Is there something wrong with grains, specifically?

Is there something wrong with grains, specifically?

Companies who attempt to demonize grains – corn, wheat, soy, etc. – and promote grain free dog foods omit the fact that the meats they use come from animals fed primarily corn and soy. Even organic chickens are fed this diet. Since an animal cannot be something better than the food it eats, it is misleading to claim the demerits of corn, wheat, and soy and then use meat products raised on them. Also, the very promotion of the slogan "grain free dog foods" implies there is something wrong with grains as compared to other starches. Are they nutritionally inferior to other starch sources, lacking healthy levels of some essential vitamin, mineral or amino acid?

Let's examine the facts. You will find below a comparison chart of many of the most common starch ingredients incorporated in dog foods. Wheat is likely the most commonly used "grain" ingredient in dog foods.

Take a close look at how wheat stacks up against two of its most common replacements in grain free dog foods – potato and tapioca. While you're at it, we're sure you've heard that corn is also terrible for your dog. How does corn compare – nutritionally speaking – to the spectrum of other starch ingredients used in dog foods?

Marketing can be misleading...

Nutrients	Wheat	Soy	Corn	Tapioca	Potato	Rice
Macros (g)
Protein	13.7	37.8	9.72	0.19	6.9	5.95
Carbohydrate	72.5	31.93	75.2	88.69	83.08	80.13
Dietary Fiber	12.2	9.6	16.6	0.9	5.9	2.4

Minerals (mg)
Iron	3.88	6.37	2.29	1.58	1.38	0.35
Magnesium	138	429	123	1	65	35
Potassium	405	2515	532	11	1001	76
Zinc	2.93	3.92	3.15	0.12	0.54	0.8
Copper	0.38	2.92	0.23	0.02	0.19	0.13

Vitamins
Niacin (mg)	6.36	4.32	3.3	0	3.5	2.59
Pantothenic (mg)	1	1.59	0.3	0.13	0.47	0.81
Folate (mcg)	345	44	100	4	25	4

Lipids (g)
Monounsaturated	4.56	0.23	1.48	0.005	0.008	0.442
Polyunsaturated	11.65	0.77	1.86	0.003	0.15	0.379

* Amino Acids (g)
Tip	0.5	0.2	0.05	0.003	0.115	0.072
Tin	1.5	0.39	0.3	0.004	0.28	0.21
Iso	1.67	0.5	0.35	0.004	0.299	0.244
Leu	2.8	0.92	1.04	0.006	0.425	0.488
Lys	2.29	0.37	0.3	0.006	0.413	0.207
Met	0.46	0.21	0.23	0.002	0.107	0.144
Phe	1.8	0.64	0.42	0.004	0.316	0.317
Val	1.72	0.61	ND	0.005	0.356	0.348

* Essential - Needs to be provided via Diet