Our intestinal flora is similar to that of dogs:
Researchers have used genetic analyzes to find that the intestinal microbiomes of humans and dogs react similarly to nutrition. The intestinal flora of humans and dogs are surprisingly similar these days.
Luis Pedro Coelho from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and his colleagues looked for similarities between humans and dogs in the intestines. The researchers collected the intestinal contents of 64 four-legged animals and sequenced their gene content. They thereby categorized the animals' intestinal flora and compared its composition with that of humans, pigs and mice.
The result: Of all animals, the intestinal flora of dogs was most similar to that of humans. The environment in the dog's intestine was made up of a similar proportion of bacterial genera to those found in ours. This new finding shows us even more how important a healthy dog diet is.
The immune system depends on the health of the intestine because almost 80% of all immune cells are located in the intestine. A poor diet can have such a negative impact on the intestinal environment that the natural symbiosis becomes unbalanced. The immune system becomes weakened and more susceptible to illness. A healthy intestinal flora is always resilient, whereas a diseased microbiome is more susceptible to changes.
With this background knowledge, every dog owner should question exactly what they are feeding their pet.
If we humans would mainly consume plant by-products (waste products with no nutritional value), animal by-products (including beaks, bristles), fillers (including animal body meal, dairy products and bakery products), E-numbers (artificial additives including attractants, appetite stimulants, dyes) and plenty of molasses (sugar) diet, we would probably complain about stomach/intestinal problems and illnesses after a short time -
Unfortunately, dogs cannot complain; they often suffer in silence!