One more thing to be worried about in your pet’s food: fluoride. HALO Purely for Pets has a great blog about this worrisome issue, which only makes me happier to have chosen HALO as the commercial dry food for my own dogs — and the only kibble I recommend anymore with a clear mind because it is made entirely of meat “fit for human consumption” — no meal or by-products. There isn’t another pet food company whose bagged food can make that reassuring claim. Here’s what I found on the Halo blog:
The information recently released from the Environmental Working Group about the high levels of fluoride in dog food is concerning. Although there have never been “safe” levels of fluoride determined for dogs and cats, the levels in the dog food tested well exceeded the safe limit levels for humans. When you consider the combined fluoride exposure dogs are getting from their food and tap water, there may be real health concerns. The HALO blog gives the following tips to avoid excess fluoride consumption in your pet:
1. Choose a natural high quality diet like Halo. Halo foods contain no bone meal or inferior by-products, which were found to be the primary source of excess fluoride.
2. If your pet has food restrictions and their food cannot be changed (from one containing bone meal or inferior by-products), decrease the amount of tap water they drink. Tap water from municipal sources contains fluoride and eliminating this source of fluoride will be beneficial. Most forms of spring water and bottled water have less than 0.1ppm fluoride. You should call the company and ask how much fluoride is in their water to insure a low intake. Some water filters will remove fluoride and some will not — again a quick phone call to the company will give you this information. Distilled water is fluoride-free. Your own well water should be fluoride free, too.
3. If you cook for your pet, avoid using Teflon-coated pans as they may increase the fluoride levels in the food.
4. Avoid using human toothpaste and oral rinse products that contain fluoride in pets. Dental health products designed for pets are without fluoride.
Tracie
