Unlocking the Secrets of Science Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Ingredients for Your Pet's Health

Food sensitivities and adverse food reactions (AFRs) are common concerns for pet owners. Hill's Prescription Diet offers a range of solutions, including hydrolyzed protein diets, to address these issues. This article delves into the science behind these diets, their ingredients, benefits, and how they can help pets with food sensitivities.

What are Adverse Food Reactions (AFRs)?

Sometimes, a pet's immune system mistakenly identifies components of their diet as "foreign" and reacts to them. The protein component is typically the culprit behind these adverse food reactions (AFRs) in both dog and cat diets.

Diagnosing and Addressing AFRs

There are two primary strategies for diagnosing and addressing AFRs:

Hydrolyzed Protein Diet: This involves feeding a diet where the protein source (e.g., chicken, fish, soy) has been broken down into very small pieces, mimicking the body's natural digestion process. This makes it harder for the body to detect the potentially allergenic component and trigger a reaction.
Novel Protein Diet: This strategy uses a protein source that the pet has never been exposed to before.

Elimination diet trials are the most reliable way to accurately diagnose a food allergy (adverse food reaction) or food intolerance in dogs and cats. The recommended hydrolyzed or novel protein diet is fed exclusively for 6-10 weeks, followed by a dietary rechallenge.

Hydrolyzed Protein Diets: The Science Behind Them

Hydrolyzed protein diets utilize proteins that have been broken down into smaller peptides and amino acids. This process, called hydrolysis, reduces the protein's molecular weight, making it less likely to be recognized by the immune system and trigger an allergic reaction.

Hill's Prescription Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Options

Hill's Prescription Diet offers a variety of hydrolyzed dog food and hydrolyzed cat food options designed to manage food sensitivities. They also incorporate the ActivBiome+ Digestion blend in their formulas. Hill's Prescription Diet is bigger and better than ever with expansive varieties of nutrition for food and environmental sensitivities. Their delicious portfolio supports long-term results for food and environmental sensitivities. Breakthrough nutrition for dogs with both food and environmental sensitivities.

Key Features of Hill's Hydrolyzed Protein Diets:

Hydrolyzed Soy Protein: Nutrition specially formulated with hydrolyzed soy protein and low fat levels to help avoid adverse food reactions and promote healthy skin in dogs with food and fat sensitivities.
ActivBiome+ Technology: Fortified with Hill's breakthrough ActivBiome+ ingredient technology clinically shown to rapidly activate the gut microbiome to support digestive health and well-being.
Limited Ingredient Formula: These diets often feature a limited number of ingredients to further minimize the risk of triggering an allergic response.
Essential Fatty Acids: Enriched with essential fatty acids to support a healthy skin barrier.
Antioxidants: Clinically proven antioxidants help support a healthy immune system.

Specific Products:

Hill's Prescription Diet Low Fat Hydrolyzed Soy Recipe: Clinical nutrition to help avoid skin and digestive signs of adverse food reactions in dogs. It's made in the USA with global ingredients you can trust and was developed by Hill's nutritionists and veterinarians. This nutrition is fortified with Hill's proprietary ActivBiome+ ingredient technology clinically shown to rapidly activate the gut microbiome and help normalize stool. Formulated without intact animal protein sources. Formulated to promote a urinary environment that reduces the risk of developing struvite and calcium oxalate crystals.
Hill's Prescription Diet i/d: Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Dry Adult Dog Food is highly digestible, great-tasting nutrition, clinically proven to help manage digestive upsets. Made with chicken for a delicious taste. Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Wet Adult Dog Food is highly digestible, great-tasting nutrition, clinically proven to help manage digestive upsets. Made with chicken for a delicious taste.

The Importance of Veterinary Prescription

One of the main differences between veterinary prescription hypoallergenic diets and over-the-counter (OTC) diets is the way in which they are manufactured. Prescription hydrolyzed diets and novel protein have far stricter quality control while OTC diets can contain contaminant proteins that may skew the results of an elimination diet trial.

Hill's Prescription Diet is the #1 US Vet Recommended therapeutic pet food - consult with your vet to make sure Prescription Diet Low Fat Hydrolyzed Soy Recipe is the right food for your dog.

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed: An Alternative

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed Canine Formulas contains hydrolyzed protein, which is protein that has been broken down into small components to be less likely to cause an adverse food reaction in certain dogs. HA Hydrolyzed is highly digestible and made with high-quality ingredients.

Ingredients in Purina HA Hydrolyzed (Example):

Corn starch, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate, partially hydrogenated canola oil preserved with TBHQ, coconut oil, powdered cellulose, tricalcium phosphate, corn oil, dicalcium phosphate, hydrolyzed chicken liver, hydrolyzed chicken giblets, potassium chloride, guar gum, choline chloride, calcium carbonate, salt, magnesium oxide, DL-Methionine, taurine, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, soybean oil, niacin (Vitamin B-3), copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 supplement, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), calcium iodate, folic acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (Vitamin B-7), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), sodium selenite.

Feeding Guidelines and Considerations

The following feeding program is recommended as a guideline only, with discretionary clinical adjustments for proper weight maintenance. Provide adequate fresh water in a clean container daily.

Treats and Other Food Items

The companies that make prescription hydrolyzed diets also make compatible treats! Another option is reserving a portion of your pet’s normal meal to use pieces of kibble as individual treats. If you need a softer or ‘wetter’ food, your pet’s hydrolyzed diet may come in a canned version or you can add water to the kibble and then blend it.

Addressing Common Questions

Why can’t I just have a skin or blood allergy test performed on my pet? Unfortunately, skin and blood tests don’t accurately identify food allergens.
Is a grain-free diet the same as a hypoallergenic or hydrolyzed diet? Generally, no. Over-the-counter diets advertised as ‘grain-free’ are not typically limited-ingredient and may contain multiple protein and carbohydrate sources or contaminant nutritional components.
Will I have to feed my pet a prescription hydrolyzed diet forever? Maybe. A hydrolyzed diet is necessary for the diet trial period (6-10 wks) and then the animal can be re-challenged with a single protein source. A negative response (increased itching, etc.) can take up to two weeks to develop and indicates a positive food allergy.

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