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LabWell's Reference LibraryRice Bran: A Super Source of Essential Amino Acids, Protein, EFA's and Tocotrienols for the Canine Diet
by Sandy Herzon
(as first appeared in the Chambray News newsletter 1996)
For years, Canine Professional Health Care Specialists, Natural Practitioners and Veterinarians have been
prescribing a rice-based diet for dogs recuperating from illnesses, especially gastric-related maladies. Rice provides a "calming effect" in the digestive tract, while at the same time supplies the caloric and nutritive intake required for maintenance. Today, there are countless dog food brands that offer rice in combination with other ingredients for health related reasons, from food allergies to post surgery diets.What properties does this source of food possess? How is it processed and what part of the whole grain rice is used?
In preparing rice for human consumption, commercial milling machines will remove the outer shell or the bran coat from the rice kernel. Most of this outer coating or rice bran has traditionally been discarded due to its very short stable life, where every year thousands of tons go to waste for lack of use. Interesting enough, is the fact that the rice bran contains higher nutritive value than the rice kernel, it contains higher percentages of vitamins, higher mineral content, more protein and considerable more digestible fat than the actual rice kernel.
That same highly soluble and digestible vegetable fat in the rice bran is what made rice bran a poor candidate to be utilized in either human grade consumption or in animal grade foodstuffs.
Since rice bran is rich in high soluble fat, a process was needed to stabilize it to meet the markets "shelf life " requirements. The more soluble fat a product contains, the harder it is to stabilize that substance. Stabilization is important since it affects the "shelf life" of the product. Preservatives such as Ethoxyquin, tocopherals, calcium carbonate and an endless array of other chemicals; both natural and artificial are used to extend the viable time or storage life of a product. With the rice bran, the high nutritional value was offset by its' very short shelf life and the addition of chemicals to preserve it were compromising the natural qualities offered by this great nutritive source.
The goal by many of the milling companies was to deactivate the natural occurring lipase enzyme found in the rice bran fat, that was the chief cause of the un-stabilization leading to the product becoming rancid. Until recently, stabilizing methods were not adequate enough to process the rice bran and provide a suitable "shelf life' for the market. Now we have modern, advanced technological extracting techniques that ensure that the nutrient levels are not compromised by either overheating or by adding chemicals or preservatives that would interfere with the natural quality offered by this super nutritional source of food for canines. The rice bran available today has been rated as having an extended shelf life of over a year!
The great benefits of rice bran, rank it at the top of all the vegetable/plant sources for nutrients for animals and in particular, Labrador retrievers. Stabilized rice bran provides all of the Essential Amino Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, and EFA's (essential fatty acids) that are so vital to promote all bodily functions. On top of all those properties, it is also one of the greatest sources for containing a powerful and effective group of antioxidants, called Tocotrienols. This group of antioxidants is considered to be 10 times more potent that Vitamin C and 50 times more potent than Vitamin E (tocopherals). Medical research has shown that Tocotrienols have a tremendous positive effect on reversing degenerative disease. It is this nutritional healing effect that makes rice bran such a great source of nutrients for our dogs.
Rice bran contains 13% protein with 20% fat, these two nutrients work together to provide the dog with a high digestible source of energy. In fact, the fat found in rice bran gives
2.25 times the energy produced by protein or carbohydrates, and in addition it has a glycogen sparing effect during periods of high-energy expenditure. Rather than deplete the natural stores of glycogen from the muscle system, the energy used will come from the levels of fat supplied by the rice bran. This fat found in rice bran is almost 100% digestible.The Essential Amino Acids found in the rice bran are utilized for the restoration and maintenance of the proper levels of synovial fluids in joints throughout the dog's body. They also help to rebuild articular cartilage and protect those areas from further enzymatic breakdown (degeneration). These EAA's are also responsible for proper connective tissue growth. They help build and support tendons, ligaments and muscle development.
One of the greatest properties of rice bran in the dog's diet is the tremendous effect it has for proper digestion, especially after bouts of gastric-enteritis. The fiber contained in rice bran, working together with digestive coenzymes found in the Vitamin B complex, bring about a natural "calming effect" within the digestive system. This is what has led Vets and Professional Health Care Specialists to prescribe the substitution of the regular dog diet, with rice based diet after illnesses.
For several years, LabWell has been testing different sources of nutrients, additives and supplements that will benefit Labrador retrievers in particular. We recognized the tremendous positive effects of rice bran when added to our Labs regular diet. The coats on our Labs displayed a thicker feel, healthier sheen and almost no shedding. Higher stamina and endurance were observable during conditioning and workouts. Overall, the Labs displayed more vitality after about 5 weeks while on the supplementation of rice bran added to the regular dry dog food.
At our show kennel and training facility we have been adding a full teaspoon of the rice bran to 3 cups of Diamond Regular Puppy plus 1 teaspoon of the LabWell Lab Forte to a control segment of our regular population of Labs. By adding the two supplements to the dry dog food, we have been able to cut back the amount of the dry dog food by 25%. By supplying this combination of food sources the total nutritional level has risen considerably while the filler level has dropped. The filler level consists of those products that come with the dry dog food to produce larger quantities. Corn, wheat and other "by products", that are relatively inexpensive to process and easily preserved are great candidates to be added as fillers to dog food. Their nutritional value might be very low, however their "shelf life" is great and their production cost are minimal, hence they are very attractive to the food manufactures as a leading ingredient in many dog foods.
LabWell's goal is to find a top-notch dry dog food to use as the basic starting point for our Labs and those of our many clients that attend our training facility. To this basic dry dog food we add those supplements that are essential to our breed. By adding these breed specific nutrients we are able to reduce the amount of dry dog food. So in essence we are creating our very own breed specific dog food formula.
By adding the Forte and rice bran to the basic dry dog food, we can reduce the dry dog food by about 25%. With the amount of dry dog food dropping at least 25%, the savings in the dry dog food have offset the added cost of the Forte and the rice bran. Saving money is very important when managing more than one dog, however of utmost importance is the nutritional value of any product when the final goal is the proper conditioning of those dogs in the management program.
LabWell's LabGlo Rice Bran and Lab Forte are available only through the Labrador Retriever Health Food Store at direct to consumer prices. The supplement will cost less than .10 cents per day per adult Labrador. At this cost-effective rate, the nutritional benefits will be tremendous.