What Exactly is Kibble?

Kibble: You can buy it in giant bulk proportions, store opened bags in your pantry for years and leave it in your dog’s dish all day and night. There is no doubt kibble is convenient. Open, pour and eat. But what exactly is kibble? Often, the ingredient list looks healthy and nutritional. Plus, there are many varieties; you can get grain free, specially formulated scientific diets, allergy combinations, dietetic formulas and vitamin fortified kibble.

How is it, then, that all these healthy ingredients turn into kibble that is so convenient?

Here are the scientific facts about all Kibble.

Kibble is produced by a process called “extrusion” which involves dry ingredients pulverized to the size of course flour, high heat and high pressure to form the ingredients into shapes. This is where fine intentioned ingredients turn into little or no nutritional value and known carcinogens are formed. For instance – if you put a head of broccoli in an oven at 600 degrees for an hour; when you remove it, you can still call it a head of broccoli, but you’ve lost of the vitamins, minerals & nutritional value. So although the ingredients list of your average kibble reads well extrusion destroys most of the nutrients, including some of the chemical vitamins that are added to “fortify”.

Extrusion especially ravages amino acids leaving them highly toxic and carcinogenic. Protein structures are greatly altered, and as a result, new compounds form which are completely foreign, potentially harmful, and definitely should not be considered healthy. So if your dog food is not eating fresh, flash frozen, freeze dried or dehydrated – your dog is eating empty bulk void of important nutrients and full of potentially harmful carcinogenic compounds.

Fact: 80% of a dog’s immune system is in their gut.
What is going into your dog’s tummy?

Kibble was created during the age of convenience. Convenience is Kibble’s primary goal and it succeeds with flying colors.

But if you are concerned about your dog’s nutritional intake, your dog’s immune system and overall health: Kibble should not be your choice.

This is where we can use our common sense about healthy diets in general. Although specific nutritional needs for dogs are naturally different than for humans: the science of nutrition remains constant.

When considering nutritious food for your dog, remember general food rules:

Processing reduces nutritional value and creates carcinogens. Additives, if not natural or organic may be potentially harmful to your dog.

Fresh is best.

Frozen is nature’s pause button – and naturally preserves nutritional value.

Dehydration removes moisture for added longevity and storage but preserves nutritional value.

We know your dog is a valued family member and your ambition is to provide the best you can. Choosing the right foods will safeguard their health and ensure their daily feeding comprises nutritional options that will guarantee good health and avoid modern ailments associated with processed foods.

We believe an informed consumer is our best customer.
Here are links to more scientific data and interesting reading:
What is extrusion? A short video.

http://www.petfoodinstitute.org/?page=DryPetFood

How the dog food industry makes Kibble
http://youtu.be/QKC7yL_502AAn Essay by Dr. Becker

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/19/the-mainstream-pet-communitys-new-take-on-cat-and-dog-foods.aspx