Introduction
Dogs are as good as family. For many of us, they’re practically like children. We want the best health and nutrition for every single member of the family— right?
So, we purchase the most hyped-up, seemingly healthy dog food brands to give them the wellness and vitality they need. But there’s one big problem: pet food brands are highly unregulated. They tend to contain far more hidden toxins than even processed foods for human consumption.
Some of the seemingly best and “healthiest” brands and formulas are unscreened and untested when it comes to heavy metals, chemicals, and contaminants rampant in certain pet food ingredients— and there can be no way to know.
What’s hidden in your dog food? Here’s the unsettling truth about pet food ingredients, the most likely harmful toxins you may find in popular or widespread dog food brands, and what you can do about it.
“When the dog looks at you, the dog is not thinking what kind of a person you are. The dog is not judging you.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Aflatoxins
Present yet untested in even the most popular of beloved pet food brands, aflatoxins are a type of fungi-produced toxin (called a mycotoxin) that grows and is present on certain agricultural crops. And yes: these agricultural crops either end up in contact with, or go straight into the ingredient line-up of, many popular pet foods.
Grain and other plant-based ingredients in dog foods are especially suspect for harboring these aflatoxins, and they can be completely overlooked and un-screened during the manufacturing process. Think twice before purchasing formulas that contain sorghum, sesame seeds, corn, tree nuts, wheat, and other ingredients.
The negative health impacts of these aflatoxins on your pet may include liver damage, delayed growth and maturity, cancer, low body weight, and many untold additional effects.
Arsenic
While arsenic is an element found throughout nature. In its inorganic form, however, it is considered highly dangerous and toxic to health in both humans and animals by the World Health Organization (WHO). Due to contamination of groundwater from industrial sources, arsenic can end up in irrigation water, on crops, and within the soil that many crops grow in, and which eventually land up in animal feeds and dog food production and manufacturing.
While arsenic is an element found throughout nature. In its inorganic form, however, it is considered highly dangerous and toxic to health in both humans and animals by the World Health Organization (WHO). Due to contamination of groundwater from industrial sources, arsenic can end up in irrigation water, on crops, and within the soil that many crops grow in, and which eventually land up in animal feeds and dog food production and manufacturing.
Arsenic is a carcinogen that can greatly increase the risk of cancer in your dog -especially skin cancer. It is also linked to increased risk of heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, lack of cognitive development, memory, and intelligence.
It’s difficult to screen for and thus remains a very hidden danger in dog food— and all our foods and drinking water, for that matter.
Dioxins
Another very harmful byproduct from industry manufacturing, dioxins are a class of compound that can end up in pet food brands in the most insidious of ways. They originate from herbicide spraying, paper bleaching, and other pollution-creating chemical processes. By the same token they end up in drinking water, in crops, and then in pet food brands.
Some of the subcategories of dioxins include polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) or polychlorinated furans (PCDFs). Research confirms that they can have negative health impacts on pets, including possible spleen, liver, and kidney damage.
It is confirmed that larger doses could be lethal to canines— and since regulations and companies don’t screen for this compound in pet food, there’s no way to know if one mistaken incident of excess food consumption could lead to health hazards or not (unless you choose to buy a 100% safe and chemical-free brand).
Lead
We all thought lead was a thing of the past, at least where human health exposure is concerned. Sadly, this harmful albeit natural element (but harmful nonetheless) continues to be a peril for dogs and pets around the world when fed certain brands of pet food.
Lead ends up in pet food ingredients in much the same way arsenic does (as an industry byproduct— especially from paints). Across all forms of life, it is shown that lead can have a disastrous effect on the central nervous system: impacting muscle movement, mood, and cognitive function. High doses of lead ingestion can be even worse for dogs, with research showing it can cause damage to neurology, the digestive system, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, bones, and more.
Mercury
Recently, high levels of mercury have become a HUGE concern in pet foods— yes, for both dog and cat foods. The source of this contamination is almost 100% from larger fish species. Mercury has bioaccumulated greatly in many fish and seafood species that remain popular ingredients even today: meaning it travels through the food web and “settles” in these fish species most of all. And then our pets eat them! The harmful effects of mercury can include extreme digestive distress and even gastrointestinal bleeding, along with heart damage, defects, kidney failure, and more. Mercury poisoning can have very deleterious effects for both animals AND humans, and it’s a wonder high mercury aquatic-based foods are still around on the market.
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE)
Similar to mercury, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (or PBDE’s) are another contaminant that is becoming of serious concern in marine sourced foods. If you find the ingredient “fishmeal” on your pet food bag— with little additional description of the ingredient— it’s very like that it is sourced from commercial fish or seafood heavily contaminated with the stuff. PBDE’s are a flame-retardant chemical added to many commercial materials, like furniture and building materials.
However, when these things are disposed of in landfills, these chemicals end up in the environment— especially in water and aquatic life. When this aquatic life is consumed as ingredients in our pet foods, the biggest health effect can be endocrine disruption which can have a harmful effect on your pet’s weight, mood, stress levels, inflammation levels, and reproductive health. If your dog is pregnant or trying to have puppies, for example, it can decrease the chances of fertility and increase the risk of birth defects, too.
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB)
This class of chemicals is very similar to PBDE’s and comes from industrial wastes, hazardous waste leaks and spills, etc. They bioaccumulate very quickly in the environment and they can also show up in other animal proteins like beef and poultry.
The main threat to canine health with PCB’s is thyroid dysfunction, cancer, and more. Thyroid dysfunction can lead to very unhealthy weight in animals plus inflammation, body temperature regulation issues, depression, nervousness, anxiety, reproductive issues, and much more.
Uranium
If consumers thought it couldn’t get any worse with pet food contaminants after getting to read this far— well, it could. Apparently, uranium— a heavy metal— is becoming a common pet food toxin and it may be one of the most harmful of all. Some studies show that it comes as a byproduct from mining and is present in some agricultural fertilizers (like rock phosphates), which are then taken up by many crops and end up in dog food.
Studies show that dogs are especially sensitive to uranium exposure and radiation. Some of the horrible effects it can have been respiratory damage, neurological damage, immune inflammation, skin inflammation, reproductive damage, and worse— lung or respiratory cancers, or other types of cancers as well. If exposure is high enough (and long enough) it can even cause death.
How does Revive and Thrive address these issues?
Unregulated mainstream pet foods remain just what they are: unregulated. Research shows that heavy metals and other contaminants tend to accumulate in much higher levels in pet foods than in human foods, even though these toxins remain a danger to us all. Any of these brands could secretly harbor toxins in their ingredients. There is no way to know until you start seeing signs of it in your dog— and it’s too late.
Even if there are “ways” to determine that chemicals and toxins could be in your favorite brand, in some cases there may be no way to know with the way ingredients can be cleverly worded or changed to conceal their origins— especially when it comes to certain grain, marine, and other animal protein byproduct sources of toxins.
There’s a much easier way to ensure safety and the best health for your dog rather than staring at ingredient labels, and fretfully researching possible toxin sources: and that’s by purchasing our guaranteed toxin-free pet food formulas by Revive & Thrive.
How do we dodge the toxins?
Our foods contain no meals, wheat, corn, chicken, or beef ingredients, which can be the greatest sources of all these contaminants. Our main protein source is marine based, but only made up of wild caught small white fish and krill: both are fish or seafood sources with no mercury or even microplastic bioaccumulation, meaning no possible toxins in your dog food OR in your beloved pet.
At Revive & Thrive we work with small all-natural sustainable farmers, harvest, and manufacture all the plant-based ingredients ourselves. We’re transparent with our COA’s by posting them on our website.
This means that all plant-based sources and crops are grown to high all-natural standards, using no chemicals and in uncontaminated areas that would never bring harm to your pet. The health of your pet is our promise— and our passion!
