It would become one of the most downloaded articles in the history of that publication. In November 2018, Freeman and her collaborators issued a commentary published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. In July 2018, the FDA announced it had found sufficient evidence to investigate.
No study has ever shown grain-free to be superior to grain-inclusive diets.įreeman collaborated with several veterinary cardiologists and alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Grain-free diets replace grains such as rice and corn with potatoes or legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) as a carbohydrate source. Exotic-ingredient diets use unusual sources, such as kangaroo or duck, which have not received extensive testing more common sources such as chicken or beef have. At Tufts University, Lisa Freeman, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist with a research emphasis on nutritional effects of heart disease, reported an alarming number of these dogs were eating what she called BEG (boutique, exotic-ingredient, or grain-free) diets.īoutique diets are produced by small companies without nutritional testing facilities. Veterinary cardiologists started noticing higher than usual numbers of dogs with DCM. Certain diets, however, notably those high in lamb, rice bran, or fiber (especially beet pulp) and very low–protein diets have been associated with canine taurine deficiency.įast-forward to 2018. Taurine immediately became suspect in dog DCM, but relatively few instances of taurine-deficient DCM have been identified in dogs. When taurine was added to the food, DCM in cats basically disappeared. It turned out commercial cat foods didn’t contain sufficient taurine.
Taurine, an amino acid that’s abundant in meat, was implicated in cases of cat DCM 30 years ago. Goldens are not considered an at-risk breed for DCM in general, but they are at risk for taurine deficiency. It also typically occurs in middle-aged to older dogs. It occurs more often in large breeds, and in some breeds, it’s thought to have a genetic component. It was August 2018, six months after his diagnosis, and just five days after celebrating his 4th birthday.ĭCM is a serious disease of the heart muscle that can ultimately lead to death. He remained symptom-free until one day, without warning, he suffered a fatal arrhythmia while walking across the kitchen floor. Oliver, now under the care of a veterinary cardiologist, was immediately placed on a mainstream diet containing grain and was given taurine supplements as well as heart medications. These dogs had in common two things: They had a deficiency of taurine, an amino acid, in their blood, and they were fed boutique dog foods from small companies often with unusual, grain-free, or legume-rich ingredient lists. It was February 2018, and Carter had also brought in an interesting article from the Morris Animal Foundation website noting a disturbing upswing in the number of Goldens diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). At least, it was until the vet listened to Oliver’s heart and uttered the sentence that would change her life: “He has a heart murmur.” It was a routine vet visit for Oliver, Julie Carter’s 3½-year-old Golden Retriever.
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