NO, CHANGING PROTEIN IS NOT BAD FOR THE DOG’S DIGESTION!!!

You also often hear this among the many hoaxes circulating, “You must give only one kind of food to your pet!” Our animals ancestrally come from wild species that eat what they find or hunt. They are therefore accustomed in nature to a varied diet. Today, more and more, we find on store shelves, a large supply of single-protein foods. Such foods are not inferior in quality to others but neither are they superior. They are simply a food alternative in particular situations. For example, if your Animal has an established intolerance to certain protein sources, we might choose a monoprotein made only with a type of protein that we know is tolerated.

In an adult, healthy animal, therefore, it makes no sense to choose a single-protein animal to give for long periods. Indeed, alternating between various protein sources or foods with multiple protein sources within them has advantages.

BUT HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE CHANGE OUR ANIMAL’S FOOD?

Before we look at the benefits of a varied diet, I will answer a question I am often asked on the subject. That is, “How often is it right to change our Animal’s food?”

Sometimes it happens that by changing food our Pet may have gastroenteric disorders. So the change in diet is experienced by owners as “negative.” In fact. many Animals can safely tolerate even daily diet changes. There are subjects, however, where the change should be done gradually, mixing the old and new food over several days. However, this gradual approach to diet change is good practice. So there is no one answer because it depends on many things. Generally speaking, we could make changes as often as we like if our Animal shows no problems but one piece of advice that I believe is based on practicality is to finish one package at a time and not keep many packages open at once to alter as little as possible the organoleptic characteristics.

BENEFITS OF A VARIED DIET

The digestive process is implemented chemically and physically by our body. From chewing to enzymatic digestion in the gut. These processes are calibrated and adjusted according to the food we introduce. So getting them accustomed for a long time, to only one type of food, the intestines and the main glands related to it (liver and pancreas), may lead them to not being “ready” to digest a new food properly .

Another fundamental mechanism is the participation of the microbiome; it is the set of all the microorganisms in our intestines that have an active part in the digestive process. A “healthy” microbiome consists of many types of microorganisms. Diet variability, therefore, provides substrates that keep multiple different types of microorganisms active resulting in enrichment of the microbiome.

Another advantage is in protein alternation. Proteins are made of amino acids, and their amino acid composition changes greatly. As we can imagine if I use protein sources of various origins I will have a better chance of not going deficient in certain amino acids.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ON THE TOPIC

The gut microbiome can be compared to a functional digestive organ, and food substrates are converted by various gut bacteria into metabolically active compounds that affect the host. Butyrate, for example, can be produced from both fiber and protein digestion suggesting that both fiber and protein increases in the diet may provide similar benefits*. As other studies have shown, the greater amount and biological value of protein in a diet appears to influence the microbiome and metabolome positively.**

Dr. Simone Falci
Veterinary physician with expertise in nutrition

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
*Pilla et al 2021 May;51(3):605-621
**Schmidtn et al; 2018 Aug 15;13(8):e0201279 PLoS One