Many of us have a pet dog or a pet cat. Most of us love our pets and treat them as if they are part of the family. Consequently, we spend millions of dollars on food, regular care and when they get sick, veterinarians. Unfortunately, our dogs and cats are stricken with many modern diseases that do not afflict their wild counterparts to nearly the same degree. The list includes obesity, tooth and gum disease, cancer (tumors), osteoarthritis, heart disease, kidney and liver disease, dementia and diabetes. Sound familiar?!? Yup, these are the same diseases that we are increasingly affecting us; some at epidemic levels.
I saw a pet food commercial just the other day describing how progressive their new pet food was and how all the other pet foods were inferior because of their ingredients. One of the ingredients they touted was whole grains. I scratched my head. The true, natural diet of a dog would be primarily the raw meat and bones of a wild mammal such as a deer, chicken or rodent (and the occasional fish). This diet would include the vegetable contents of the stomachs of the animals they ate. The natural diet of a typical house cat would include primarily: mice and other rodents, small mammals, birds, fish, snakes and other reptiles, insects, and the contents of their preys’ stomachs. So, without getting too complicated – the healthiest diet you could possibly feed your cat or dog would be as similar to their wild diets as possible. There is ample research to prove this.
I was in the park near my work the other day with a couple of friends and their dogs. The dogs love me because I usually have some grass fed bison, elk, chicken and beef and always throw them some of the scraps or a bone. I felt bad because a lady was walking her dog and he smelled the meat and ran over to join the other dogs. The lady followed. As I fed the scraps to the other dogs I explained to her that this was grass fed, naturally raised meat and I would be happy to throw her dog a scrap or two. The lady reacted with shock. She snapped back the leash of her dog as she strongly protested. She then tried to pacify her dog with some kind of a peanut butter flavored doggy snack that resembled a ball of cookie dough. The look on her dogs face as the rest of the pack ravenously gobbled up their natural food said it all. If he could talk, I am quite certain he would have yelped out “please, just kill me”.
It’s remarkable to me how closely our dogs and cats have come to resemble us. Obese, physically dysfunctional, riddled with tumors, going blind, stricken with dementia, diabetes, or worse. Perpetually weaker and sicker, they are more and more dissimilar to their wild brethren – who, all things considered are much, much stronger and healthier physical specimens.
Now, knowing this, some people have begun to feed their beloved pets their true raw diets via responsible producers of more naturally authentic cat and dog foods. I think this begs the question though, if we can dramatically improve the health, function, quality of life, and life span of our pets; (not to mention the thousands of dollars we can save on veterinary bills) then why wouldn’t we follow the same logic ourselves?
Allow me to make the leap here and address how we commonly approach our own diets or more importantly the diets of our children. The scientific proof is absolutely conclusive. Just like with the cats and dogs, people that eat the natural evolutionary diet of our species are not stricken with a plethora of modern deadly and chronic diseases.
I think cats and dogs provide a great analogy only because we are not so set in our thinking regarding what our pets are actually meant to eat. The same thing cannot be said for us humans and what we commonly perceive to be “our diet”. When even our government food guides include hearty quantities of highly processed dairy and grains the truth remains obfuscated from the vast majority of us. As such, most people don’t realize what is, or is not, a part of the natural, human evolutionary diet – the diet that has been proven to be healthiest we could possibly consume.
Please follow this same “species agnostic” advice and proven path of reason when considering what you are going to eat. Consume primarily human evolutionary foods:
- Naturally raised meats (animal foods)
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
Simply make these foods your staples (try to make them at least 70-80% of your total caloric intake). If not for yourself, at least do so for your children. If you’re not sure where to get started, we invite you to check out our natural weight loss diet and exercise program called “The Eco-Diet.” It’s scientifically based and centered on the natural diet our ancestors followed for thousands of years. This is a gift that will last you and your families a lifetime.