Acerlux

Corn

Many people who eat whole corn kernels may have noticed a disturbing site if they have ever looked at their stool the next morning. They see whole corn kernels. Gross, but also proof that it isn't digested. Or is it?

Uncooked corn and corn kept in the skin are largely undigested. Cooked and ground corn is actually highly digestible, more digestible in fact than "several other grains such as rice, wheat, barley and sorghum"¹. Contrary to popular internet belief, cooked corn is well digested in both dogs and cats.^{2 3 4}A filler is defined as an ingredient providing no nutrition. As Hills uses cooked, ground corn, their corn ingredient is not a filler but a valuable nutritional ingredient. Furthermore "Hill's uses grades 1 and 2 corn for [their] pet foods, which are the grades traditionally used for human food products."⁵

Vitamin E

• Carbohydrates. While too much carbohydrates is undesirable, every mammal also needs carbohydrates as they make up a large portion of the body's energy source. The importance is balance.
• Beta-carotene just like you get from carrots. It is an antioxidant and important in eye health
• Vitamin E is important for it antioxidative effects and use in the nervous system, red blood cell production, prostate and more.
• Lutein is another important nutrient for proper eye health including reducing the risk of catarcts^{6 7}
• Fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acid used in the health of skin, hair, immune system and nervous system. True, there are other more rich sources of omega fatty acids but this is why corn is only part of the ingredients.
• Protein. While corn is not a main source of protein, it nevertheless has proteins that the body can use in muscles and tissue growth. In fact, using sources of protein other than meats help balance nutrition. When diets have protein solely from meat, their calcium and phosphorus levels are higher. For some pets, especially with pre-existing conditions (like kidney disease, urinary stones or crystals), eating more calcium and phosphorus than necessary can be very harmful.

With all the hype against corn on the internet, it is no wonder that some companies use other ingredients in order to stay up with marketing fads. Also many of the dog foods still use corn but hope to just disguise corn by its technical name zea mays to market to people looking for grain free food. This is a common technique. So if you are looking for a totally corn-free pet food, make sure you scan the ingredient list for zea mays!

Highly Digestible pre-cooked corn

A "hot grain" is a grain that causes stomach irritation by virtue of being of a low or non-digestible nature. As we have covered, when corn is cooked and ground, it is easily and highly digestible so is not a "hot grain".

Corn has fewer allergy cases than other protein sources, such as: beef, dairy products, wheat, chicken, egg, lamb and soy ⁸ . WOW!

Mayan Calendar

The amazing nutritional properties of corn have been known for a long time; perhaps, this is why the Mayan calendar began in accordance to the planting of corn.⁹ According to Mayan mythology the first humans were made out of corn. There are also several corn goddesses: the Aztec Chicomecoatl, the Cherokee Selu, and Iyatiku of the American southwest Keresan tribe.

With so many salubrious qualities of corn, it is no wonder that the ancient world was so enamored of this natural nutrient. Even today, corn is still an important. In 2008, people in the Unites States consumed 327 million bushels of corn (1 bushel = 35.2 liters). This figure does not include corn oil, or sweeteners which alone account for an additional 943 million bushels of corn. In fact the total US corn usage was 12.1 billion bushels.¹⁰

Corn

No. Corn has many advantages as a nutritional ingredient but it is not the "perfect ingredient". I am not sure anything is. Do some pets have allergies with corn? Sure, but less than lamb, beef, soy, etc. Finally remember that the quality of any meal is based upon the correct mixture and preparation of the ingredients. So when properly mixed, cooked and utilized with other key ingredients, corn can be a very acceptable ingredient for both dog and cat foods. This doesn't mean that you should throw out any food that doesn't have corn; just that you may not want to necessarily condemn one that does.