From Dr. Michael Fox:
Some people, like some individual dogs and cats and particular breeds, have adverse reactions to the gliadins from the gluten in wheat, barley, rice, corn (maize) and oats; also to the lectins in pulses like lentils and various beans.
According to one informing source ( https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/lectins/) “Lectins are found in all plants, but raw legumes (beans, lentils, peas, soybeans, peanuts) and whole grains like wheat contain the highest amounts of lectins. Cooking, especially with wet high-heat methods like boiling or stewing, or soaking in water for several hours, can inactivate most lectins. Lectins are water-soluble and typically found on the outer surface of a food, so exposure to water removes them. Animal and cell studies have found that active lectins can interfere with the absorption of minerals, especially calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Legumes and cereals often contain these minerals, so the concurrent presence of lectins may prevent the absorption and use of these minerals in the body. Lectins can also bind to cells lining the digestive tract. This may disrupt the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, and affect the growth and action of intestinal flora. Because lectin proteins bind to cells for long periods of time, they can potentially cause an autoimmune response and are theorized to play a role in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes”.
Lectins may also play a role in coronary artery disease in humans. (See Steven R. Grundy, Abstract 412: Dietary Lectins Cause Coronary Artery Disease via an Autoimmune Endothelial Attack Mediated by Interleukin 16 Originally published12 Mar 2019 https://doi.org/10.1161/atvb.38.suppl_1.412 Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2018;38:A412).. An autoimmune cause of coronary artery disease at the endothelial level via T cell activation and attraction in patients with gluten and lectin sensitivity or known autoimmune disease is proposed in this report.
“Grain free” cat and dog foods and vegan dog foods include high protein pulses as do most manufactured kibble dry dog and cat foods that also have a high corn and cereal content, notably “Brewer’s grains”. This means that these pet foods have high levels of lectins and gliadins, putting animals at risk from developing inflammatory conditions and contributing to the increasing incidence of various bowel disorders and cardiomyopathy in companion animals, as well as arthritis and diabetes.
Dr. Michael W. Fox
From Michael W. Fox BVetMed, PhD, DSc, MRCVS Veterinarian, bioethicist, syndicated columnist (Animal Doctor with Universal-U Click). Website: www.drfoxvet.net Latest books: “HEALING ANIMALS & THE VISION OF ONE HEALTH” and “ANIMALS & NATURE FIRST: CREATING NEW COVENANTS WITH ANIMALS & NATURE” with CreateSpace/Amazon.com.
Joanne McGrath
January 4, 2021 at 7:51 pm
I think people, for themselves and on behalf of their pets, tend to overlook the fact that almost all wheat in this country is LOADED with pesticides and herbicides, which are deadly and much more likely than wheat itself to cause sensitivities, illness and eventual death. Perhaps folks might try witching to entirely organic grain before assuming they all have some form of celiac disease. Just as importantly, rice of all kinds (brown, white, organic and not, and so on) has been demonstrated for years to contain high levels of arsenic. Look it up in Consumer Reports; they’ve been studying it for years. It’s a characteristic of the rice plant to take up arsenic wherever it is in the soil; it’s in the US soils on a widespread basis at high levels in most places and it’s very hard to know where your rice comes from or what the soils are like. People are still using it daily, feeding rice cereal to infants, and pet foods are absolutely loaded with rice, and thus with arsenic. I hate to sound alarmist, but maybe folks should start being alarmed.
Michael Fox
January 5, 2021 at 9:26 am
I agree totally. This is what I posted in my weekly, nationally syndicated Animal Doctor newspaper column:
ANOTHER MAJOR PET FOOD RECALL-TIP OF A SICKENING ICEBERG
By Dr. Michael W. Fox
Currently, over 90 percent of corn, cotton, and soybean acreage in the United States is planted with genetically engineered (GE) seeds. Most of these GE seeds are either herbicide tolerant (HT) or insect resistant (Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis) or both-so called “Stacked.” Soybean seeds with stacked traits are currently not commercially available in the United States but are being imported from Brazil. Over 90% of the U.S. canola crop is GE, herbicide resistant.
This means corn, soy and cotton-seed cake and oil, and canola oil, variously incorporated into farmed animal and manufactured cat and dog foods can contain herbicide residues and the Bt insecticide. These contaminants may disrupt the gut microbiome leading to multiple health problems.
Corn may be more susceptible to fungal infection or mold that can produce toxins like aflatoxin with climate-change associated increased rainfall and high moisture content of crops. Bt may reduce insect-transmitted fungal infections in “stacked” GE corn but spraying with herbicide to accelerate drying prior to harvesting ( also with conventional wheat and other cereals) creates additional food and environmental contamination.. Aflatoxin, when ingested, can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice from liver damage. According to the National Institutes of Health aflatoxin is associated with liver cancer in humans.
Aflatoxin contamination is the most frequent cause of pet food recalls, second to Salmonella from contaminated farmed animal ingredients. For instance, according to www. jav.ma/aflatoxinrecall (JAVMA Dec 1, 2020 p 1089) pet food maker Sunshine Mills recalled products sold under 17 brand names, mainly dog and cat kibble, namely Champ, Family Pet, Field trail, Good Dog, Heartland farms, Hunter’s Special, Old Glory, Paws Happy Life, Pet Expert, Principle, Retriever, River Bend, Sportsman’s Pride, Sprout, Thrifty, Top Runner and Whiskers and Tails, all with lot codes 3/April/2020, 4/April/2020 and 5/April 2020.
Corn has no place in cat foods and all corn, soy and other ingredients in pet foods should be certified either organic or GMO free to help reduce these kinds of health-risks to both human consumers and companion animals as well as costly recalls for the manufacturers and potential legal liability.