“You are what you eat,” says the proverb. And how your diet affects your health, eat what your pet’s impact on the risk of the disease.

Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), the founder, Dr. Mark Morris Sr., has recognized the link between health and nutrition in the early 1940s, long before the food and nutrition every day. In fact, it was one of the first veterinarians to use diet to control the disease. His innovation has nearly 100 of the Foundation study measure out a healthy diet and improved funding to reduce health risks for pets, horses and wild animals.

One of the first patient, Dr. Morris was Buddy, who was among the first guide dogs in the United States. Buddy has suffered from kidney failure, and searched his owner, Frank Morris, then the national ambassador for the Seeing Eye, advice from Mr. Morris. Mr. Morris has a special diet for Buddy that improved dramatically created the health of the dog, and soon he and his wife Louise were canning food in the kitchen. If they can not meet increasing demand, they will be with the firm of Hill Package will produce what would become the first Hill’s Prescription Diet.

Mr. Morris used the royalties from this scheme to create and finance the MAF MAF first two studies in 1950 examined the eating of dogs and cats. Since then, hundreds of scientific studies funded by MAF animal and others have shown that Dr. Morris believed so long ago: Diet and disease are inextricably linked.

“The role of health and nutrition has infiltrated the media, not a day without a report on the latest research results, such as diet causes or prevents disease in humans is,” says Dr. Kathryn Michel, one of the 54 members of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition . “As people become more aware of the importance of good nutrition have become for themselves, they transfer this knowledge to their animals.”

Mr. Michel notes that the nutrients in food animals may be insufficiently serious health problems that cause such as orthopedic and neurological problems. She adds that veterinarians see in cats with cardiomyopathy is a lack of the amino acid taurine and dogs will not receive adequate amounts of essential amino acids. MAF has a number of studies that have examined the role of amino acids conservation financing of health.

On the other hand, damage to a lot of food. Unfortunately, it is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of pets are overweight and 25 percent are considered obese, according to the American Animal Hospital Association. The extra pounds bring a host of other health problems.

Dr. Joe bartg, professor of medicine and nutrition at the University of Tennessee and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board said, obesity is directly or indirectly in connection with respiratory diseases, diabetes, arthritis, cruciate ligament tear, high blood pressure, kidney stones, surgical and anesthetic risks, heat intolerance and even cancer.

Perhaps most importantly, in addition to weight reduces life expectancy. Results of a study of 14 years who was recently in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, showed that Labradors that are 25 percent less than their brothers and sisters live about 15 percent received, and the age they medical treatment for osteoarthritis or other chronic diseases has been delayed by two needed three years ago. This study shows for the first time that even a few pounds have adverse effects on health. The good news is that a good diet can fight against the disease.

A recent study at Purdue University have shown that Scottish terriers where vegetables like carrots, at least three times a week a risk of less than 70 percent of developing countries had bladder cancer. A study by the MAF have funded the start of this decade showed that a diet rich in protein can help cats with diabetes to lose weight and reduce or eliminate their insulin requirements. Other studies have found MAF dietary factors with the disease in many types of funded and determined the optimal amounts of certain nutrients.

For example, Dr. bartg Foundation funding currently determine whether a high-fiber diet can be supplemented with potassium citrate increases prevent the development of a painful nature of the urine, its frequency. Another study at the University of Minnesota is to see if the cats to develop higher concentrations of purine metabolites rather urate stones. The information would be useful for developing more effective therapies.

“There is absolutely no doubt that health is directly influenced by the Diet, but we have much to learn,” says Dr. Michel.

Therefore, MAF will fund the research that veterinarians and animal owners have the information they need to help make good food choices for their pets and wild animals live longer and better health.

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