If you are still worried about pulses (peas, lentils and beans) in dog food, a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition should once again set your mind at ease. In the 20-week study, researchers from the University of Guelph fed 28 healthy, privately-homed adult Siberian Huskies (yes, Huskies!) a grain-free dog food containing up to 45% inclusion of whole dietary pulse ingredients.
The dogs were randomly fed one of four types of diets containing equivalent micronutrient supplementation. However, the diets differed in the levels of pulse ingredients as follows: 0%, 15%, 30%, and 45%. Moreover, pea starch was used to balance the diets’ protein and energy levels.
Purpose of Study
The researchers wanted to find out:
- How increased dietary pulse consumption would effect the dogs’ cardiac function (measured using echocardiographic measurements and cardiac biomarkers N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and cardiac troponin I (cTnI)).
- How the pulse consumption would effect the dogs’ on plasma sulfur amino acid (SAA) concentrations. The authors reasoned that since pulses are typically lower in SAA, this could negatively effect the dogs’ taurine synthesis.
- How dietary pulses would generally affect the dogs body composition as well as hematological (blood) and biochemical indicators.
Study Results
Here’s what the researchers discovered at the end of the 20-week study:
- No difference in the dogs’ cardiac function regardless of diet
- Similar SAA status of all dogs
- Similar body composition of all dogs, and
- Similar hematological and biochemical indices regardless of diet
In other words, inclusion of high levels of whole dietary pulse ingredients were not linked to heart problems in dogs.
This is certainly more excellent news for the plant-based dog food industry, which is still battling misconceptions about the health and safety of pulse ingredients for dogs.
In fact, the levels of pulse ingredients in the study reflected those found in current commercial dog foods, according to Pawanpreet Singh, the study’s lead author and a University of Guelph Ph.D. student in animal biosciences.
As reported in PetFoodIndustry.com, Sing emphasized that, “We wanted to keep all aspects of the diets the same except the amount of pulse ingredients so that any changes we saw in the dogs’ cardiac function could be attributed to the differing amounts of pulses and not nutrient intake.”
Pulses and Heart Problems in Dogs: The Study’s Bottom Line
Once again, studies continue to demonstrate that diets for dogs that contain whole pulse ingredients (in this case, up to 45%), such as green and yellow peas, pinto beans, chickpeas and lentils do not negatively effect healthy dogs and are not linked to heart problems in dogs.
“Ultimately, pulses are a dependable protein alternative in the food industry,
(Singh et al., 2023)
and this study emphasizes that they do not have adverse cardiac
effects in healthy adult dogs when incorporated at concentra-
tions as high as 45% in diets that exceed AAFCO requirements.”
Of course, as the researchers point out, “Singular ingredients will not provide every nutrient required to maintain health; as such, it is important to focus on comprehensive diet formulations that can satisfy nutritional requirements. Like humans, dogs need a mixture of ingredients to achieve all
necessary macronutrient and micronutrient needs.”
This is exactly why I urge everyone to be sure they are feeding their dogs a nutritionally sound plant-based diet. Failing to feed a diet that contains all of the necessary nutrients dogs need will result in deficiencies and, ultimately, create potentially serious adverse health effects.
If you are serious about feeding your dog a “complete and balanced” plant-based diet, let’s talk. As a pioneer in this field who has been leading the way in plant-based dog nutrition since 2018, I will give you the peace of mind that you are providing the correct plant-based diet geared specifically for your dog’s nutritional needs.
You can Contact me Here.