From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-05-17 22:17:19 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Natural Balance Formulations recalled...please read!
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
In relation to the comments below I did a bit of searching myself and green peas are not
only LOW in three of the COLA amino acids, but they are extremely low in one of them.
That make the chances of the green peas themselves playing a part in the formation of
cystine urolotihs very unlikely because cystine stones are formed when there is more
cystine, ornithine, lysine, or arginine (or a combination) than the genetically susceptible
individual's kidneys can process.
Then I spoke with Dr. Tom Willard whose doctorate is in veterinary nutrition. One reason
those medicinal foods include peas is because peas have a chemical property which makes
the acquisition of certain nutrients from them through digestion even harder. (This way in
the wild the plant protected the seed while still achieving dissemination with fertilizer
through a digestive tract. All seeds have some properties like that but some have them
more than others do. From other reading: some other plants which use animal
dissemination rely on heavy coatings, or have GI tract irritants (mild poisons) that speed
passage through.)
That compound prevents much of the uptake of both the amino acids and the starches
from peas by the digestive tract. The success of the compound in preventing uptake is
even greater in animals with simple intestinal tracts (no caecum, rapid transit, not the
same intestinal flora as an omnivore or a vegetarian) such as a ferret, so the pea portion of
those foods pretty much passes through the ferret largely unchanged, which means it can
add useful fiber but the ferret isn't taking in some of the nutrients we humans would
uptake like the complex carbs and most of the amino acid content from peas.
Ironically, this was actually the topic of one of Dr. Willard's theses during his education.
So, as far as cystine stones postulated as possibly being caused by green peas there is
absolutely no apparent mechanism for that to be the case.
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Sukie Crandall" <sukie@...> wrote:
>
> For recall updates of all such foods:
>
> http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
>
> There are some vets who have postulated that foods containing green peas might also
play a
> part in the formation of cystine stones, though I have not personally heard any vet
urologists
> postulate that. Cystine stones form when the levels in the diet of any of four amino
acids
> (building blocks of protein) are too high. That is the group nicknamed the cola
grouping
> because it is Cystine, Ornithine, Lysine, and Arginine. For the green pea hypothesis to
make
> sense it will need to be high in at least one of these, but I have not had tine to seek out
> amino acid levels in green peas and then compare them to other sources. (If anyone
else has
> that dat and can share it and the origin of the information that could prove useful. A
> Registered Dietician's help or Veterinary Nutritionist's help on that score, or that of
anyone
> who is a good person at looking up info from reputable resources, would sure come in
handy
> on this score.)
>
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