Groundbreaking study shows fresh, minimally processed food promotes healthier aging in dogs
We’re always looking for ways to optimize our dogs’ health and longevity. Feeding a fresh, minimally processed dog food plays an important role in promoting health and slowing the aging process.
Dr. Heather Huson, Associate Professor of Animal Sciences at Cornell University, recently concluded a groundbreaking year-long study. It examined the effects of feeding senior dogs fresh, human-grade food versus a standard extruded kibble diet.
“Our goal was to generate data specific to dogs fed fresh, human-grade food with less processing…[for] a more concrete understanding of the effects of food processing on dog health and longevity,” explains Dr. Huson.
The study involved 22 healthy, mixed-breed, geriatric Alaskan sled dogs, age- and sex-matched into two feeding groups. The researchers excluded dogs with kidney, liver or endocrine diseases. All the dogs underwent physical exams before the diet change and again at the end of the study.
“Our research evaluated metabolites,” says Dr. Huson. “[These are] compounds in the bloodstream that reflect the foods we eat and how ingredients are broken down and processed through metabolism.”
“We can then take information we already know about specific metabolites, such as how they contribute to the body’s energy use, and their association with disease or aging, to better understand the influence of food on overall health.”
Study results showed the metabolite profiles of the dogs eating the two different foods varied significantly.
“Some of the variations, such as metabolites associated with protein and fat metabolism, reflect the ingredients in the two different foods and how dogs digest them,” says Dr. Huson. “Other metabolites, like advanced glycation end products (AGEs), directly reflect food processing variation and are formed during extreme high-heat food processing.”
“The magnitude and consistency of the metabolic impacts we observed were quick, sustained, and striking,” adds veterinarian Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, who helped with the study.
“Fresh, minimally processed food shifted the dogs’ metabolism towards a beneficial alternative metabolic profile with markers for improved muscle and neurological health,” he continues. “[There are also] implications for improved antioxidant defense, and diminished AGE formation.
“This is an exciting milestone for understanding canine metabolic health and nutrition.”
Other key findings:
Antioxidant and protective metabolites: Levels of ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant, were higher in dogs fed a fresh diet. This suggests increased antioxidant capacity and reduced oxidative stress.
Amino acid metabolism: Dogs who ate the fresh food demonstrated elevated branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism, with increased levels of leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Fatty acid metabolism: Dogs in the fresh food group showed increased long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids, including ALA, EPA, DPA and DHA.
“Current recommendations for human nutrition are shifting toward whole foods with less processing, as science…sheds light on the health concerns associated with highly processed foods,” says Dr. Huson. “This is a newer area of research in dog nutrition, and one we are excited to contribute to.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d like airlines to start serving something other than pretzels and buttery cookies.
“I would love some better snacks,” Duffy told the conservative news site Blaze Media on Tuesday. “I would love a little healthier snack on the airplane.”
Most airlines no longer serve free meals, but they do still hand out snack food and juice, soda and coffee to passengers. American Airlines, the biggest airline operating out of Philadelphia International Airport, gives people a choice between small bags of pretzels and packages of Biscoff cookies — or both.
Pretzels may be convenient, but they are generally low in nutrients, high in sodium and are made with refined carbs that leave people unsated and ready to snack again soon.
Biscoff cookies are high in added sugars and saturated fat – although they do not contain trans fats and have lower calorie and saturated fat contents compared with Oreos and Chips Ahoy! cookies.
Duffy made his complaint as a passing comment, not as part of an official policy change, according to the New York Times. But his remarks spark the question: How can people eat healthier when flying?
Here are some tips:
Go nuts
Many airlines no longer serve peanuts or peanut products due to allergies, but some carriers still offer other types of nuts. While salted varieties present sodium concerns for people with high blood pressure and other medical issues, nuts are high in protein. If available and allergies are not a concern, choose the nuts.
Drink up
Due to low humidity levels in airline cabins, people are at risk of getting dehydrated during flights, so drinking lots of water before, during and after flying is key, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Hydrating well can also help mitigate jet lag and fatigue. The general rule of thumb is 8 ounces of water for every hour of flight, according to AARP.
Stay away from alcoholic and caffeinated drinks because they can disrupt sleep, which may already be hard to come by on flights. Also, caffeine is a stimulant, so anxious travelers should avoid it, Condé Nast Traveler advises.
Carbonated drinks may also cause burping and flatulence, unpleasant for the consumer and fellow travelers, AARP warns.
BYO
The best and least expensive bet for eating healthy in the airport and on the plane is to bring your own food.
Registered dietitian Andy De Santis recently told the Healthy that he packs chicken sandwiches on whole-grain bread — a fiber-protein combo — when he flies.
Other high-protein foods, such as greek yogurt, flaxseed crackers and seeds, are also handy and healthy.
Health editor Ally Head recently shared her home-packed travel snack selections with Marie Claire: a Tupperware container full of carrot, celery and other vegetable sticks, olives, cheese cubes, a spinach side salad and whole-grain carbs, such as pumpernickel bread.
Franchisees Christopher and Andrea Pedersen to operate the new store.
Menu features gourmet toasts, smoothies, and cold-pressed juices.
Fast-growing brand now exceeds 50 locations nationwide.
Toastique, a fast-growing gourmet toast, juice and coffee bar chain, will be opening its first Long Island location.
The fast-casual concept will open a 1,632-square-foot restaurant in the Woodbury Country Square shopping center at 8027 Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury. The space was formerly the long-time home of Dugan’s Sandwich Shop.
Andrea and Chris Pedersen will own and operate the new Toastique in Woodbury. / Courtesy of Toastique
The first Long Island Toastique will be owned and operated by husband-and-wife franchisees Christopher and Andrea Pedersen, who have a long history of experience in the franchise industry.
Andrea Pedersen has spent her career on the franchisor side with brands such as Massage Envy, Sky Zone, Garage Kings and most recently, as brand president for sugaringLA. After spending 15 years working as a Local 3 union electrician, Chris Pedersen opened his first franchise in 2008 and has built his career as a multi-unit franchisee with Massage Envy, European Wax Center, Orangetheory Fitness and Amazing Lash Studio.
The Pedersens were attracted to Toastique for its mission to make healthy food approachable, accessible and enjoyable.
“We have always tried to live a healthy lifestyle, and Toastique aligned with that immediately,” Chris Pedersen told LIBN. “The food is fresh, clean and great for all ages, making it a perfect fit for families and anyone looking for better daily options. It’s the kind of place we would visit ourselves, so choosing it as our next franchise felt natural.”
Toastique was founded by former collegiate cheerleader Brianna Keefe in 2018 with a store in Washington D.C. The brand has since experienced rapid growth, now expanding to over 50 locations open across the country and many more in development.
Toastique’s Tomato Burrata. / Courtesy of Toastique
Toastique offers a menu featuring signature toasts like Avocado Smash, Smoked Salmon and PB Crunch that are customizable. The eatery also features bottled and fresh-poured cold-pressed juices and smoothies such as Green Machine, Blue Mystique and Superfruit, and smoothie bowls with superfood ingredients.
The all-in investment to open a Toastique franchise ranges from $371,117 to $846,342, and average annual sales per store is $712,148, according to the company’s franchise information.
The Woodbury Toastique is expected to open in the first quarter of next year.
“We believe that when you eat good, you also feel good and such is the message of Toastique, which offers a nutrition-packed menu that’s also decadent in taste,” Andrea Pedersen said. “With Woodbury being such an active community and our location neighboring both the golf course and park, we have no doubt the brand will fit in well and resonate with our neighbors.”
Jennifer Lazear of Scale Franchise Solutions represented the tenant, while John Genovese, Joanne Argenti and Doug Weinstein of RIPCO Real Estate represented the landlords, Woodbury 8027 LLC and Woodbury Country Square LLC, in the Toastique lease transaction.
A strange scene unfolded at the Adams/Vermont farmers market near USC last week.
The pomegranates, squash and apples were in season, pink guavas were so ripe you could smell their heady scent from a distance, and nutrient-packed yams were ready for the holidays.
But with federal funding in limbo for the 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County who depend on food aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — the church parking lot hosting the market was largely devoid of customers.
Even though the market accepts payments through CalFresh, the state’s SNAP program, hardly anyone was lined up when gates opened. Vendors mostly idled alone at their produce stands.
A line of cars stretches more than a mile as people wait to receive a box of free food provided by the L.A. Food Bank in the City of Industry on Wednesday.
“So far we’re doing 50% of what we’d normally do — or less,” said Michael Bach, who works with Hunger Action, a food-relief nonprofit that partners with farmers markets across the greater L.A. area, offering “Market Match” deals to customers paying with CalFresh debit cards.
The deal allows shoppers to buy up to $30 worth of fruit produce for only $15. Skimming a ledger on her table, Bach’s colleague Estrellita Echor noted that only a handful of shoppers had taken advantage of the offer.
All week at farmers markets where workers were stationed, the absence was just as glaring, she said. “I was at Pomona on Saturday — we only had six transactions the whole day,” she said. “Zero at La Mirada.”
CalFresh customers looking to double their money on purchases were largely missing at the downtown L.A. market the next day, Echor said.
A volunteer loads up a box of free food for a family at a drive-through food distribution site in the City of Industry.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“This program usually pulls in lots of people, but they are either holding on to what little they have left or they just don’t have anything on their cards,” she said.
The disruption in aid comes as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to deliver only partial SNAP payments to states during the ongoing federal government shutdown, skirting court order to restart funds for November. On Friday night, Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily blocked the order pending a ruling on the matter by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A study published by her team last year found that 25% of residents in L.A. County — or about 832,000 people — experienced food insecurity, and that among low-income residents, the rate was even higher, 41%. The researchers also found that 29% of county residents experienced nutrition insecurity, meaning they lacked options for getting healthy, nutritious food.
Those figures marked a slight improvement compared to data from 2023, when the end of pandemic-era boosts to state, county and nonprofit aid programs — combined with rising inflation — caused hunger rates to spike just as they did at the start of the pandemic in 2020, de la Haye said.
“That was a big wake-up call — we had 1 in 3 folks in 2020 be food insecure,” de la Haye said. “We had huge lines at food pantries.”
But while the USC study shows the immediate delivery of food assistance through government programs and nonprofits quickly can cut food insecurity rates in an emergency, the researchers discovered many vulnerable Angelenos are not participating in food assistance programs.
Despite the county making strides to enroll more eligible families over the last decade, de la Haye said, only 29% of food insecure households in L.A. County were enrolled in CalFresh, and just 9% in WIC, the federal nutrition program for women, infants and children.
De la Haye said participants in her focus groups shared a mix of reasons why they didn’t enroll: Many didn’t know they qualified, while others said they felt too ashamed to apply for aid, were intimidated by the paperwork involved or feared disclosing their immigration status. Some said they didn’t apply because they earned slightly more than the cutoff amounts for eligibility.
Even many of those those receiving aid struggled: 39% of CalFresh recipients were found to lack an affordable source for food and 45% faced nutrition insecurity.
De la Haye said hunger and problems accessing healthy food have serious short- and long-term health effects — contributing to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and obesity, as well greater levels of stress, anxiety and depression in adults and children. What’s more, she said, when people feel unsure about their finances, highly perishable items such as fresh, healthy food are often the first things sacrificed because they can be more expensive.
The USC study also revealed stark racial disparities: 31% of Black residents and 32% of Latinos experienced food insecurity, compared to 11% of white residents and 14% of Asians.
De la Haye said her team is analyzing data from this year they will publish in December. That analysis will look at investments L.A. County has made in food system over the last two years, including the allocation of $20 million of federal funding to 80 community organizations working on everything from urban farming to food pantries, and the recent creation of the county’s Office of Food Systems to address challenges to food availability and increase the consumption of healthy foods.
“These things that disrupt people’s ability to get food, including and especially cuts to this key program that is so essential to 1.5 million people in the county — we don’t weather those storms very well,” de la Haye said. “People are just living on the precipice.”
How much better our relationship with our spouse might be if we read and paid attention to that phrase every time we touched money. How much fewer arguments we might have. How less stressed we might be.
It’s been said that married couples argue the most about sex, raising children, and money. But money doesn’t have to be one of the triggers to tension in your relationship. It is, after all, just money.
My husband and I are convinced — and have been our whole married life — that our financial stability depends on how much we trust God rather than on how much we make.
It’s really not about the money. If it was God would just rain it down and solve our problems. Churches are in debt across the nation. Christians are in debt, personally. Ministry workers struggle to make ends meet. Yet God owns it all. He lacks no resources. So if He’s not providing what we think we need at the time, we either don’t need it, or there’s something else going on. For us it’s always a matter of trust. It’s a matter of where our hearts are. It’s a matter of character development. And it’s a matter of faith and teaching us to pray.
Here are three steps you and your spouse can take to start trusting God with your finances and lessening the stress and tension between the two of you:
1. Be obedient.
God expects us to give back to Him what is rightfully His. Actually, all of what we have is rightfully God’s but we have chosen to follow a command set forth in the Old Testament when God commanded the Israelites to give a tenth of what they made to God. We tithe – which literally means giving a tenth of our money to God – as a matter of discipline and as a guideline of a good starting point and then add to that as we can. Why? Because a tenth is, in our case, a huge financial stretch. Because to tithe is, in our case, to trust. We have found, time and again, that God is faithful in providing all our needs as we honor Him by giving to Him first above everything else. God has a way of multiplying what we give to Him and giving back to us when we fall short at the end of the month because we trusted Him with that tenth we didn’t think we could give, but gave anyway. We’ve come to see it’s how God blesses those who honor Him with what He’s given them.
2. Be responsible.
God expects us to be good stewards of all that we have – our material possessions, as well as our money. And the first way we do that is to acknowledge that everything we have has been given to us and therefore is His. We are simply managers of the money He has entrusted us with. We have found that this helps us have a proper perspective toward money, keeps us humble, and prevents us from living beyond our means or spending money on something God wouldn’t approve of.
Being a good steward means we heed the guidelines set forth in God’s Word about not getting into debt, not living beyond our means, and not going into business with someone we can’t trust. Most likely, there isn’t a couple on earth who hasn’t learned some of these guidelines the hard way. We’ve had our share of difficult situations too. But God is not looking for perfection, or expecting us to become financial investment experts. He’s looking for hearts that are submissive and teachable. When you acknowledge that all you have is His anyway, it helps you to remember that major purchases and investments should be a matter of prayer. After all, you’ll want to consult the Owner about how He would like you to manage His funds!
3. Be joyfully expectant.
The Bible says if we, being human and having limited resources, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more does God know how to give good gifts to those He loves? (Matthew 7:9-11; James 1:17). We have had a great time throughout our marriage seeing God come through for us, financially, in incredible ways. In fact, each time He does, we write it down on a small piece of paper and put it in a jar and at the end of the year we review those blessings and are reminded of God’s faithfulness.
Money doesn’t have to be a stress factor between you and your spouse. Instead, make it a faith adventure.
We’ve all heard of Gary Chapman’s book, The 5 Love Languages. In fact, most of us know which love language speaks best to us and which means more to our spouse. I am a Physical Touch gal who doesn’t believe a marital argument is over until my husband, Josh, voluntarily hugs me or holds my hand. Josh responds best to Words of Affirmation. Until he audibly hears, “I’m so proud of you,” he simply doesn’t believe it.
Understanding these details has saved us many arguments or at least brought quicker reconciliation. After all, male and female brains are vastly different, so any extra measure you take to understand each other’s way of thinking is invaluable.
What about you? What about your spouse? If you aren’t familiar with The 5 Love Languages quiz, take a few minutes to answer the questions and understand how you receive love. Share the test with your spouse.
Whether you are like Josh or me or discover your love language is Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, or Quality Time, I have a simple but impactful challenge for you: find ways to include your spouse’s love language in chores. Yes, the mundane, annoying chores.
While vacuuming or doing the dishes might not seem to fit into any love language category, when we take time to keep an orderly, comfortable house for one another, we are cultivating a home, and when we cater to our spouse’s love language in the process, we are maintaining its foundation. In a true home, partners can retreat to find refreshment and feel the sort of love this harsh world doesn’t easily dish out.
(As someone flipping a second house with her hubby, incorporating chores into how Josh receives love has made this process less chaotic and stressful and strengthened our communication skills.)
Let’s dive into the five love languages and decide which chores we could burden for our spouse that will speak most to their love language:
Words of Affirmation
I’ll start with Josh’s love language since it’s the one I most actively try to engage these days, especially while renovating an 1890s Tennessee farmhouse.
While I can’t audibly speak chores into completion, I can do simple tasks for him that create engaging conversation where I can praise him for the hard work he does. For example, Josh is a pilot. He’s on the road (or in the sky, rather) for four to five days at a time, and once he comes home, he’s busy working to fix our house. Instead of him having to worry about washing all of his pilot uniforms while balancing all the plumbing and carpentry for the house, I always make sure to wash, dry, fold, and hang up his uniforms so they are ready for his next flight.
When I’m finished, I let him know his uniforms are ready for the suitcase, but I also pair it with, “Thank you so much for working so hard for our family. I see all the effort you’re putting in at home and on the road. And I’m grateful.”
Handling his work laundry is a physical task that sets the stage for an audible conversation where he can hear that I am proud of him and recognize the countless hours he puts into flying airplanes and building bookshelves, hanging wallpaper, and fixing leaky faucets in our rickety farmhouse.
Which chores in your household make the most room for encouraging conversation?
Physical Touch
Okay, let’s jump to mine! I receive love best from physical contact, and while I don’t like for Josh to take charge of my household responsibilities (because I have my own method that I believe works best), I love when Josh takes time to do chores with me.
Now, this might sound a bit like Quality Time, and in a way, it is, but here’s where it’s different for us Physical Touch folks: we love when the chores require us to have close interaction. For Josh and me, that looks a lot like outdoor work. We grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers on our little Tennessee farm, and I love when Josh and I can get our hands dirty helping one another plant. There’s lots of hand-to-hand contact while potting soil or patting seeds into the ground.
I also enjoy it when Josh fills our birdfeeders with me. It requires us to help each other lower the birdhouses, spread seeds, and hang them back up. Just a simple “Let me help you” from Josh as he places a hand under mine means more than all the chocolates and roses he could ever deliver to the doorstep.
Receiving Gifts
“Shouldn’t the gift be the fact that I did the chore for you?” would be my sarcastic reply, but here’s the catch: people who accept love by Receiving Gifts aren’t ungrateful for the chores you do, nor are they demanding pricy gifts. Instead, the tangible gift serves as a mental and emotional reminder that someone thinks enough of them to know them intimately, just as a husband and wife should know one another.
But what does that look like in everyday life? Well, take some time to tidy up your husband’s nightstand by organizing books or power chargers, dusting off the nooks and crannies, and putting his favorite candy bar or drink on the nightstand’s coaster.
It takes five minutes to dust a nightstand, stack books, and wrap up chargers, so why not go the extra mile and put his favorite snack by the bed so he can enjoy it that night while watching television or reading a book? He’ll appreciate your effort to clean up his space and know he’s worth the tiny details, like you stopping by the store to grab a Coke or Reeses Cup he loves.
Hubbies, I recommend taking some time to declutter the living room, perhaps putting up toys, dusting side tables, and straightening up pillows, but add a candle or new picture of you two to the space, and I promise that will mean more than any amount of vacuuming or sweeping you could ever do.
Acts of Service
This one seems like a no-brainer, right? Doing chores for your spouse is an act of service, but a selfless act of service is taking on that one chore you both hate for a substantial time.
Josh and I are expecting our first little one soon, and with this beautiful pregnancy, I have encountered intense food aversions. Just the sight of unfinished food on dishes lying in the sink makes my stomach churn. Josh hates—loathes—washing dishes, but he has taken on that responsibility for the past four months without complaint. I don’t have to ask or beg. He does the chore voluntarily because though he hates washing dishes as much as I do, he knows how hard dishwashing has been for me since pregnancy.
What about your spouse? What is the one chore they cannot stand? Josh is a trooper at taking out the trash, but he never wants to do the detailed work of replacing the old trash bag with a new one. So I always come behind him and handle that small part of the task. Maybe your husband knows it’s time to clean out the garage, but it’s an overwhelming feat. You could spend 30 minutes each day decluttering, organizing, and cleaning one space at a time to inspire him to get the job done!
Quality Time
Expressing the Quality Time love language might not seem authentic if you and your spouse are forced to clean out the hall closet or sanitize the kiddo’s bedroom post-stomach bug. Ew. But quality time doesn’t have to be defined by the tight parameters of just being in the same room as each other.
When things get icky and gross, create a playlist you and your spouse can listen to while sanitizing doorknobs and washing yucky bedsheets. Include their favorite oldies, the songs that make them want to dance, or even the song the two of you danced to at your wedding. When things get chaotic and disorganized, quality time might look like hosting a faux-pas beauty pageant as you try on all the old, goofy, or mismatched clothes, hats, and accessories you find lurking in the hall closet. You know what makes your spouse laugh, so go for it!
Plenty of household chores require both husband and wife, forcing you to spend time with one another. But the quality aspect of this love language is found in thoughtful moments when you prioritize your spouse’s mental, emotional, and physical needs rather than simply completing the chore.
For quality time, it’s all in the tiny, seemingly insignificant details.
Take some time over the next several days to think through how you can use mundane household chores to show your spouse that you care about a neat home and, most importantly, a happy, healthy home where everyone feels seen and loved.
Peyton Garland is an author and coffee shop hopper who loves helping others find beauty from ashes despite OCD, burned bridges, and perfectionism. Follow her on Instagram @peytonmgarland and check out her latest book, Tired, Hungry, & Kinda Faithful, Where Exhaustion and Exile Meet God, to discover how your cup can overflow, even in dry seasons.
Donates to environmental non-profits 350.org, Friends of The Earth, Nature Conservancy, and GreenPeace.org for every box claimed in April.
Press Release –
updated: Apr 11, 2017
San Francisco, CA, April 11, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– UrthBox, the national monthly subscription delivery service for healthier earth-conscious and sustainable snack foods and beverages, today announced that the company will celebrate Earth Day this year by giving away 5,000 free snack boxes to earth-conscious fans every day for the month of April. Additionally, the company will also make donations for every free box claimed, to the environmental non-profits 350.org, Friends of The Earth, The Nature Conservancy and GreenPeace.org
Starting at 4 AM Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday April 11th through to 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on Sunday April 30th, health and earth conscious consumers nationwide will get a free UrthBox, valued at up to $49 USD, by visiting www.urthbox.com/urthday and being one of 5,000 people to claim their free box. Each box will introduce a variety of ethically sourced, GMO-free and organic foods, snacks and beverages from innovative environmental and health conscious consumer brands. Consumers will pay a $2.99 shipping and handling fee for the free UrthDay box.
“As world citizens, we are up against some life-changing ethical and environmental global challenges involving food sourcing and manufacturing,” says Ben Behrouzi, CEO of UrthBox. “It’s one of the reasons why we believe it’s so important to not only make GMO-free and ethically-sourced food products more readily available in today’s marketplace, but to also help accelerate consumer awareness in an effort to drive greater change in the food and beverage industry.”
UrthDay evolved from UrthBox’s mission—to promote the importance of health and sustainability with food to consumers. The company offers its monthly subscription service in Classic, Gluten-Free, Vegan and Diet variations to consumers in the U.S. and Canada nationwide. For brands, UrthBox serves as a national platform to access and educate conscious consumers on healthier and more sustainable food options available in the marketplace.
About UrthBox
UrthBox, based out of San Francisco, is the best way to discover healthier and more conscious foods, snacks and beverages delivered right to your door every month. To learn more, please contact press@urthbox.com. To participate in UrthDay and get your free first UrthBox, visit http://www.urthbox.com/urthday
