I compulsively look at ingredients in packaged food, including pet food. Two of the most common ingredients in cheap pet foods are soybeans and corn. Neither of

I compulsively look at ingredients in packaged food, including pet food. Two of the most common ingredients in cheap pet foods are soybeans and corn. Neither of these are evolutionarily-appropriate for our pets. Corn is mostly starch, with little in the way of nutrients. Humans traditionally made corn more digestible with a little lime [1] -- modern corn tortillas are all made this way, but corn chips are not. I don't think pet food manufacturers properly treat their corn (I'm speculating here, and would be happy to be incorrect). Soybeans have some nutrients, but they also contain mega-doses of the inflammatory Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Soy is also a potent source of phytoestrogens. These plant chemicals cause an estrogen-like reaction in tissues. In healthy people estrogen is tightly regulated. In unhealthy people, adipose tissue creates aromatase [2] to turn testosterone into estrogen, creating a self-destructive feedback loop that is hard to escape. Estrogen is removed from the body by the liver [3]. When the liver is overwhelmed it can't keep up with excessive amounts of estrogen. Pets, people, and food animals need evolutionarily-appropriate foods, fewer soybeans, less corn. One of my family would like to lose weight (more than one, but I'm thinking of one in particular). He commonly has a "healthy" salad, but smothers it in inflammatory soybean/canola oil (sold as "salad dressing"). Even expensive pet foods are typically contaminated with canola oil (ostensibly for the "omega-3's", but really because they're cheap calories that look good on the label). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominy#Production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominy#Production / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue#Physiology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue#Physiology - "Adipose tissue is the greatest peripheral source of aromatase in both males and females,[citation needed] contributing to the production of estradiol." [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Metabolism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Metabolism