Product Design Philosophy

Four Levels of Excellence

Nutrient Ramping

 

Four Levels of Excellence

 
Excellence Number 1 – Philosophy…

The Natural Nurse philosophy is to only produce food that is nutritionally “balanced and complete”, an often used phrase that rarely means what it says! Many manufacturers claim a food is nutritionally balanced and complete by attempting to satisfy the calculated daily minimum requirement for each nutrient. Unfortunately, this technique does not take into consideration the relationship between nutrients and their rate of consumption in the body of the animal relative to energy use. Furthermore, the “daily minimum requirement” is just that, the minimum required, whereas if we are going to successfully breed and show at a high level of performance, we should be feeding the optimum levels of nutrients. In Natural Nurse diets, nutrients are combined in specific ratios to one another, and this whole nutrient package is then combined in balance to the energy content of the food. This means that the supply of essential nutrients is not only complete, but also balanced to the usage rate within the body.
 
Excellence Number 2 – Tradition…
The Natural Nurse tradition is to only use premium quality raw ingredients that are drawn from the dog or cat’s natural food source. The reason for this is that many manufacturers view our pets as nature’s garbage disposers, and will accordingly use whatever raw ingredients are cheap, regardless of their suitability to the species. The benefit of using ingredients that are natural to the animal lies in their ability to extract the necessary nutrients from the food. All too often we see dogs and cats eating large quantities of food only to produce large quantities of stools, or alternatively we see them eating highly concentrated food only to have them pass a large portion of the protein and other nutrients in their urine. Where raw ingredients are matched to the target species, the results are highly efficient digestion, plus highly efficient utilisation of the actual nutrients within the body. This means less total nutrients are required in the food, less food in total is required by your pet, and your companion is healthier, happier, and looks better at the same time.
 
Excellence Number 3 – Economy…
Intensive livestock producers the world over have known for decades that the most economical method of feeding animals is to feed a complete diet where the nutrients are balanced to the energy content of the food. Our dogs and cats are no different in this respect, whereby the complete and balanced profile of the Natural Nurse food actually reduces nutritional stress in the animal. Nutritional stress is the result of nutrient imbalance, irrespective of whether the nutrient balance is too little, or too much, and reducing this stress actually results in your pet requiring less total nutrients. Stress reduction also aids in many other ways…. it allows the animal to be what it was bred to be! Many breeders are amazed at the clarity of coat colour, whereas others are amazed at the reduction in the incidence of alopecia in dogs with a history of this condition or ill-thrift in old cats. Good health comes from the inside out and removing nutritional factors as a limitation to the expression of the genetic potential that you have taken so much time, effort and expense to create is the single biggest step you can take in reducing the economic burden of pet ownership.
 
Excellence Number 4 – Safety…
Natural Nurse products are safe. Only the finest ingredients are used and these are subject to rigorous laboratory testing to guarantee purity, freshness and quality. Furthermore, Natural Nurse foods are 100% guaranteed. We will do everything in our power to ensure that there is absolutely no vestige of risk to you or your dogs and cats from feeding Natural Nurse food products. Natural Nurse’s proven track record both within Australia and throughout Japan is a result of the refining and testing and double checking of all aspects of our technology so that we can be absolutely positive that this food will be everything you expect it to be and everything we know it to be.
 

 

 

Nutrient Ramping

 
Nutrient ramping is the scientific technique of combining the individual nutrients within the food at specific proportions to one another, and at a fixed ratio to the energy content of the food. Once these proportions or ratios have been decided, various raw ingredients are added or subtracted from the mix until the correct nutrient balance (or ratios) are achieved.

The old technique (and most commonly used by nutritionists) is to formulate diets to what is called "daily minimum requirements". For example, you may have noticed a chart on the side of your breakfast cereal box which advises you that "one serve of this food provides an adult with half the daily requirement of iron" or whatever. Daily minimum requirement formulating is simply that... adding enough of each of the raw foods in the mix to make sure there is enough of each nutrient to satisfy the average daily requirement regardless of energy content or requirement.

So what makes nutrient ramping better?

Simply this. In all animals, nutrients are used in the body at a rate that is relative to the rate of energy use, and relative to one another. In other words, if your dog runs around like a mad thing and burns up the equivalent of a cup of energy in two seconds flat, he would also use a teaspoon of one nutrient, a pinch of another plus a dash of a third. If he then went and lay down for a doze, it may take the next three hours to use another cup of energy, during which time he would also precisely use a teaspoon of the first nutrient, a pinch of the second and a dash of the third! Thus, feeding this type of food means there is much less stress on your pet because it doesn't have to sort out the nutrients; storing some which may be in excess whilst searching for others and even discarding the surplus of others. This means that with a nutrient ramped food, more of the food is used in the body, so increasing the efficiency of use whilst reducing the overall feeding cost. In other words, dogs fed a nutrient ramped diet will eat less, will be healthier, should have improved natural disease resistance and should expect to live a longer, happier life.

All in all, the Nutrient Ramping technical advantage offers you the best available program for enhancing the quality of life of your pet.