Forum Discussion
- Who is Patricia Wuest, Vice President of Media Strategy, NAVC, the author?
Prior to joining the NAVC, she served in various editorial capacities at Bonnier Corporation, including brand director and editor-in-chief of Scuba Diving, Sport Diver, World’s Best Diving & Resorts, and ScubaLab Gear Guide magazines. Before Scuba Diving was purchased by Bonnier in 2008, Wuest held several editorial roles with the magazine over a 17-year period, including managing editor, for the previous owners. She began her career in magazine journalism as an assistant editor on two insurance industry trade publications.
Wuest earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the College of New Jersey (then known as Trenton State College).
Qualified? Not by education IMO. - Actually the NAVC is one of the more valued veterinary organizations.
NAVC wrote:
The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a nonprofit organization that provides world-class products, services and professional development to the global animal healthcare community.
They provide continuing education as well as communications between veterinarians. It is not unusual for a professional organization to distribute information via a professional staff writer or PR department.
The information in the article is correct. Cardiomyopathy has been found in increasing frequency in breeds not normally associated with the disease. Studies are ongoing, but the overwhelming information associates grain free diets with the incidence. The exact pathophysiology and why some individuals are affected and other not is a huge area of interest and study.
Right now most veterinarians DO NOT recommend grain free diets. This is especially important in large breed dogs and in particular breeds (Goldens being the primary). - I see this as an extension of people diet fads. Folks go overboard and start eliminating things completely. Then they find out that the stuff they eliminated have benefits that outweigh the negatives.
I try to give my pets (and me) a well-balanced diet based on moderation not elimination. - I follow my vets recommendations. He does not just cover the expensive brands. He has changed his choices as our dogs have aged. One of our dogs is 19 and our three prior dogs lived to 16, 14 and 13.
Lwiddis wrote:
Then don’t read Patricia Wurst’s summary of the research article; read the article published by the scientists and veterinarians (link provided in the summary article). Hopefully the educational level and experience of the researchers meet your qualifications.
Who is Patricia Wuest, Vice President of Media Strategy, NAVC, the author?
Prior to joining the NAVC, she served in various editorial capacities at Bonnier Corporation, including brand director and editor-in-chief of Scuba Diving, Sport Diver, World’s Best Diving & Resorts, and ScubaLab Gear Guide magazines. Before Scuba Diving was purchased by Bonnier in 2008, Wuest held several editorial roles with the magazine over a 17-year period, including managing editor, for the previous owners. She began her career in magazine journalism as an assistant editor on two insurance industry trade publications.
Wuest earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the College of New Jersey (then known as Trenton State College).
Qualified? Not by education IMO.
Taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in golden retrievers fed commercial diets
Joanna L. Kaplan1, Joshua A. SternID1*, Andrea J. Fascetti2?, Jennifer A. Larsen2?, Hannah Skolnik1, Gordon D. Peddle3, Richard D. Kienle4, Andrew Waxman5,
Michael Cocchiaro6, Catherine T. Gunther-Harrington1, Tyler Klose7, Kendra LaFauci8, Bonnie Lefbom9, Maggie Machen Lamy10, Rebecca Malakoff11, Satoko Nishimura1, Maureen Oldach1, Steven Rosenthal12, Christopher Stauthammer13, Lynne O’Sullivan14, Lance C. Visser1, Regan William15, Eric Ontiveros1
1 Department of Medicine & Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America, 2 Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America, 3 Animal Emergency & Referral Associates, Fairfield, New Jersey, United States of America, 4 Mission Valley Veterinary Cardiology, Gilroy, California, United States of America, 5 SAGE Centers for Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Care, Dublin, California, United States of America, 6 Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America, 7 Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists, Glendale, Wisconsin, United States of America, 8 CVCA Cardiac Care for Pets Annapolis, Annapolis, Maryland, United States of America, 9 The Regional Veterinary Referral Center, CVCA Cardiac Care for Pets, Springfield, Virginia, United States of America, 10 Veterinary Cardiopulmonary Care Center, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America, 11 MSPCA Angell West, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America, 12 CVCA Cardiac Care for Pets, Towson, Maryland, United States of America, 13 Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America,
14 Department of Companion Animals, Atlantic Veterinary College University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 15 Veterinary Emergency Clinic, Toronto, Ontario, Canada- The study in the linked summary article was published in 2018. This study was published in 2021.
Effect of type of diet on blood and plasma taurine concentrations, cardiac biomarkers, and echocardiograms in 4 dog breeds
Journal of Veterinary Internal MedicineVolume 35, Issue 2 p. 771-779
This study of pure bred Whippet, Golden Retriever, Doberman Pinscher, or Miniature Schnauzer (~400 dogs) found some increases in cardiac blood markers in dogs fed grain free or diets with legumes, peas, or potatoes as key ingredients. But the association between cardiac issues and diet was inconclusive. The authors suggest that the correlation with diet is not clear because the causal ingredient(s) or nutrients have not been identified and many foods have shared ingredients making clear categorization of foods difficult (grain free vs those high in legumes, peas, potatoes). - A study using a lot of terms like "may be due to ", "could be because of", "hypothesis is not clear", "can't be ruled out", and similar just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling about it.
BB_TX wrote:
A study using a lot of terms like "may be due to ", "could be because of", "hypothesis is not clear", "can't be ruled out", and similar just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling about it.
I understand what you are saying, BUT this is the way medicine works. Definitive answers are not established until enough evidence becomes available. There is massive (in medical terms) evidence of a problem related to grain free diets with some dogs. Until the exact cause and mechanism is found, it is prudent to avoid grain free diets for most dogs.
I won't feed them as the exclusive diet to any of my dogs and do not recommend them to any of my patients.
Doug, DVM
