The Connection Between Kibble And Cancer In Cats
The Truth About Pet Cancer
I recently purchased the video series from The Truth About Pet Cancer after watching the preview mini-documentary series. To say the information presented is a goldmine would be an understatement. If you didn’t have a chance to view it yet and are concerned about the increased number of cases of cancer in cats, not to mention other diseases like diabetes, hyperthyroidism, obesity, etc, you will be so glad you are reading this post! Rather than hope your cat won’t be affected, get informed not only about the many causes but what you can do to prevent it. As cat parents we would never intentionally do anything to cause harm to our precious kitty. New research, however, is showing a big connection between pet food and cancer. Today I’ll tell you why kibble is one of the biggest culprits of cancer in cats.
Is Cancer a Genetic Disease?
Did you know that cancer is a man-made disease? Did you know that it’s NOT a genetic disease based on genetic mutations like the cancer community would lead you to believe? That’s been the prevailing dogma for decades, despite the fact that new light has now been shed on this fallacy. It’s actually a metabolic disease. In fact, most cancer is tied to environmental factors like toxins and diet. New research and evidence proves that when the mitochondria in the cells become damaged it leads to cellular damage which then causes abnormal cellular replication. Metabolic damage is the cause of genetic damage.
Diet, Nutrition and Your Vet
Toxic and inflammatory ingredients in cat food end up wreaking havoc on our cats’ bodies at the cellular level over time. Surely if diet was this important your vet would tell you, right? Dr. Karen Becker explained in the first video how vet schools don’t teach prevention of disease or anything about nutrition for animals. What they DO teach is a “reactive” model: surgery, drugs, and treating symptoms. A “proactive” approach and alternative means of treatment outside this traditional, conventional medical model must be learned outside of vet school with additional education.
It gets even more convoluted when you understand that vet schools are funded in part by the pet food industry. Students are not really taught how to understand the true nutritional needs of animals but rather diets for special health conditions, ie: prescription pet food. The kind your vet sells. Nutrigenomics–the study of how nutrition affects genetic expression–is simply not taught to vet students.
Facts About Kibble Diets
Do you realize that processed, kibble diets contain 40-70% sugar? No, you won’t find sugar on the pet food labels because pet food manufacturers are not legally required to list the amount of carbohydrates. Where does the sugar come from? Starches! This can include corn, wheat, potatoes, legumes, tapioca, garbanzo beans, quinoa, etc, which are required to bind all the ingredients together to make the kibble itself. Starches are broken down and metabolized as sugar in the body, and it’s the sugar that starts the cells down the path to become metabolically damaged.
What Exactly Is Kibble?
Most cat parents probably don’t give much thought to how kibble is made. Back in the late 1800s manufacturers started to make processed pet food using the leftovers and by-products from the human food industry that weren’t fit for human consumption. It was assumed that this type of food products were suitable for animals despite the fact that it included–and continues to include–the 4-D ingredients: dead, diseased, dying and disabled animals.
These ingredients are extruded, a process where they are all mixed together and cooked in huge vats at very high temperatures. This is where the damage occurs. Cooking proteins at such high temps produce a by-product called heterocyclic amines, which cause cancer. Starches heated to high temps produce acrylamides, which also cause cancer.
To make matters worse, the actual packaging for processed pet food like kibble contain toxic PCBs and Phthalates, which are carcinogenic chemicals. The kibble inside that bag of cat food is laced with cancer-causing chemicals; therefore, it’s no wonder that so many cats are diagnosed with this deadly disease.
Using Diet to Fight Cancer
Think about your cat’s ancestry. What do wild cats eat? Prey. Wild animals don’t get cancer because they’re not eating what we’re feeding our pets today. It’s time to re-think what we’re feeding our cats! Rather than a diet that is carb-based, let’s offer a diet that mimics how and what cats would eat in the wild.
So how can we use diet to fight cancer in our cats? Based on Thomas Siefried’s research at Boston University, a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein and very low carbs) has shown to retrain the body’s cells to use ketones as fuel instead of sugar (glucose and glycogen). Ketones are a water-soluble metabolite for fat; they serve as an alternative fuel to glucose and require a strong mitochondria. Tumor cells have fewer and defective mitochondria and cannot effectively burn ketones. These cells thrive and multiply when they have their preferred source of fuel: sugar. Therefore, the secret to successfully starving a cancer cell is to remove its source of fuel and use ketones instead! Check out this short video about how a pet parent completely reversed a mast cell tumor by using a ketogenic diet!
Harness the Power of Nutrition for Your Cat
Here are several ways you can use nutrition to reduce your cat’s risk and even reverse cancer:
- Switch your cat to a species appropriate diet that is meat-based and void of starches and grains
- Fresh, human grade food is ideal and preferable
- Calorie restriction and fasting results in the body using ketones for fuel instead of sugar; therefore, pick up the food bowls and don’t allow your cat to free-feed. This mimics their lifestyle in the wild.
- Transition your cat slowly! Try cracking a whole, raw egg over your cat’s kibble or wet food. The sulfur helps detox the liver and eliminate toxins. Eventually you’ll want to ditch the kibble completely.
- Add digestive enzymes and probiotics. These will help your cat’s body break down the food and put good, healthy bacteria in the gut which helps boost your cat’s immune system.
- Add coconut oil to your cat’s food or offer it as a treat. It’s loaded with medium chain fatty acids that give the cells the fuel they need to produce ketones.
If you have specific questions about your cat’s diet or if you have used nutrition to overcome disease in your cat, please share a comment below! Check out more ways to prevent cancer at The Truth About Cancer and read more about reading pet food labels and optimal nutrition for your cat.
Help me spread the word about holistic health and proper nutrition for cats by sharing this post on your favorite social media channels!