Fats are often considered a bad thing. Especially when you look at human diets, people try to avoid them as much as possible.
However, fats are an essential building block for your body, as well as your dog’s.
To get a better understanding of what fats are, and why they are important, you have to know that there are 3 main types:
Polyunsaturated fats
Unsaturated fats
Saturated fats
Saturated fat
These occur naturally in many foods and are considered the “unhealthy” ones. They are present in fried food, cheese, butter and different types of oils. Usually they become solid on room temperature.
Unsaturated fat
These fats are liquid on room temperature. That means that they are not very strongly attached to each other. Unsaturated fats are considered the “good” fats and research has shown that they help to prevent heart diseases. Products such as avocados, olive oil, seeds and nuts contain a lot of these.
Polyunsaturated fat
They play a vital role in your dog’s body. In fact, they help blood clotting and muscle movement. Fats such as Omega 3 and Omega 6 are polyunsaturated fat and can be found in fish, nuts and seeds.
The benefits of fats
They provide protection against outside threats such as bacteria and viruses.
Fats absorb nutrients and distribute them throughout the body and they are an excellent source of energy.
Dogs use carbohydrates as a source of energy. In fact, carbohydrates provide the energy needed to produce heat and use certain elements as a “support structure” for nutrients. Carbs are split into two categories: Simple carbs and complex carbs.
Simple carbohydrates
These are, as the name suggests, simple and easily absorbed by the body. They are transformed into glucose which is mainly used for the production of energy. Products such as honey, sugar, fruits and dairy products are simple carbs.
Complex carbohydrates
There are 2 sub-categories for this type.
The first one are starches. This type of carbs needs to be broken down before they can be used by the body. They are broken down by enzymes in the digestive system and only then absorbed by the body. Starches are found in bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, grains and a lot more products.
The second group is fiber. Fibers can’t be broken down by the digestive system, although some go through a fermentation process. Most fruits and vegetables are high in fiber. Also nuts, beans and wholegrain pasta is full of them!
Proteins are probably the hardest workers in the dog’s body. Without them, the whole system would simply fail. Now, they are very complex particles which are made out of hundreds, if not thousands of sub particles. These sub particles are called amino acids. The work of all these miniscule particles ensure the proper function of several systems:
They create antibodies for the immune system
Cell growth is promoted by them
They transport nutrients
They support the transmission of nerve signals
They are the building blocks of nutrients
Muscle tissue is repaired by them.
Fun fact: There are 22 different amino acids, and proteins are usually a mix of several amino acids combined. The types of amino acids present in the protein, determines what kind of chemical reaction happens.
That specific chemical reaction will then determine the function is provides to the body.
As you probably understand by now, proteins play a vital role.
The best source of proteins are chicken, beef, seafood, eggs, cottage cheese, dairy products and nuts.
It’s an interesting world!
Thank you for staying with me, I hope you've learned some useful information.
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