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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / November 2003response from IAMS...
> Dear Customer: > > We appreciate your interest in learning more about Iams Original(tm) Cat Food. I > will be happy to assist you. > > Many pet food companies still express the nutrient content of their foods on a > dry-matter basis. As nutritional science has advanced, however, the nutrient > density method is now well accepted. Looking at nutrient density provides the > most accurate relationship between energy, food intake, and nutrient content. > > Nutrient density is a measurement of the nutritional value, or nutrient content, > of a pet food. Examining nutrient densities can provide meaningful comparisons > of different foods, even if they vary in weight, moisture, and energy content. > > If you would like to provide your mailing address, I would be happy to send you > a copy of a nutrient reference chart for Iams Original(tm) Cat Food. In the > meantime, below are several URLs that will take you to articles on our web-site > offering information on choosing the right food for your cats. Please > copy-and-paste the following URLs to your web browser: > > Reading Labels: > www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?speciesc > ode=C&brandcode=I&localeid=en_US&pagetypeid=PN&questionid=186 > > Choosing Pet Food: > www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?sc=C&bc= > I&li=en_US&pti=PN&qi=149 > > If we can be of further service, please contact us anytime through our E-mail Us > Now page located on our web sites at www.iams.com or www.eukanuba.com. We would > also welcome your call Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on > Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 800-525-4267. > > Thank you for your interest in Iams. > > Sincerely, > Sharon Nichols > Iams Consumer Care, North America Not that I am considering feeding IAMS, but any comments on the nutrient density method being widely accepted as they claim? I've heard making the conversion from nutrient density to dry matter basis is possible but complicated. Can anyone enlighten me here?  Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck > Not that I am considering feeding IAMS, but any comments on the nutrient > density method being widely accepted as they claim? > > I've heard making the conversion from nutrient density to dry matter > basis is possible but complicated. Can anyone enlighten me here? I'm assuming what IAMS is terming "nurient density" equals measurements of nutrients based upon caloric intake. Typically this is expressed as grams or mgs per 100 kcals. Large components like protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates will be expressed in grams per 100 kcals, smaller components will be expressed as miligrams per 100 kcals. As an example: Science Diet Adult Canned Liver & Chicken Protein DMB (dry matter) = 43.9% which is 10.1 grams per 100 kcal Phosphorus DMB = 0.65% which is 149mg per 100 kcal It is a better way to assess nutrients since it takes into account the actual kcals a given cat might ingest and therefore sets the actual values of any given nutrient a cat will ingest. It's actually a bit simpler to work with, once you get the hang of it. It makes figuring the intake of any given nutrient a breeze and thus makes comparing the intake from one food to another very simple. If you have a 10 pound kitty that requires 300 kcals per day it's pretty easy to see how much of any given nutrient a cat will ingest per day. Most manufacturers have been doing it both ways for many years, however the consumer is not accustomed to seeing it this way. IAMS is a little touchy about this since it was part of a lawsuit that IAMS and Nutro filed against one another alleging that their opponents feeding guides were an "underfeed". An underfeed is when a manufacturer deliberately chooses to create feeding guides that suggest less cups per day than is actually required. This allows them to compare one food to another and claim it is cheaper to feed brand X than brand y. > > Dear Customer: > > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > > > Reading Labels: www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?spec iesc > > ode=C&brandcode=I&localeid=en_US&pagetypeid=PN&questionid=186 > > > > Choosing Pet Food: www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?sc=C &bc= > > I&li=en_US&pti=PN&qi=149 > > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > I've heard making the conversion from nutrient density to dry matter > basis is possible but complicated. Can anyone enlighten me here? To determine the amount of nutrient per kcal, just divide the nutrient content by the energy density of the food. This is actually the most accurate method because the actual amount of any given nutrient that the cat consumes depends on how much food the cat eats. Cats eat to satisfy their energy needs. When their energy needs are met they stop eating - unless of course their satiety cues are overridden by an exceptionally palatable diet or some behavioral problem or disease. So the amount of food she eats, and the actual amount of nutrients she consumes, depends on the calorie content of the food. Here's a simple example: 2 foods can have the same DM% of protein. On a caloric basis, diet A provides 10 g protein/100 kcal and diet B provides 7 g/100kcal. So if the cat has a DER of 180 kcal/day, she'll consume 18 g/day protein from diet A but only 12.6 g from diet B even though both diets have the same DM% protein. So look for g/kcal (or g/100 kcal) when comparing foods. Phil (...) > Not that I am considering feeding IAMS, but any comments on the nutrient > density method being widely accepted as they claim? As Phil and Steve have said - it's arguably a better method. > I've heard making the conversion from nutrient density to dry matter > basis is possible but complicated. Can anyone enlighten me here? It would be better to go the other way (i.e., convert %DMB to nutrient density), but to convert from nutrient density to %DMB, you convert the kcal to weight: If 100kcal of food contains 20kcal from protein, then 100kcal of food contains 100*(20/350)=5.71g of protein. (We know that 100g of protein contains 350kcal). You can make the same calculation for the other calorific things, i.e., fat and carbs. The non-calorific items cannot be given as kcal per kcal of food, because they don't contain any usable energy - so, these will have to be given as weight per 100kcal (or similar). When working out the %DMB, you need to remember to include the weight of these items! So, %DMB is just the weight of the nutrient you're interested in, divided by the total weight of all items. E.g., if you were given Boiled Fish Ear Stew Composition: 50kcal from fat per 100kcal of food, 25kcal from protein ~ " ~, 25kcal from carbs ~ " ~, 1g of ash ~ " ~, 0.5g of fibre ~ " ~. We know that fat contains 850kcal per 100g, and protein and fat contain 350kcal per 100g. So, weu have, per 100kcal of food: Fat = 100*(50/850) = 5.88g Pr = 100*(25/350) = 7.14g Carb = 100*(25/350) = 7.14g Ash = 1g Fibre =0.5g So, proportion DMB for fat is 5.88/(5.88+7.14+7.14+1+1) = 5.88/21.66 = 0.271 (i.e., 27.1%). Proceed similarly for the other items of interest! HTH, Steve. Thanks for the responses on this guys. Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck eel for On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:16:58 -0500, Joe Canuck <Joe_Canuck@Canada.ca> wrote: >Thanks for the responses on this guys. I really feel for you and wish you the best. Have you tried leaving a radio on to help the cat get used to voices and perhaps soothing music? Whenever I have to leave the house, I leave the radio on to keep my cat cmpany. When you get a new mattress get a waterproof cover to put under the sheet -- just in case! Again, many purrs for you to solve the problem. MLB > eel for On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:16:58 -0500, Joe Canuck > <Joe_Canuck@Canada.ca> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > music? Whenever I have to leave the house, I leave the radio on to > keep my cat cmpany. My hovercraft is full of eels! Steve. > eel for On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:16:58 -0500, Joe Canuck > <Joe_Canuck@Canada.ca> wrote: > >>Thanks for the responses on this guys. > > I really feel for you and wish you the best. Forget the sympathy, send cash! :-) > Have you tried leaving a > radio on to help the cat get used to voices and perhaps soothing [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > sheet -- just in case! Again, many purrs for you to solve the > problem. MLB I think this was intended for someone else but you accidently posted it in this thread instead. Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck |
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