Do you get in trouble for feeding your dog on food from dinner under the table? A new study suggests that by sharing "people food"
you might actually be helping to keep your pet healthy.
Many dogs are fed dry processed food. Science has shown that a diet (饮食) of processed food is not healthy for humans. Scientists from the University of Helsinki, in Finland, say this diet is not good for our pet dogs, either.
The scientists discovered that the foods a dog might find in an owner's home such as eggs, fish, meat and vegetables may be better than a diet of just dog food. This is because having different kinds of foods leads to more variety (多样性) in microbes, which are little living things, too small to be seen with our eyes. There are millions of them in human and animal bodies. Some are bad for us, but many are good for us, and they play important roles in helping us digest (消化)food.
A total of 8,500 young pet dogs took part in the study. 4,500 of them were under 6 months old, and the rest were between 6 and 18 months old. The owners were asked about what foods they had fed their pets and how often. When the dogs reached adulthood, their owners reported that about 20% of the dogs showed CE symptoms (慢性肠胃不适症状) such as weight loss. However, if dogs had been fed a mixed diet while young, it was 22% less possible for them to experience CE symptoms later in life.
Dr. Anna Hielm-Bjorkman told The Times of London, "Dog foods on sale are described as providing a complete diet... But what we show is that variety is important. Nobody would give 12 years of the same food to a child—why should a dog be different?"
