NO, CHANGING PROTEIN SOURCE DOES NOT HARM A DOG'S DIGESTION!!
This is another common myth that circulates: “You must only give your animal one type of food!”Our animals descend from wild species that eat what they find or hunt, so in nature they are adapted to a varied dietToday, stores increasingly offer a wide range of monoprotein foods. These foods are neither lower nor higher in quality than others; they are simply an alternative food option for specific situations. For example, if your animal has a confirmed intolerance to certain protein sources, you can choose a monoprotein food made only with one type of protein that you know it tolerates.
For an adult, healthy animal, there is no point in choosing a monoprotein food to give over long periods. On the contrary, alternating various protein sources or feeding foods that contain multiple protein sources has benefits..
HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE CHANGE OUR ANIMAL’S FOOD?
Before looking at the benefits of a varied diet, I’ll answer a question I often get on this topic: “How often is it right to change our animal’s food?”
Sometimes, when changing food, our animal may experience gastrointestinal issues, so owners see changing the diet as “negative”. In realitymany animals tolerate diet changes easily, even daily ones. However, some animals need the change to be done gradually, mixing the old and new food for several days.This gradual approach to diet changes is still good practice, so there’s no single answer—it depends on many thingsGenerally, you can change food as often as you want if your animal doesn’t have problemsbut a practical tip I recommend is to finish one bag at a time, and not keep multiple packages open at once, to minimize changes to their organoleptic properties.
BENEFITS OF A VARIED DIET
The digestive process is carried out by our body through chemical and physical means, from chewing to enzymatic digestion in the intestine. These processes are calibrated and adjusted based on the food we introduce, soacclimating the intestine and its main related glands (liver and pancreas) to only one type of food for a long time could leave them unable to “prepare” to properly digest new food.
Another key mechanism is the role of the microbiome, which is all the microorganisms present in our intestine that play an active part in the digestive process.A “healthy” microbiome is made up of many types of microorganisms, so dietary variability provides substrates that keep more different types of microorganisms activeresulting in enrichment of the microbiome.
Another benefit comes from alternating protein sources. Proteins are made of amino acids, and their amino acid composition varies greatly, as you can imagineif you use protein sources from different origins, you have a higher chance of avoiding deficienciesof certain amino acids.
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ON THE TOPIC
The intestinal microbiome can be compared to a functional digestive organ, and food substrates are converted by various intestinal bacteria into metabolically active compounds that affect the host. For example, butyrate can be produced from the digestion of both fiber and protein, suggesting that increasing either fiber or protein in the diet can bring similar benefits*.As shown by other studies, a higher amount and higher biological value of protein in the diet appears to positively influence the microbiome and metabolome..**
Dr. Simone Falci
Veterinarian with expertise in nutrition
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
*Pilla et al 2021 May;51(3):605-621
**Schmidtn et al; 2018 Aug 15;13(8):e0201279 PLoS One