Addiction Dry DOG FOOD Review

With an average score of 4.8/10, Addiction Dry dog food is considered a high risk dog food. There are 8 recipes that average 23% protein and 45% carbohydrate as calculated.  

This line loses ingredient quality points for its high carbohydrate content, almost twice the amount of protein. These are grain-free recipes, but grain-free does not mean low carbohydrates. The carbs are derived from starches that include peas, tapioca, potatoes, oats and rice. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they’re often used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance. A processed food high in carbohydrates is usually low in protein as is the case here.  

This line has excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes. This line is lower in protein, and the fact there are added amino acids can reflect lower quality protein that doesn’t provide these nutrients naturally.

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However, some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral. 

The line also loses ingredient quality points for plant protein, which is a low cost substitute for quality animal protein. Animal sources of protein are preferred because they contain a wider array of amino acids and are more digestible. Canola oil is used in one recipe. It’s an inflammatory seed oil that is highly processed and may contain trans fats. Studies show that ultra processed foods are linked to a higher rate of all-cause mortality in humans. 

These recipes contain ocean fish meal and fish oil which are unnamed animal proteins. This is a sign of low quality and can be made from any type of fish. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive, low quality ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins.

This is an air-dried food but the ingredient safety score is lower than expected. Air-dried foods are moderately processed but some heat is used during processing which causes a loss of some nutrients.  

Addiction ingredients are GMO-free, but that doesn’t mean they are pesticide-free. These recipes use ingredients known for high pesticide or herbicide residues, like peas and oats, in the top 5 ingredients. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue are penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate. Addiction would improve the ingredient safety score by using organic ingredients, which offer reduced pesticide/herbicide exposure as well as being non-GMO.

There is rice in one recipe which carries a risk of arsenic contamination. This is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues. 

The use of natural flavor also costs points. Natural flavors are often animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

The following concerns don’t cost points but should be noted. 

There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.  

Another concern with this food is the addition of coconut oil. This ingredient is rich in saturated fats and lauric acid, which some studies show can increase gut inflammation and permeability.  

Some of these recipes contain glam ingredients. These are expensive or desirable ingredients like blueberries and cranberries that are often added to appeal to consumers but are likely present in minuscule amounts when they’re below the salt in the ingredient list. Salt is an ingredient added in small amounts so anything listed after salt has little or no nutritional value.  

These recipes don’t specify whether the fish oil is from farmed or wild caught fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. 

Only a few of the Dry foods guarantee the omega-6:omega-3 percentages, and none provides the ratio of omega-6:omega-3, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.