For dogs and cats · Jun 13, 2016
What you put in the bowl shapes every health outcome your pet has
Meeting minimum nutrient requirements is just the starting point, the evidence shows that diet quality drives real differences in inflammation, immunity, and long-term health in dogs and cats.
What your dog or cat eats has a real, measurable effect on their health. Whole food and professionally formulated homemade diets are linked to lower inflammatory markers and better clinical outcomes than standard extruded kibble. That said, nutritional completeness isn’t optional, analysis of home-prepared dog recipes found that 95% fell short of AAFCO minimums for at least one essential nutrient, and cats are especially vulnerable when their diet isn’t properly put together. Good intentions matter, but they don’t replace professional formulation.
A complete commercial kibble is all your dog or cat will ever need?
I understand why people believe this. The pet food industry has spent decades telling owners that a bag of “complete and balanced” kibble covers everything, and mainstream veterinary guidance has largely echoed that message. The Merck Veterinary Manual does state that nutritional diseases are rarely seen when animals are fed a good-quality commercial diet, and I’m not going to pretend that’s untrue.
But “rarely seen clinical deficiency” is a very low bar. It isn’t the same as optimal health.
Research comparing whole food diets to extruded dry diets found measurable reductions in inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A, in dogs moved onto a whole food diet. The researchers suggested that lower cooking temperatures in whole food preparation mean fewer advanced glycation end products (AGEs) end up in the food, and that the overall dietary profile supports a less inflammatory state. A kibble can meet AAFCO minimums and still fall short of that.
There’s also the question of what whole ingredients bring that heavily processed, fractionated ones don’t. Research into natural pet food suggests that whole food ingredients may deliver higher concentrations of phytonutrients, compounds that either aren’t present at all, or aren’t present in the same form, once ingredients have been broken down and cooked at high heat.
None of this means kibble is harmful, and I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that “complete and balanced” is a regulatory minimum, not a ceiling. Adding fresh whole foods, broth, lightly cooked vegetables, good-quality protein, oils, on top of whatever base diet you can manage is supported by the evidence, not contradicted by it.
How whole food and plant-based ingredients work in the body
A few mechanisms have been identified by the research, though I want to be honest upfront: the picture is still incomplete, and not every claim made about natural diets has solid evidence behind it.
Whole food diets and inflammation
A randomised cross-over trial in healthy dogs found that a whole food diet reduced circulating inflammatory markers, specifically C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A, compared to an extruded dry diet. The researchers put forward two plausible explanations: lower cooking temperatures in whole food preparation produce fewer advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are linked to inflammatory signalling; and the fish oil in the whole food diet contributed anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Neither mechanism has been pinned down as the sole driver, but the direction of the findings is meaningful.
Plant extracts: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity
Polyphenols, flavonoids, and plant-derived enzymes are increasingly included in canine and feline diets for their potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. The research is honest that exactly how these plant metabolites act in the body is not yet fully understood, so I would not overstate this, but it is a promising area.
Whole ingredients and phytonutrient concentration
Using whole food ingredients rather than fractionated ones may result in higher concentrations of phytonutrients in the finished diet. Commercial processing is also known to affect digestibility, nutrient bioavailability, and safety, though the full extent of those effects still needs more research to quantify properly.
Homemade diets and clinical outcomes
A descriptive analysis found that around 94% of dogs with gastrointestinal or dermatological disorders improved when moved to a professionally formulated homemade diet. Dogs who stayed on the homemade diet were about four times more likely to show improved palatability and 3.5 times more likely to appear more energetic than those who stopped early. The study does not spell out which mechanisms drove those improvements, but the outcomes are hard to ignore.
The nutritional balance caveat
None of this means you can put anything in the bowl and call it natural. Analysis of 200 healthy dog recipes found that 95% had at least one essential nutrient below AAFCO minimums, and 84% had multiple deficiencies, common gaps including calcium, phosphorus, and taurine in cats. The mechanism of harm is straightforward: chronic deficiency leads to predictable clinical disease. If you are moving away from commercial food, professional formulation is not optional.
How to improve your dog or cat’s diet in practice, from smallest change to biggest
The research pool doesn’t give us validated dosing ranges or contraindication thresholds for specific diet types, so I won’t invent them. What the evidence does support is a tiered, practical framework, move as far along as your time and budget allow, because even modest changes matter.
Start with nutritional completeness as your non-negotiable baseline
Whatever you feed, the diet needs to meet minimum nutrient requirements for your pet’s life stage. AAFCO guidelines set adult dogs at a minimum of 18% protein on a dry matter basis (or 45 g per 1,000 kcal ME) and adult cats at 26% dry matter protein (or 65 g per 1,000 kcal ME). Cats fed dog food, vegetarian diets, or grain-free diets are at documented risk of nutritional problems, this isn’t a theoretical concern, it’s what the evidence shows. [1, 2]
If time is short: choose quality commercial food and add whole-food extras
A good-quality, complete, and balanced commercial diet, whether extruded kibble or fresh, is a perfectly sound foundation. The evidence doesn’t support the idea that additives and preservatives are inherently harmful, or that whole ingredients always beat processed ones on digestibility. [5] What it does show is that whole food diets are associated with reduced inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A, compared to extruded dry diets. Part of the explanation is that lower cooking temperatures mean fewer advanced glycation end products (AGEs) forming in the food. [6] So if you can add fresh, minimally processed whole-food components on top of a commercial base, broth, lightly cooked vegetables, eggs, fresh meat, that’s a meaningful step worth taking.
If you go homemade: get it professionally formulated
This is where I have to be straight with you. Analysis of 200 home-prepared dog diet recipes found that 95% fell short of at least one essential AAFCO minimum nutrient, and 84% had multiple deficiencies, calcium, phosphorus balance, vitamins, and taurine (in cats) among the most common. [3] Homemade diets can work very well, one descriptive study found roughly 94% of dogs with gastrointestinal or dermatological disorders improved on a professionally formulated homemade diet [7], but the word that matters there is *professionally formulated*. A board-certified veterinary nutritionist is the right person for this, not a recipe found online.
If you’re considering a plant-based diet
A year-long study of dogs fed a complete and balanced commercial plant-based diet found normal maintenance of all essential amino acids and no statistically significant changes in cardiac biomarkers. [8] The important condition is that the diet is complete and balanced, an unformulated vegan or vegetarian diet carries the same deficiency risks as any other unformulated homemade diet.
On plant extracts and phytonutrients
Whole food ingredients bring phytonutrients, polyphenols, flavonoids, plant enzymes, that fractionated ingredients may not. [11] These compounds have documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties in the broader literature [10], and traditional ethnoveterinary practice has used medicinal plants for gastrointestinal and metabolic conditions in animals for generations, though much of this evidence base remains under-researched in formal veterinary science. [9] I include this because it gives a real biochemical rationale for prioritising whole, varied, minimally processed ingredients where you can, not as a workaround for nutritional completeness, but as a meaningful layer on top of it.
What we’d recommend
EveryPet Formula is designed to fill the nutritional gaps that most modern pet diets leave behind.
See the product
Frequently asked questions
Is homemade pet food actually better for dogs and cats, or is it risky?
The evidence points in two directions at once. A study of 67 dogs with gastrointestinal or dermatological disorders found that around 94% improved on a professionally formulated homemade diet, with dogs far more likely to show better energy and palatability. The risk sits in that word ‘professionally’: analysis of 200 popular home recipes found 95% were short of at least one essential nutrient. Get the formulation right and homemade diets are genuinely worthwhile. Guess at it and you create deficiencies.
Do whole food diets reduce inflammation in dogs compared to kibble?
A randomised crossover trial in healthy dogs showed that a whole food diet reduced three established inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A, compared to an extruded dry diet. The researchers attributed this partly to fewer advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formed at lower cooking temperatures, and partly to anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. There is a real biochemical explanation here, not just marketing language.
What are the most common nutrient deficiencies in homemade dog diets?
A systematic review of home-prepared recipes found that calcium imbalances were among the most frequent problems, alongside vitamin deficiencies and, particularly in cats, insufficient taurine. Taurine deficiency in cats is serious: it can lead to irreversible retinal degeneration and dilated cardiomyopathy. This is exactly why professional formulation matters, not to put people off homemade feeding, but to make sure the gaps are filled deliberately rather than left to chance.
Do plant extracts or phytonutrients in pet food actually do anything useful?
Polyphenols, flavonoids, and plant-derived enzymes are increasingly included in pet diets for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Whole food ingredients also tend to deliver higher phytonutrient concentrations than fractionated ones. The honest position is that the mechanisms are biologically plausible and some evidence exists, but thorough research specifically in dogs and cats is still limited. It is an active area, and an under-investigated one.
Are additives and preservatives in commercial pet food actually harmful?
A systematic review of fresh pet food marketing claims found limited scientific evidence that additives and preservatives are inherently harmful, or that human-grade ingredients are categorically safer or more nutritious. That does not mean all additives are equal, it means sweeping claims in either direction are not well supported. The more useful questions are about ingredient quality and processing temperature, both of which do affect how well nutrients are absorbed and retained.
Can dogs thrive on a plant-based diet long term?
A year-long study of dogs fed a complete, commercially formulated plant-based diet found that all essential amino acids measured stayed within or above normal reference intervals, and cardiac biomarkers showed no statistically significant changes. Dogs are omnivores and can make use of plant protein when the diet is properly balanced. The important caveat, as with any diet, is ‘complete and balanced.’ An unformulated plant-based diet carries the same deficiency risks as any poorly put-together homemade diet.
Sources
- Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals – Merck Veterinary Manual
- Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals – Merck Veterinary Manual
- Current knowledge about the risks and benefits of raw meat–based diets for dogs and cats
- Clinical health markers in dogs fed raw meat-based or commercial extruded kibble diets
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Quality Claims Associated with Fresh Pet Food: Evaluating Scientific Evidence for Additives, Ingredient Quality, and Effects of Processing in Pet Nutrition
- Effects of a whole food diet on immune function and inflammatory phenotype in healthy dogs: A randomized, open-labeled, cross-over clinical trial
- Homemade Diet as a Paramount for Dogs' Health: A Descriptive Analysis
- Domestic dogs maintain clinical, nutritional, and hematological health outcomes when fed a commercial plant-based diet for a year
- Gastrointestinal, metabolic, and nutritional disorders: A plant-based ethnoveterinary meta-analysis in the Catalan linguistic area
- The Role of Plant Extracts in Enhancing Nutrition and Health for Dogs and Cats: Safety, Benefits, and Applications
- Natural pet food: a review of natural diets and their impact on canine and feline physiology