What You Need to Know About: Gorge Meals

You may have seen me post photos of my dog Hank eating a “Gorge” meal. I define a gorge meal as a meal that is at least 2.5 times a dog’s daily food intake that is given to them until they stop themselves, or until it is gone. Why would you want to give your dog a gorge meal? Keep reading!

Gorge Meals take things back into the Stone Age. Before man and wolf became forever friends. Wolves traveling and hunting will come upon a large prey animal, feast until their heart’s content, and then may not eat again for a few days.. Maybe even a few weeks.. We don’t try to replicate this extreme example in our homes with our domestic dogs, but there are benefits to having a periodic “Gorge-Fast” schedule in your raw fed dog’s diet (you should not practice Gorge-Fast on kibble fed dogs as allowing a dog to eat an abundance of kibble will cause great issues resulting in hospital visits, induced vomiting, fluids, x-rays, etc, not to mention the risk of Bloat. Keep this information for Raw Fed Dogs only!)

A canine’s digestive tract does more than just digest food. About 80% of their immune system lies within this complex system. If a dog’s body is constantly digesting food, it cannot focus fully on building up antibodies to outer sources which can lead to allergies, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, yeast overgrowth, liver disease and cancer. Allowing the digestive tract a suitable time to focus on immune boosting can help eliminate these very common issues.

This “Fasting” technique had scientists at the National Institute of Aging conducting a study on mice to see just how it works, and if it works. Led by Mark Mattson, this team set apart two groups of mice: One which was on a gorge-fast schedule of eating (eating as much as they wanted one day then fasting the next) and the other which was fed normally (daily). Their research indicated that the mice that were on a gorge-fast system lived longer AND healthier lives. But that wasn’t the end of the study.. They then injected both groups of mice with a toxin that brings about Alzheimer's. The result? The gorge-fast group had far less damage than the other group. Mark Mattson concluded: “We think what happens is going without food imposes a mild stress on the cells, and cells respond by increasing their ability to cope with more severe stress.” The new recommendation? To fast your dog once a week!

Now, I cannot say that I gorge-fast weekly with my dog Hank, but at least twice a month would be beneficial enough to see improvements with your canine counterparts.

I hope you found this Note helpful and by all means, if you have ANY dog related question feel free to ask!

K9SavvyGirl

Research Info Gathered From: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-you-should-fast-your-dog/

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