Pet Food Comparisons: Understanding What’s Really In Your Pets’ Food

Posted in All Natural Cat Food, All Natural Dog Food, Holistic Pet Products, Life's Abundance, Pet Care Articles, Pet News | October 17th, 2006

Have you checked your pets’ food label lately?

Many of us naively believe that all pet food manufacturers have our dogs’ or cats’ best interests in mind. Unfortunately, nothing is farther from the truth. Many of these formulators introduce ingredients to pet foods that we would never knowingly give to our dogs. Understanding the difference between commercial pet food and all natural pet food are very important factors for your pets’ health.

Some examples of these unsafe ingredients are inferior protein sources such as by-products – in layman’s terms, these are chicken heads, turkey feet, bones, intestines, and other animal parts that have no place in your pet’s meal. Your brand may also have copious amounts of BHA and BHT, chemical preservatives needed to keep the products edible as they sit for months, or even years, at a pet supply store. Edible, yes – but with grave long-term effects.

It is thus imperative that you not only read the pet food labels, but know which ingredients shouldn’t even be included in your pet’s diet. Below is a summarized comparison of leading cat food and dog food brands versus Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Cats and Dogs, and see for yourself why more and more people are turning to Life’s Abundance products for their pets’ daily nutritional requirements:
Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Dogs vs. Science Diet Adult Maintenance

1. The first 5 ingredients. A pet food label’s first 5 ingredients play an important role in the total nutritional composition of the food. Protein is an valuable ingredient, and it is believed that the primary source of protein should be high-grade animal protein and not grain or vegetable protein. Both products use chicken as their animal protein source, but Science Diet Adult Maintenance lists 3 grains under the first 5 ingredients – corn meal, sorghum, and ground wheat. Foods that have 2 or more grains included in the first 5 ingredients may mean that it contains more vegetable protein than animal protein. Moreover, grains such as these can be difficult to digest.

2. By-products. By-products are inferior protein sources and are also difficult to digest. Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Dogs does not contain undesirable animal by-products.

3. Health-promoting ingredients. Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Dogs contains vegetables which are important sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants; proteinated minerals which bring about better absorption; grapeseed extract which contain concentrated antioxidants; and bacterial cultures which support a healthy digestive system. Science Diet Adult Maintenance contains none of these important ingredients.

4. Chicken meal vs. chicken. Science Diet Adult Maintenance uses chicken while Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food uses chicken meal. The latter is preferred as chicken meat contains moisture in their flesh while chicken meal is a concentrated protein source as most of the water has already been removed. Thus, your dog gets a higher protein content with the same amount of chicken meal than with chicken meat.

5. Daily cost. In the case of Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food, because of a smaller amount required to feed a 30-lb. dog (1.5 cups), you spend less per day than serving Science Diet Adult Maintenance, which recommends 2.25 cups daily. The reason for the smaller required serving is that the protein, nutrients, and vitamins are more concentrated in Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food products.
Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Cats vs. Iams Multi-Cat

1. The first 5 ingredients. Again, these are very important in determining the value of pet food. The first 5 ingredients should contain its major source of protein. In the case of Iams Multi-Cat, chicken by-product meal is used, and depending on the source, by-products are difficult to digest – especially for a small pet such as a cat. Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Cats only uses chicken meal which is a concentrated protein formula made from high-quality chicken.

2. Health-promoting ingredients. Iams Multi-Cat has none of the important sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, such as green foods, proteinated minerals, bacterial cultures, and grapeseed extract. Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Cats has all of these.

3. Daily cost. The recommended daily feeding amount for Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food for Cats is a half cup, while Iams Multi-Cat requires 1 cup to feed a 12-lb cat daily. That translates to savings of about $84 per year for one cat.

They can’t wait

It’s little wonder, then, why many pet owners have switched to Life’s Abundance products and never looked back since. Some even need to hold their pets back because they can’t wait to have the bag opened! This is because Dr. Jane Bicks, the Product Formulator of Life’s Abundance pet food and supplements, has seen to it that not only are these premium health food products packed with proteins, vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients that promote your pet’s health – they’re formulated to taste great, too.

Try these tools to compare pet foods and see the differences in everything from ingredients to price: