temperature above 110 degrees Fahrenheit,
fry the food, cook it in oil , refine its carbohydrates (such as in breads and
pastries), or denature, freeze, or pasteurize the food in any way, it has been
degraded and made deficient in enzymes and other nutrients. I understand that although a few vitamins and
nutrients might remain, enzymes are very delicate and will be annihilated if
the temperature goes above 110 degrees.
There are a few exceptions, such as careful steaming of vegetables such
that the interior of the vegetable is barely cooked, so that some nutrients may
remain. Enzymes are available in living food -- food that is raw, uncooked, or
cooked in a dehydrator at 110 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
Different Kinds of Enzymes
Digestive enzymes break down different
kinds of nutrients. Amylase breaks down
sugars and carbohydrates (Maltase breaks down malt sugar from grains and
carbohydrates; sucrase breaks down cane sugar; lactase breaks down milk sugar.)
Lipase breaks down unrefined fats, such as those in raw nuts and seeds and
quality oils. Protease breaks down proteins. Cellulases break down cellulose. Metabolic
enzymes, such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) are found in all green plants (including young
cereal grasses such as wheatgrass and barleygrass), sprouts and broccoli.
Valentina’s Diet
Sooo, what does all of this mean for Valentina,
my Great Dane puppy, and for anyone’s dog?
I don’t know anyone who actually calculates
the totals on every aspect of nutritional analysis of the food they, or their
dogs eat. Some may total calories, or
carbs, proteins and fats, but those who write down the totals on every milligram
of every nutrient are few. It takes a lot of time, and we all have busy
schedules! And, in addition, our bodies are so forgiving. (What about that piece of nutritionally
worthless birthday cake you ate at work in place of a nourishing lunch?) What I’m trying to do with Valentina’s nutrition
is go for the nutrient-packed foods, and provide supplements where they may
help in the digestive process. This means I go for sprouts (nutrient-, and
enzyme-rich), pineapple and papaya slice treats, nuts and seeds (not macadamia
nuts – they are poisonous to dogs.) As I collect recipes for vegan dog food, vegan kibble and vegan dog treats, I’m going
to test them baking them in my Excelsior Dehydrator oven at no higher than 110
degrees Fahrenheit, so I preserve those delicate enzymes. (I’ll be sharing
recipes that I test and ones that I modify on the blog.) So far, I have been
adding the VegeDog supplement (Harbingers of a New Age, www.vegepet.com) for vitamins, etc., Nzyme
supplement (Nzyme Sprouted Granules, www.Nzymes.com)
or Prozyme Plus Supplement (www.vegepet.com)
for enzymes, (BacPak by www.Nzymes.com) or
PB8 (available in most health food stores) for probiotics, and yeast (nutritional)
or VegeYeast (www.vegepet.com) to her
food. I have some Natural Balance Vegan
dry dog food that I will be taking with us when we travel to Mexico, to use as
an occasional back-up emergency food alternative. I’m not counting on finding an ample supply
of vegan dog food in Mexico, and, besides, homemade dog food is a lot healthier
anyway.
