Nutrition Guide

No Bad Anything

No By-Products

By-products are parts of animals other than meat (much too unappetising to list here), which can be used in pet food. They are a cheaper source of protein than chicken or chicken meal, but they are also inferior ingredients that are harder for your pet to digest, and provide less nutrition. A comprehensive look into the protein sources used in Nutrience food can be found in the 'Protein' section. Nutrience foods contain no by-products.

No Fillers

Fillers are not dangerous, but ... More

Protein

Introduction

Proteins are formed by linking amino acids, while carbohydrates are linked sugars and fats are formed by combining fatty acids and glycerol. There are twenty three different types of amino acids. These twenty three nutrient components can be linked together in an infinite number of patterns, to form literally thousands of different protein based substances. Perhaps we think of meat when we think of protein, but there are dozens of compounds made of protein or more specifically amino acids, including tendons, hormones, neurotransmitters, fat transporters, plant ... More

Carbohydrates

Introduction

When selecting your pet’s carbohydrates, you should consider all three nutritional fundamentals.

• How much energy does the carbohydrate provide?
• How digestible is it?
• How much fibre is involved?
• How irritating might that fibre be?

Another consideration in the selection of carbohydrate sources relates to the effect certain forms of starch and sugar can have on stool formation ... More

Dietary Fats

Introduction

Dietary fats fall under the general heading or category of 'lipids'. Lipids are insoluble in water and they come in three different formats:

• simple
• compound, and
• derived

As a review, proteins are structured amino acids, while carbohydrates are differently arranged sugars, and now triglycerides are formed from three fatty acids and a glycerol molecule. This might seem ... More

Quality Control

Introduction

Pet food success would seem to boil down to two simple concepts: taste and nutritional performance. A broader discussion of this topic would eventually involve marketing, packaging and price, but there would probably be little mention of perhaps the most important factor for success - quality control.

Procedures

Quality pet food starts with quality ingredients. The state of the art manufacturing facility in Waverly, New York, houses over 125 various ... More

Vitamins

Introduction

Vitamins are the final organic nutrient found in your pet’s diet. They have no structural or energy based role and, in fact, are basically tied up in helping everything else work. They are involved in a multitude of the body's metabolic processes and are essential to your pet's nutritional health. There are two basic types of vitamins:

• fat soluble and
• water soluble

Fat soluble vitamins include Vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins... More

Minerals

Introduction

Minerals are the inorganic substances that classify as nutrients. Most minerals are present in the body as ions of salt. Many are quite insoluble in water and form solid deposits, thereby serving as supporting and protecting structures. Calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, magnesium and fluoride make up the majority of bone, for instance. There are two principle classes of minerals:

• Macrominerals, and
• Microminerals

Macrominerals are ... More

Fibre

Introduction

Fibre is a polysaccharide, along with other organic compounds and lignin. The type of bonds between sugar units is what makes plant fibre differ from starch. While this difference makes fibre indigestible by dogs and cats and less useful as an energy source, it still provides other benefits that are essential to your pet's health and dietary well-being such as helping digestion and regularity. Fibre is important to the diet of every species, however, anatomical differences demand specific and appropriate use. Fibre is most often categorized as soluble or insoluble ... More

Percentages & Labelling

Introduction

In order for your pet to get the best nutrition possible, you need to appreciate and understand the specific terms used in the ingredients panel of most pet foods. Since the entire industry uses generic terms such as 'by-product' and 'balanced', many pet owners are confused and don't really understand these terms.

The Percentages Panel

This is the section on the bag that tells us how much of each 'category' of nutrient is provided. Each basic nutritional component is listed here as a percentage ... More