07/23/2025
Pancreatitis is one of the most commonly misunderstood disease conditions, and unfortunately, one that is very common for pets to suffer from. Essentially, it is inflammation of the pancreas, an organ responsible for insulin and digestive enzyme production. When in this disease state, digestive enzymes become active while they are still in the pancreas, not only causing severe pain, but massively hampering its ability to help regulate blood sugar levels and break down food into usable components.
The culprit? Despite a hugely overwhelming lack of evidence, it has become common speculation that the consumption of "fat" causes pancreatitis, leading concerned pet parents to seek out low-fat options for long term feeding. Simple, easy. An actionable measure against a devastating disease state. But so terribly off the mark.
We know much more now than we used to. Creating a "one size fits all" narrative about any particular thing is a narrow and subfunctional practice that stems from misinformation. "Fat", like any nutrient, is not the same across all spectrums. There is nuance and variance. Used restaurant grease, seed oils, highly rendered mystery fats, and toxin laden fat from CAFO animals can, of course, lead to an abundance of disease conditions. Imbalance of micronutrients because of heavy metal choked synthetic nutrients can lead to an abundance of disease conditions. That is no surprise. It also has nothing whatsoever to do with what we are doing.
Healthy food cannot come from sick animals. Healthy food cannot be borne of toxic chemicals. Healing food is created in concert with the natural world. Clean fat from clean animals is an enormously important nutrient - there is no need to deprive our pets just because of outdated, fear driven, evidence lacking, narrow focused nonsense.
Fat is flavor, fat is energy, fat is nourishing. In balance with the other macronutrients, healthy fat is healing and supportive of the endocrine and metabolic systems. True solutions for disease are about harmony, not restriction. Our full article on pancreatitis is available here: https://solutionspetproducts.com/pancreatitis-in-pets-the-role-of-fat-calcium-and-nutritional-imbalances/. Feed well! 😘
CALCIUM: One of the most overlooked contributors to pancreatitis is low tissue calcium levels. Calcium is essential for fat metabolism, and deficiencies can impair the body’s ability to break down fats efficiently. This can result in undigested fats, which may contribute to inflammation in the pancreas.
BAD FAT: Fat is often villainized as a direct trigger for pancreatitis. However, the source, processing, and balance of fats are what really matter. Most commercial kibble and canned pet foods use restaurant fryer grease or low-quality rendered fats as their fat source. Oxidized, toxin-contaminated, nutritionally void fats can contribute to pancreatitis, as well as many other disease conditions.
SYNTHETIC NUTRIENTS: Synthetic vitamins and minerals are commonly used in pet food to “fortify” diets that have been depleted by processing. However, these synthetic isolates are almost always contaminated with heavy metals, which interfere with micronutrient absorption and metabolism and create oxidative stress, which predispose pets to pancreatitis over time.
