# Omega 6 in food, unneccesary?



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

So I'm looking to incorporate couple new foods into Uno's diet for variety and one of the foods I'm interested in is Dr. Tims. Its not a grain-free food, but I dont necessarily think that potatoes are better then grains , in some cases they can be worse due to higher glycemic index. 

*Ingredients:
Chicken meal, brown rice flour, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (a natural source of vitamin E) and citric acid), oat flour, dried beet pulp, dried whole egg, rice bran, herring meal, flax seed meal, salmon oil, canola oil, natural flavor, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, lecithin, dried chicory root (fructooligosaccharides), dried organic kelp meal, choline, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, psyllium seed husk, yucca shidigera extract, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized ascorbic acid), L-lysine, taurine, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, beta carotene, ferrous sulfate, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), manganese sulfate, inositol, niacin supplement, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, zinc oxide, biotin, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), copper proteinate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), calcium pantothenate, potassium iodide (source of iodine), manganous oxide, selenium, calcium iodate, vitamin B12 supplement, sodium selenite, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, L-carnitine, rosemary extract.*

Few concerns with this food would be citric acid, beet pulp, canola oil, salt and natural flavoring. 

This may have been brought up before, but why is canola oil used in pet food? according to AAFCO, omega 6 is not considered an essential nutrient in dog food. I know that most of human processed food is overloaded with omega 6's and not enough omega 3's. This food has 4% omega 6 and only 1.1 omega 3. 
I dont care for canola oil due to it being a gmo ingredient, but is it really necessary to use it in the first place? 

I've compared it to acana which is what I'm feeding now and they dont use any plant oils, although based on guaranteed analysis, theres 2.6% omega 6 and 1.3% of omega 3, so I'm assuming it comes from the inclusion of botanicals. 

It would be nice if Dr. Tims food looked something like this : Chicken meal, herring meal, whole egg, salmon oil, chicken fat, rice flour, etc, and then omit questionable ingredients.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

What's the analysis on it? Honestly there are SO many high quality chicken based foods I'd pick one with less controversial ingredients than this..


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Theres are several varieties from maintenance to high energy dogs, I picked the middle one which is for active dogs due to higher protein content but not the highest they have. 


Guaranteed analysis:
Crude protein: min. 30%
Crude fat: min. 20%
Crude fiber: max. 3%
Moisture: max. 10%
Ash: max. 5.8%
Omega 6*: 4.0%
Omega 3*: 1.1%

I guess 2 main things I like about the company is that the chicken is low ash and the food has gotten a lot of positive reviews, no recalls and seemingly reputable source. Also I like the fact that Dr. Tim is actively involved in forum participation, listens to his customers and is willing to improve the food based on feedback.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Beet pulp is a slower fiber than say fibers from peas. It will firm up the stool somewhat. Salt isn't that big an issue if the total is in the .2 to .5 range. Natural flavoring could be anything. I think Tim spoke to this in a post in the dry section. I agree with you re the canola oil and gm issues. All in all I think this looks good though. I don't like any GMO ingredients anywhere but it's so hard to avoid so I live with it and take my "fight" elsewhere :smile:


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Coconut oil is good for omega 6. Might want to consider adding that to Uno's diet.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Thanks, for now I'm going to try him on horizon legacy since I ordered a bag of fish formula and see how he does on it, but will keep this food in mind for future ideas.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Canola oil is used so often basically because it's cheaper than a lot of other types of oils and fats. I wouldn't be concerned about it though in the Dr. Tim formula. Chicken fat is the primary fat and the 3rd ingredient. Canola oil doesn't even show up until the 14th ingredient.

I have no issue with beat pulp at all. I think it's gotten a worse reputation than it deserves. 

I actually think it looks like a pretty good grain-inclusive food compared to many.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I guess I wonder why its even used in the first place if its not an essential nutrient.


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