Raw vs Freshly Cooked - Page 1

I am not reffering to any kibble. I am talking about freshly homecooked ingrediants (ex boiled) with no preservatives vs the same ingrediants fed raw. I tried to ask these questions in a previous post but I did not get a direct answer (really non at all)

1. Is there a nutritional benefit of feeding a raw diet vs a freshly cooked diet.

2. If there is a nutritional benefit of feeding raw,is the benefit of cooking the food worth the laws in nutrition it to reduce the risk of parasites/bacteria/viruse invasion  especially in young, sick, and elderly animals

PS
It really is not a valid argument to compare a wild diet to a domestic pet. Animals in the wild have a higher infant mortality rate and live overal shorter lives. This is due to several factors, some of these factors being exposure to higher parasitic levels in the food. So animals with weakened immuned systems (young, old, and sick) are less likely to survive and more likely to be eaten, so the cycle continues.

I can see how this can be beneficial to breeders to weed out the week, but for the majority of us pet owners we are trying to prolong the lives of our animals for as long as posible.

I could not agree with you more on the prolonging of our dogs lives as long as they are healthy.  What I have experienced and learned during my raw feeding year is that when you cook the food you loose some of the digestive enzymes that particularly the GSD's need;  if not all animals.  I have done both;  I have cooked;  flash heated; done completely raw.  If you are talking vegetables some veggie's;  carrots and brocalli, spinach are more beneficial slightly cooked.  If you are strictly talking about meats;  I feel meat is more beneficial fed completely raw.  That is where you get the enzymes as well as other nutrients like raw bone,  cartlidge; morrow.  If you are talking about ground meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork ground;  I do not see any reason you cant flash heat for palatability;  you will loose the enzymes or at least part of them but you do not have any of the raw benefits anyway due to the no bone in ground meats.  I have tried it all.  For my guys, and what I  have seen first hand after starting raw they definitely benefit with having raw meat with bone included;  such as chicken quarters, beef/pork neck bones, london broil; I also have used boneless country style pork chops; when I use beef raw if I can't find beef neck bones I have used beef strips, small beef steaks both boneless as the bones only needs to be about 10% of their diet or maybe it's 5%.  But not much.  I have found mine do better with some soft bone, better stool quality and cleaner teeth.  I hope I have helped to answer some of your questions and concerns.  I do feel feeding raw you need to medicate for parasites on a regular basis;  maybe 2 times per year??  Depends on your lifestyle and where your dog goes.  He can pick up those things in your backyard also as mine dig and eat dirt and grass..  Go figure.  I have also learned this;  if you have a dog with a compromised immune system;  ie, pannus, DM, VWD, thyroid, etc. etc, (the list is endless) that a raw diet is harder on those dogs to regulate good health;  the raw feeding definitely makes the immune system work harder.  That can be an issue.  So if you have a dog in this situation; I do feel slightly heating foods COULD be better for them.  You are still giving REAL FOOD; but if they already have an immune disorder I don't think it's a good idea to make their immune systems work any harder.  JMHO  Have a great day  Nan

"What I have experienced and learned during my raw feeding year is that when you cook the food you loose some of the digestive enzymes that particularly the GSD's need;  if not all animals."

Please quantify this statement.

Cooking reduces bacteria both good and bad. Without good bacteria in the digestive tract health will degrade.  Good bacteria kills bad bacteria, bad bacteria flourishes because good bacteria is low.  This is why yogurt is good for dogs, it’s pure bacteria.  Enzymes are also altered with cooking but still there.  Raw foods are rich in enzymes and bacteria, two things that would help promote healthy digestion and if the digestion is good then more nutrients are absorbed which means shinier fur, healthier bones, strong teeth, good mental disposition. I would think when eating raw the idea would be for the dog to eat raw meat from an animal that grazes on grass and other vegetation. Most of your bad bacteria and parasites would be obtained from eating raw meat that comes from animals that frequently eat other animals, there is no nutritional value there.  Carnivores eat herbivores, omnivores eat both, herbivores eat only vegetation. Dogs are omnivores so they should eat only herbivores when eating raw. I’m not a dog nutritionist but that would only seem logical.

Those digestive enzymes are particularly needed for dogs that have EPI;  but I feel they are needed for all dogs;  the enzymes are needed and valuable for all animals. 

PS:  I also feel yogart is very beneficial to aid in digestion whether you feed raw or otherwise;  adds good bacteria or you can also give probiotics, I would use the human grade though.  I do not trust the animal grade of anything especially if you are talking a dog needing digestive assistance.  Nan

It should be well understood and recognized in scientific literature that heat breaks down vitamins, amino acids and produces undesirable cross-linkages in proteins, particularly in meat.     At 110 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 43 degrees Centigrade) two of the 8 essential amino acids, tryptophan and lysine, are destroyed.   When food is cooked above 117 degrees F for three minutes or longer, the following deleterious changes begin, and progressively cause increased nutritional damage as higher temperatures are applied over prolonged periods of time:   *proteins coagulate   *high temperatures denature protein molecular structure, leading to deficiency of some essential amino acids   *carbohydrates caramelize   *overly heated fats generate numerous carcinogens including acrolein, nitrosamines, hydrocarbons, and benzopyrene (one of the most potent cancer-causing agents known)   *natural fibers break down, cellulose is completely changed from its natural condition: it loses its ability to sweep the alimentary canal clean   * 30% to 50% of vitamins and minerals are destroyed   *100% of enzymes are damaged, the body’s enzyme potential is depleted which drains energy needed to maintain and repair tissue and organ systems, thereby shortening the life span.   Dr. Kouchakoff of Switzerland conducted over 300 detailed experiments, which pinpointed the pathogenic nature of cooked and processed foods. Food heated to temperatures of just 120 to 190 degrees F (a range usually relegated to warming rather than cooking which, nevertheless destroys all enzymes), causes leukocytosis in the body. Leukocytosis is a term applied to an abnormally high white corpuscle count. 

This is just a blurb from one of the journals i have on the subject, hopefully this answers your question.

If I'm going to feed dogs fresh foods I won't waste time cooking it.  As far as bacteria, I give my dogs raw meats (defrosted) that have been frozen for a while.  Being frozen for a time kills the bacteria.  For example we get a lot of venison that is "wild", obtained by hunting and processed by my dad, so not regulated by the FDA or whatever.  I don't give the dogs anything that hasn't already been frozen for a few weeks, but realistically they usually get venison that is a year old to make room for the fresh stuff that the humans eat.

Great info. Also would feeding frozen raw food reduce many of the concerns for not cooking the meat products. Thus the reason many raw feeders do not experience the high parsitic count an animal in the wild would be exposed to.

ladyfrost, many of the parasites/bacteria/viruses that are carried by carnivores are also carried by herbivores. Many parasitic worms can not carry out their complete life cycle without living in both herbivores and carnivores. Many of the dewormers, vaccines, and antibodies that vet use to fight and prevent parasites in dogs and cats are the same ingrediants used for livestock.

So a dog that is given cooked food do not posses these important enyzymes many posters are speaking of?

I do understand the lost of vitamins and the degration of different proteins by cooking. Thus the reason many body builders eat raw eggs.

vkgsd. we must have been typing at the same time, lol

"I do understand the lost of vitamins and the degration of different proteins by cooking. Thus the reason many body builders eat raw eggs."

The did before it was discovered that a glycoprotein in raw eggs, avidin, blocks the absorbtion of vitamins B6 and biotin.  Cooking neutralizes the avidin, allowing the body to digest the protein and utilize the amino acids in the egg.