Food Variety

Question: Homemade dog food - more variety, frequent transition to different foods - would this cause stomach upset? We have always been told to feed our dog the same food every day and that if we change his food, we must change it gradually so that it does not upset his system. I have seen what a quick change in diet can do! How does that work with homemade diets? We could gradually switch to homemade, but then after that he will get different homemade foods all the time... will this constantly upset his system? Why do they tell us that dogs have to eat the same thing every day so that they won't get sick but humans can eat a variety of different things. Is eating human food on a consistent basis enough of a pattern in itself to avoid stomach upset? Thanks in advance!

Answer: Dogs who only eat one type of food only have the bacteria in their gut for that type of food. Changing foods at that point is rather like a human raised on a bland diet of beef and potatoes suddenly having a meal of Afghani food. The intestine just isn't set to deal with it... yet millions of Afghani people eat it without an issue. Dogs who go through their lives eating MANY different things develop intestines that are nearly indisruptable. Right now my dogs are busily eating fermenting blackberries off the bushes. I feed a primarily raw meat/bones/organs diet. I use high quality kibble as "treats" and because I train extensively they get a LOT of treats. I rotate what sort of kibble constantly. My treatment for an upset tummy is 12-24 hours of fasting with only live culture yoghurt mixed with Lactobacillus (Acidophilus) given. I've never had it not work... even when I've been at shows where everyone else's dogs came down with giardia. Yes, if I were starting a dog on a new food I would do it slowly.. but you also need to realize that often one of the symptoms for decontaminating the body of toxins (of which non-premium dogfoods are riddled) is diahrea.

Question: Is it better to eat a variety of food or more of one food to feel full? I am under the impression that eating a variety of food helps a person feel full as opposed to eating more of the same thing. I typically divide my food up (meat, veggies, pasta/carbs/etc.) and eat each type at a time. Thoughts?

Answer: You need to eat a variety. Here's a trick look at your plate before you eat if you have many different colored food youre good!

Question: What is the best food variety and food plan to use? I joined the wrestling team at my high school, and i haven't done sports before, and i haven't wrestled before, other than with my brother... female,5'4'' 116-117 lbs. what would be the best foods to eat? how often should i eat/how much should it be when i do? i go to school, so i only eat breakfast, a snack 2 hours after that, lunch go home at 2:10 and then dinner at like 7.. but anything and everything you can tell me about wrestling team. please do. much appreciated.

Answer: This might be of help to you. http://www.wrestlingnovascotia.ca/page11.html

Question: Is it really good to give your dog a variety of food? I heard its best to give your dogs a variety of foods every once in a while. if so, how often is good? and also what would be the top food brands to take turns with? i heard from several websites that the reason why it is good to change brands every once in awhile is because not one brand is perfect and has all the nutrients the dog needs so by switching them once and awhile your dog gets the nutrients the other brands were lacking. Also its good to give them variety so they won't get tired of the same food.

Answer: C'mon people! Why in the world would it be a good thing for a particular animal to only eat a very limited, man-made diet? Can you imagine a pediatrician telling a new mother to only feed the kid one type of cereal for the rest of the kid's life? Yes, raw or home-cooked are great, not a reasonable option for everyone. No one food is perfect. No one protein source is perfect. Rotating makes sure dogs don't get too much or too little of an element that one food may have an excess of, or a deficiency of. It also encourages their digestive systems to utilize all of the enzymes, and be able to deal with changes that may be necessary in the future. If your dog has been used to only one type of food, then yes, the digestive system is lacking and the dog will have some digestive upset when you switch. The answer is to strengthen the digestive system- add some live culture yogurt, and/or some digestive enzymes, and make the first few switches slowly. All of my dogs (5 total, 3 current) and a few fosters have all adapted well to my way of feeding, which is to buy a different bag of food- different brands, different protein , pretty much weekly, and to also feed some raw, some dehydrated, and some canned throughout the week. So today my dogs got Innova red meat for breakfast, and the same mixed with Evo canned duck for dinner. They'll get dehydrated goose and duck in the morning, and more Innova in the evening tomorrow. Once I move out of the apartment and into my new house, and get a freezer, I'll do more raw.

Question: At around 5 months, do you offer a variety of solid food per meal or just one food? I have been feeding her one jar of baby food at night and the equivalent amount of cereal for breakfast. Should I be giving her a variety with each meal (for example, half jar of veg's and half jar of fruit)? Or is it better to stick with one food per meal for now?

Answer: Just cereal for now is fine and only as a supplement to breast milk or formula. Get information on how to make your own baby food from organic fruits and vegetables. There are too many additives, preservatives and sodium on jarred baby food. At about 8 to 9 months introduce 1 vegetable at a time. This helps test for allergies. Start fruits much later, even the taste of naturally sweet fruit will make a baby not want vegetables. There are lots of good cookbooks and information on when and what a baby needs first.

Question: I want to give my turtle a bigger variety of food. Any ideas? would i buy these at aquarium stores? My turtles is about 6 cm[thats about 2.5 inches long], i feed her about turtle food around twice a week and blood worms the rest of the week. I'm not sure if this is a balanced diet for her. I also want to give her more of a variety. so any ideas?

Answer: That is NOT too much protein for a turtle that small. Try adding earthworms, bait fishes, and liver which you dust in bone meal. Once the turtle is mature, you can start adding dark green leafy vegetables to its diet. Notice that you don't have to go to an aquarium store for any of those foods.

Question: Is this enough food variety for a high school party? im throwing a 18th birthday party and im having, bbq, hot dog, fried rice, egg rolls, pizza, and side dishes, corn and salad. is this enough variety or should i add more? opp for got ice cream and cake and junk food too ( like chips and stuff)

Answer: That sounds goo's, as long as there is plenty to drink, and I don't mean alcohol, and there are dishes that suit veggies and that lot.

Question: Does anyone know of a good caterer in the Phoenix AZ location? Nothing too expensive, but good food & variety! need caterer in Phoenix, Arizona variety in food good food not too expensive

Answer: If you are seeking BBQ style catering, check out Honey Bear's (by the airport) or Joe's BBQ (Gilbert). Both have been featured in numerous media outlets and have received tons of food awards. They cater and drive to your location. I have been to events featuring both Joe's & Honey Bear's. If you're looking for something different, you can try AJ's Fine Foods. A bit pricier, but excellent fresh quality. Good luck!

Question: How can athletes consume a variety of food despite their strict diet? I need this for my Food&Nutrition Coursework so i will need all the information you can give! Oh and please suggest any good websites i can go to for this question. Please help and thanks!

Answer: By not doing a low calorie diet which causes loss of lean tissues & by doing a high calorie, low carb way of eating. They have to eliminate starches, but there is rarely much nutritional value in sugar & starches, but there is considerable nutritional value in low carb foods. from the article below - Numerous current studies show that dieters who follow high-protein low-carb strategies--even plans with higher fat intake--lose more fat and maintain or gain more muscle mass than dieters who rely on higher carb diets. Yes, you read that right--many dieters actually gained muscle mass without working out, simply by eating a high-protein diet. This is due to several factors. First, amino acids from protein drive muscle growth. When you consume a high-protein meal, amino acids from the protein travel to muscle cells and actually initiate the processes that cause muscle growth. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_4_23/ai_n13790123/?tag=content;col1 I highly recommend adding virgin coconut oil to your diet. All fats can be used for sustained energy, but coconut oil is the (only) fat that can be used for quick energy like a carb. It takes awhile to convert the body from being fueled by glucose to being fueled by fat but it does convert. It can take several weeks for the body to be able to compete athletically while using fat for fuel. The body does not become fat adapted though it "carb cycling" techniques are employed. Low carb marathon runners don't "hit the wall" with mid race fuel changeovers. It's not being fueled by fat that slows them down, it's the immediate fuel conversion period. This study: http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2 seems to suggest that after one has become fat adapted, endurance exercise performance returns to normal, but sprint performance remains poor. The suggested reason is that this type of exercise can not be fueled by fat, it must be fueled by glucose. If you eat protein without sufficient fuel calories from fats or carbs, then you convert dietary protein to fuel leaving no protein for cellular needs, forcing the body to catabolize it's own lean tissues. Carbs may be optional, but fuel calories are not but they can come from fat or carbs, but not protein. There are not enough calories in fruits & vegs to fuel the body. If you don't keep your calories high enough, the body will strip it's own lean tissue for nutrition. Although that may look great on a scale it will make it MUCH easier to accumulate fat in the future (since all that pesky lean tissue burning up calories will be gone). Protein is a very inefficient fuel to use exclusively for long term & the byproducts of the conversion to fuel can be dangerous if they overwhelm the body faster than the body can clear out the nitrogen & ammonia.. Just for example - Someone asked "what if" about a diet of 500g of pure protein (2000 calories a day) 500g protein with no fat would be fatal. Fat is essential but protein without fat will cause diarrhea & then death. So this next bit is only hypothetically speaking. 500g of protein only would turn the protein into a fuel source and not be able to be used for tissue repairs & cellular regeneration. So although you would think 500g of protein would be sufficient for these needs, it would be converted to a very inefficient fuel source with a dangerous buildup of nitrogen & ammonia (byproducts of gluconeogenesis). The body can handle some of these byproducts but not large quantities for long term. So in essence, all this protein would be processed as fuel and the body would STILL have to catabolize it's own lean tissues for a protein source. 100% of the protein would be needed to convert to 58% glucose - it would be equal to fueling the body with 1160 calories of carbs and NO protein (IF your only ingestion was 2000 calories (500g) in pure protein). It's confusing to eat SO much protein and have none bioavailable but your body requires FUEL calories (which can come from fat OR carbs or both) AND protein. BUT if you ate more than sufficient protein with more than sufficient dietary fat calories AND controlled carbs to less than 9grams per hour (Maximum carbs would be 144grams day or 576 calories) the balance of fuel calories would HAVE to be from dietary fats - at 9 calories per gram. As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories because insulin, the fat storage hormone is not activated. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones & allow sex hormones (testosterone in males) & human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so lean tissue will be gained even without exercise.

Question: How do I get my bearded dragon used to a variety of food? I have a baby bearded dragon along with a 3 month old beardie. The 3 month old is amazing. She eats everything from dead food, live food, to even pellets. Unfortunately, the baby beardie will only eat live crickets... I would like to teach him how to eat dead ones like my other beardie so that I don't have to constantly buy separate food. Help?!

Answer: Feeding live crickets is healthier, from what I've heard. It also gives the beardie exercise which is important to managing fat. As long as he is eating a variety of bugs (worms too!) and salads, he's fine. I don't think you can "teach" them to eat freeze-dried crix or pellets. Some just don't.

Question: What to eat in a raw food diet for variety? I'm not looking to go totally raw food, but definitely want to have more. I know pretty much all the Western veggies and fruit, but what are some good foreign foods that can be eaten raw, and how to prepare them? Also what are good foods to sprout, and how do you do that?

Answer: Have you tried "green smoothies"? They are awesome! They are great to incorporate into a raw food diet! I just started doing my own sprouts. I bought a variety package from wheatgrasskits.com. Get some big mason jars and tops to rinse. Those can be bought there, too, at least the lids with holes. Your local health food store should have things like dehydrated fruits that you don't find everyday like goji berries and such. I used to live in Florida and got all the papaya, coconuts, avocados, mangoes, and citrus from friends who had trees. I moved north and sure do miss those. Now I eat lots of apples, pears, cherries, and a variety of berries. I don't think I've ever gotten tired of all the varieties of fruits that you can get at the store. As far as the greens and veggies, I grow my own garden. Right now I have 7 different greens and different veggies growing. If you don't have the space, you can grow them in container gardens. I hope this helps a bit! ; )

Question: I am having a luau for a group of about 15 kids vary in ages and 10 or so adults. Need a variety of food ideas I don't want to spend to much but I want a variety because of the ages and I want it to be kind of close to the luau theme. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks alot.

Answer: If it's a luau, you have to have lots of fresh fruits!

Question: Does your 1 year old eat enough variety of food or do they eat the same foods over and over? I worry because my daughter seems to eat grilled cheese, mac and cheese, peas, bananas, cheerios, fries and yogurt. She doesn't seem to eat anything else. WHat can I do to get her to eat more variety? She just turned 1. Thanks!

Answer: We just keep offering a variety of foods, prepared in a variety of ways. We discovered that our daughter will eat certain things that she previously wouldn't try, just because we prepared them a different way (like, for example, she wouldn't even try cucumber when it was sliced into rounds, but when we sliced it into spears, she gobbled it up!). There are some days where she seems to survive on Goldfish crackers and applesauce, but there are other days where she eats the entire well-balanced meals she is offered. We just keep trying. It is fun (and challenging!) to come up with different ways to offer a variety of vegetables and proteins, but I feel like it is important for her development. One meal that our daughter loves is homemade chicken noodle soup, with low-sodium chicken broth and plenty of vegetables. We usually do a rotisserie chicken for dinner one night, and then use the leftovers for soup the next day. It's cheap, easy, and delicious, and gets her to eat her veggies! Also, we've found that something she didn't like (or wouldn't try!) last week might become her favorite food next week, so it doesn't hurt to keep trying! EDIT: One other thing that works for our daughter is dips. She will eat anything if you give her something to dip it in. She loves raw snow peas dipped in ranch dressing, or grilled chicken dipped in barbecue sauce. If I can't get her to try something, I sometimes resort to putting a tiny bit of ketchup in a sauce cup and letting her dip it - it works 99% of the time!

Question: What are some good sites/brands for feline renal diet cat food? My cat needs a wide variety & eats only dry? My cat has chronic renal (kidney) failure and often gets sick of his food. It's really important that he eats. Any good sites that have a wide variety of renal diet cat food? I would buy a bunch of different kinds and keep switching it around. He won't eat canned, only dry. If you don't know any sites can you tell me what brand you've personally given to your cat? Thanks.

Answer: You need to get him off the dry food. It's like pouring gasoline on a fire to feed him that. My cat also has CRF. When we first found out, the vet gave him Hill's K/D. He hated the food and I hated the fact it was so low in protein. I decided to feed him better protein instead of less so I tried Wellness. It worked wonders. I now do a rotation of Wellness, EVO, and Blue Buffalo. He has made remarkable improvements with it.

Question: Do you agree with the variety of food at Muslim weddings? So much money is spent on food that will be digested & gone down the drain & so much is wasted by adults & kids.

Answer: Jazakallah Brother. We Muslims mimic non Muslim in our marriage ceremonies, although Allah SWT does not like people who waste money. In Pakistan, the marriage dress of the bride costs one Million rupees, in which five daughters of poor Muslim can be married. Similarly the parties take place 3 times instead of one. In Islam only one party on walimah is required. And anything else is a waste of money. Such people are 'brothers of Satan' as described by Allah SWT in Quran. Muhammad Javed Iqbal

Question: Did anyone ever used Variety dog food Mixables before? It's in a pouch and you can add it to your dog's dry food. My dog is a really really picky eater. I first fed her natural balance then i just recently changed to canidae to see if she like it more, but she still doesn't seem to like it. So i decided to buy the mixables from petsmart. i want to know if its good to mix with my dog's dry food.

Answer: no it has wheat.