Benefits of Fresh, Whole-Foods Healthy from the Inside Out
Creating Healthy Dogs FRESH. SIMPLE. AFFORDABLE.
There are many health benefits of feeding your dog a fresh, whole-food, diet. Regardless of the age or health of your dog, transitioning your dog off commercial dog food and on to a fresh, whole-food diet you’ll see benefits within six weeks. Within three months your dog could be completely off kibble dog food and on their way to a healthier lifestyle. Get started today…prepare your own dog food at home with one of our Dog Food Menu Plans. Your dog will be on the fast track to improved health and decreased chance of long-term illnesses shortening your dog’s life.
WHAT IS A HEALTHY DOG
Your dog is constructed of trillions of cells, but only 78 chromosomes. Whether a dog, cat or human, each is dealt a genetic package from both parents. This genetic package’s DNA often determines a predisposition towards certain health issues or diseases. The foods your dog eats has the ability to turn on or off the activity of cells creating healthy or disease states. Science has proven that the foods we eat definitely impact our health, and this is true for dogs too.
CELLULAR HEALTH YOUR DOG'S
Food provides the foundation for cellular health!
Constructing a solid cellular foundation for your dog(s) starts with a diet filled with rich functional and super foods (nutritionally dense), and removing harmful agents from their diet starting with commercial dog food. The benefits will be apparent within six weeks with the most profound changes occurring over the next year. It takes time for the body’s cells to regenerate new tissues and structures.
See Commercial Dog Food Woes for a complete discussion on the diseases that result from cellular inflammation.
TIMELINE OF CHANGES
Depending on what your dog was eating and their health prior to transitioning to fresh, whole-foods, your dog’s physical reactions might occur slower or quicker than described below.
SIX WEEKS
POTENTIAL CHANGES
- Consume Less Water – Because fresh, whole-foods are not dehydrated or processed your dog does not need as much water to digest or re-hydrate the kibble. You won’t see your dog run over to the water bowl immediately after eating.
- Lose Weight – Depending on your dog’s weight, you may find they begin to lose weight. It might not be visible, but if you get a before weight, it’ll help you keep tabs on their caloric intake ensuring it’s meeting their needs.
- Rebuild Cells – Not every cell in the body replaces itself at the exact same rate, but the skin cells regenerate in about 25 days.
- More Energy – We’ve seen older dogs or less active dogs experience noticeable differences in their energy level.
- Stool Changes – Because the fresh, whole-foods are composed of a high percentage of water, you’ll see an immediate change in your dog’s stool. Their stools will become looser, and less cement like. You’ll also might see pieces of undigested food which is why we are advocates of steaming/pureeing almost all fruits and vegetables. As you progress through the transitional period, watching your dog’s poop provides critical clues on how their system is handling the fresh, whole-foods.
POTENTIAL CHANGES
- Skin Disorders – If your dog had skin allergies, hives or other issues you’ll see them start to decrease the amount of scratching and wounds will start to heal and repair.
- Ear Infections – Around this time frame dogs that had repeated ear infections will start to scratch their ears less. The ear canals will be less prone to new infections, and eventually wain entirely.
- Coat Changes – Some dogs will begin to shed their coats. This is not to be feared, as this is the beginning of your dog starting to build a newer, healthier coat. This process could take months to rebuild.
- Weight Loss – Depending on the general goals and needs of your dog, your pooch may continue to lose weight. Most dogs should be at their healthy weight by now.
- Joints – Dogs with joint pain or slow movements, may start to move more freely and regain range of motion loss as a result of aging or obesity.
THREE MONTHS
6 to 12 MONTHS
POTENTIAL CHANGES
- Coat – At this point, if your dog had started to shed its coat, it is now in the rebuild phase. Depending on the type of coat, most dogs, especially the long-haired dogs, will see the new healthier coat replace the old coat. Often your dog’s new coat will be shinier and healthier than previously.
- Skin – We’ve seen older dogs who have issues with dry, chapped painful noses heal.
- Stools – By now, your dog’s stools should have reached their normal state of being soft, but not loose.
- Gastrointestinal Disorders – In our experience, we’ve see dogs with mild to severe GI issues decrease their reliance on their medications by requiring less or not need the medications at all.
POTENTIAL CHANGES
Healthier cells create healthier bodies requiring less medications and veterinarian visits. Some dogs may no longer require the same medications or volumes to control their disease while other dogs may not require medications at all. Through the use of fresh, whole-foods you can enhance the body’s own natural healing properties.
- Osteoarthritis – As dogs age there’s a decrease of synovial fluids lubricating the joints creating joint pain or arthritis. A fresh, whole-food diet is also instrumental in decreasing the dog’s weight which serves to decrease joint pain and increases range-of-motion.
- Allergies – Dog’s on a fresh, whole-food diet typically see their allergy symptoms alleviated. This includes the skin or ear issues, and the associated scratching. It’s much easier to avoid foods your dog is sensitive to or has a full-on allergy to when feeding fresh foods. It’s much more simple to avoid those foods when on a fresh food versus a commercial dog food diet.
- Obesity – Controlling your dog’s weight is much easier when you know exactly what they are eating and how much. According to the National Academy of Sciences one in four pets is obese. And, just like humans obesity contributes to many other diseases.
- Diabetes – Typically dogs with diabetes are overweight. A simple change in their diet can have significant benefits for dogs with diabetes. Dogs that lose weight often decrease their need for medications to control their diabetes.
- Behavioral, Anxiety or Cognitive Disorders – There have been positive results for dogs with these types of disorders once their nutrient improves and the amount of chemicals and processing in their diet decreases.
CHANGES Long-Term
CHANGES Long-Term
POTENTIAL CHANGES
While many of these very serious ailments cannot be cured with food, they can improve the quality of your dog’s life. Specific food consumption can improve the effectiveness of the many medications your dog is taking, as well as potentially decreasing the need for a medication or the doses required.
- Cardiovascular Disease – As indicated previously, decreasing your dog’s weight tends to have significant improvements in all aspect of the body’s functions. Their body’s are able to more function more optimally and efficiently once their weight is decreased.
- Cancer & Tumors – Removing the chemicals and processing associated with commercial dog foods helps your dog build a stronger foundation from the cellular level. Cancers and tumors are the result of bad cells multiplying out of control. Feeding your dog chemical-free foods is a good start.
- Kidney Disease – Feeding your dog dry commercial dog foods increases the workload on the kidneys due to the inferior ingredients and the lack of water content. Any dog with kidney disease should not be eating dry dog food. Ever.
- Liver Disease – Similar to kidney disease, the liver is working hard to eliminate toxins long before they get to the kidneys. Fresh foods help eliminate many of the toxins present in commercial dog foods.
Our Customized Menu Plans are specifically designed or your dog’s medical conditions.
FRESH IS BEST
We want to be perfectly clear. We are not saying a fresh, whole-food diet for your dog will cure their cancer or other diseases. What we are saying is feeding your dog a nutritionally balanced diet of fresh, whole-foods versus commercial dog foods has the potential to decrease the severity of the symptoms or decrease your dog’s reliance on medications. Just like humans, every dog is biologically different, and will have slightly different results from a fresh, whole-food diet.
Our menu plans are standardized to meet the needs of healthy dogs, and can be bought and downloaded directly off our website (PDF). SEE SAMPLE