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FOOD ALLERGIES Caused by Leaky Gut
Leaky Gut is what causes dogs to develop allergies to the food Mother Nature designed them to eat.
A food allergy is created when a partially digested protein leaks through the gut wall into the blood stream before it is reduced to individual amino acids. The immune system records the amino acid sequence of the partially digested protein and attacks it if it sees that EXACT amino acid sequence again. As more and more partially digested segments of the protein leak into the blood-stream the immune system becomers overloaded and hyper-sensitive.
Leaky Gut is a common condition in dogs that occurs when the Gut Microbiota gets out of balance due to a diet of too many carbohydrates. The small intestine becomes porous and leaks fecal matter, toxins, the Candida fungus (present in all colons) and partially digested proteins, into the blood stream. These partially digested proteins cause the immune system to attack them, which is the allergic reaction.
Dogs are not born with an allergy to a meat protein - they acquire allergies along the way due to partially digested proteins leaking through the gut wall into the blood-stream as a result of Leaky Gut.
The lining of the gut is only one cell thick and is made with block like cells, called Enterocytes, that butt against each other like bricks. The surface of these cells facing inside the small intestine are covered with hair like projections, called Cilia, that help transport nutrients from the food, through the gut wall, into the blood stream. They are coated by a mucus menbrane that is a filter to keep toxins and fecal matter from going through the gut wall into the bloodstream.
Proteins are long chains of amino acids in a specific sequence for each protein. Ten of those amino acids are "essential" which means they have to be supplied by the food.
When properly digested, the protein is reduced to individual amino acids which can be used throughout the body to repair or build new proteins like muscle or tissue.
When the gut gets out of balance or it is exposed to certain toxins, gaps develop between the Enterocytes. This is the result of an imbalance between the harmful bacteria and beneficial bacteria in the gut (called Dysbiosis) caused by too many carbohydrates that convert to sugar and feed the harmful bacteria which grows faster than the beneficial bacteria and eventually overpowers it.
This happens more frequently after antibiotics are prescribed which kill the good and bad bacteria indiscriminately and equally.
In the presence of too many high glycemic carbohydrates the Candida fungus and the harmful bacteria grows back faster, overpowers the beneficial bacteria and attacks the mucosal lining of the gut causing it to become porous
At this point partially digested pieces of protein (random lengths of amino acids) leak into the blood stream.
The system is designed to use individual amino acids to repair and grow the body, not chains of amino acids from partially digested proteins.
If a partially digested protein leaks through the gut wall before it is reduced to individual amino acids the immune system considers it to be an invading pathogen, makes a record of that particular amino acid sequence, and builds anti-bodies to attack and destroy it should it ever return, which it does unless the Leaky Gut is healed and the gut wall is restored to full functionality.
If the Leaky Gut condition is not resolved, the immune system becomes overworked and hyper vigilant, as fecal matter and partially digested proteins continue to leak into the blood stream. It begins attacking anything resembling the thousands of partial amino acid sequences it has been recording and building antibodies against, including healthy parts of the body or organs that have similar sequences, which is an auto-immune response against its own body.
It does not help to feed your dog a “novel” protein or a limited protein diet if the Leaky Gut condition is not healed. The novel protein will simply leak through the gut wall into the blood stream like the previous protein did, and the result will be a dog that has an Allergic response to both proteins.
Things that can cause Leaky Gut are too high a percentage of high glycemic carbohydrates in the dog food (potatoes, grain, sugar), which fuels the overgrowth of the Candida Albicans fungus and the harmful bacteria, various toxins, and the use of antibiotics.
Things that help heal Leaky Gut are dog foods with 30% to 40% animal sourced protein, low carbohydrates (30% or less with soluble fiber like peas), added probiotics to keep Candida in check, long chain prebiotics to feed the healthy bacteria in the gut, digestive enzymes to help the complete breakdown of the proteins into individual amino acids, and the elimination of steroids and antibiotics.
Above is a pie chart on a calorie rated basis after adjusting for water and rough fiber content. We have found it very helpful to add special probiotics that are coated to protect them from activating before they get to the gut where they are needed. Tests show that normal probiotics added to dog food are prematurely activated by the warmth and moisture in kibble when it is being bagged and are no longer viable by the time the dog eats the food.
We also add long chain prebiotics which feed the probiotics without feeding the harmful bacteria.
Finally we add digestive enzymes to ensure complete digestion and breakdown of the proteins into individual amino acids so the immune system does not create an allergy to that protein if Leaky Gut is present.
Setting aside the ongoing argument as to whether a dog is a carnivore, a facultative carnivore, or an omnivore we find that including high protein in the dog food (30% to 40%) of which over ninety percent is animal sourced protein, along with equal calories of animal fat, is very important when mixing carbohydrates into their diet.
Remember that dogs have absolutely no dietary need for carbohydrates at all and while they may be able to metabolize some degree it is best to keep that degree as small as possible.
Mother Nature made them carnivores a long time ago and that is the diet they are designed to prosper on. Dogs may be family members but they differ from humans in how they get energy from food.
Humans convert carbohydrates to glucose for energy and dogs convert protein and fat to glucose for energy. When dogs eat carbs they convert them to fat and store them which is why over 60% of dogs are overweight or obese.
Written by Richard Darlington, CEO
Updated May 20, 2024
Brothers Dog Food, LLC
