Limiting Nutritional Toxins in the Diet

Health

Unlike humans who might eat a variety of foods ranging from processed to fresh, dogs typically eat the same food day after day for their entire lives. This makes the quality and nutritional profile of their diet even more crucial for cancer prevention. Dr. Kendra Pope, board-certified veterinary oncologist, recommends focusing on these three key areas:

  1. Limiting nutritional toxins, especially from ultra-processed foods.
  2. Considering when you feed your dog, not just what you feed them.
  3. Providing a “heritage diet” that more closely resembles what their wild ancestors would eat by limiting carbohydrates and emphasizing quality proteins and healthy fats.

The first step is limiting nutritional toxins that may be in your dog’s food, which can increase cancer risk over time. Understanding and reducing these toxins is a critical first step in creating a cancer-prevention diet for your dog.

What are Nutritional Toxins?

Nutritional toxins are harmful substances that enter your dog’s body through their food. These can come from various sources, including the ingredients themselves, processing methods, or even the packaging of the food.

What to Be Aware Of:

  1. Diet Imbalances
  2. Ingredient Quality Concerns
  3. Chemical Contamination
  4. Processing-Related Toxins

1. DIET IMBALANCES

Even a “high-quality” diet can become harmful when:

  • The diet lacks proper balance, meaning it contains too much or too little of certain nutrients.
  • You’re overfeeding, which can lead to obesity and increase your dog’s cancer risk.
  • The diet lacks variety, limiting nutritional variety.

What you can do:

  • Make sure the food you’re feeding your dog is properly balanced.
  • If feeding a homemade diet, follow a [nutritionally complete recipe].
  • Monitor your dog’s weight and adjust portions accordingly.

3. CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION

Modern farming practices introduce numerous harmful chemicals:

  • Pesticide and herbicide residues are common in conventionally grown ingredients.
  • Glyphosate, a common herbicide, acts as an antibiotic in the body, killing beneficial gut bacteria.
  • These chemicals can bind to essential minerals, preventing proper detoxification.
  • GMO ingredients, especially corn, soy, and wheat, are typically paired with higher pesticide exposure.

What you can do:

  • Choose dog foods that are certified organic or that specifically state they test for pesticide residues.
  • Avoid foods with GMO ingredients, particularly those containing corn, soy, or wheat.

2. INGREDIENT QUALITY CONCERNS

Where your dog’s food ingredients come from matters significantly:

  • Conventional and factory-farmed ingredients contain fewer beneficial nutrients.
  • Organic produce has higher nutritional content than conventionally grown alternatives.
  • Factory-farmed animal products have less optimal fatty acid profiles and fewer anti-inflammatory compounds.

What you can do:

  • Look for human-grade, organic ingredients.
  • [Research transparent sourcing practices in dog food brands].
  • If budget is a concern, focus on [quality protein sources] first as this makes up the largest portion of your dog’s heritage diet.

4. PROCESSING-RELATED TOXINS

Manufacturing processes for foods can create additional health concerns:

  • Most commercial pet foods are heated to 200-300°F an average of four times during production.
  • This high-heat processing creates Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs).
  • AGEs contribute to inflammation, cancer, allergies, and more.
  • Pets ingest over 122 times more AGEs than humans through dry kibble, wet food, and processed treats.

What you can do:

  • Focus first on reducing the processing level of your dog’s food.
  • Consider raw, fresh, gently cooked, or freeze-dried options that undergo minimal heat processing.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSING SCALE

Before worrying about organic ingredients, Dr. Kendra Pope generally recommends to first focus on reducing how processed your dog’s food is. Different dog foods fall on a spectrum from minimally processed to highly processed. The less processed the food, the fewer heat-created toxins it contains and the closer it typically is to your dog’s heritage diet. Below lists out the least adulterated foods to the most adulterated foods according to The Forever Dog Life:

  1. Homemade
  2. Raw (pathogen controlled)
  3. Gently cooked
  4. Freeze-dried
  5. Dehydrated
  6. Canned
  7. Air-dried
  8. Baked
  9. Dry (extruded)
  10. Semi-moist

Dr. Kendra Pope is one of only four board-certified integrative veterinary oncologists in the U.S. She is extensively trained in herbal medicine, intravenous nutrient therapy, mistletoe therapy, and more. She is active in clinical research through her nonprofit organization, Prism Veterinary Research Institute, whose mission is to validate and legitimize integrative modalities in the treatment of cancer and chronic disease.

For more information, check out Dr. Kendra Pope’s Pet Cancer Prevention Course.

For More Information:

  • 2025 Prism Pets Academy. Pet Cancer Prevention Course.
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  • van Rooijen, Charlotte et al. “Quantitation of Maillard reaction products in commercially available pet foods.” Journal of agricultural and food chemistry vol. 62,35 (2014): 8883-91. doi:10.1021/jf502064h
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  • Habib, Rodney, and Karen Shaw Becker. The Forever Dog. HarperCollins, 12 Oct. 2021.
  • ‌Habib, Rodney, and Karen Shaw Becker. The Forever Dog Life. HarperCollins, 28 May 2024.

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