Another great article i found on the net.
Why do I need to separate certain food items, like RMBs, veggies and grains, and why can't I feed them together?
In Pat Lazarus book, "Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way," under the topic of food combining he states:
"How you combine food groups can be crucial to your dog's health. Why? The digestive organs secret enzymes to break down food so it can be properly used by the body. When carbohydrates and proteins are eaten at the same time, the protein enzymes go to work first, and the digestion of carbohydrates must wait. While the carbohydrates are waiting around to be digested, they ferment and release toxins in the body.
Proper food combining might more aptly be called not combining foods: Give only meat (or other heavy proteins such as eggs or milk) at one meal; give carbohydrates (fruit & grains) for the other meal. Vegetables, though may be given with either grains or heavy proteins."
He goes on to mention this can also help in preventing pancreatitus.
Also, grains and meats should not be fed together but veggies can be feed with either, with no loss of nutrients. Fruits, except apples, should be feed alone and at least twenty minutes before or after anything else. Back to top of page
Is it o.k. to feed grains?
Grains are not a natural food for dogs. It is not something they would eat in the wild. Those grains they would have access to would be in small quantities eaten from the stomachs of prey animals who had (in the right season) eaten some grasses that had seeded. These grains would also not look like our modern grains - more like wild rice (check it out at the supermarket and compare to domestic types).
Grains are also full of carbohydrates which can be easily converted to sugars. Cancer cells feed on sugars and it is believed that by decreasing the amount of carbohydrate in the diet, we may greatly reduce the risk of cancer (which is a growing problem among modern dogs).
So, in answer to your question, yes, grains can be fed; however, please keep the following in mind (when feeding grains), taken directly from a Dr. Billinghurst seminar: grains are not a natural food for dogs; dogs do not, in fact, need carbohydrates; carbohydrates are easily converted into sugars which feed cancer. Remove the carbs and the cancer has less/nothing to feed on; and grains are one of the major causes of allergies in dogs, and can also cause flatulence (gas..PHEW!!!)!.
source: i-love-dogs forum
