Comparison of overall nutritional losses incurred in food preservation:
·Canning - 60-80% High loss is due to high temperatures and foods immersed in water during period of preparation.
·Frozen - 40-60% Moisture expands when frozen, causing food cells to rupture.
·Dehydrated - 3-5% Due to low heat during the drying cycle and the gentle air flow, this translates to minimal loss. When water is removed, dehydrated foods decrease in weight but the nutritional value goes up, so they actually have more nutrients per ounce. Dehydrated foods can be left out during the day when you are away or put in hiding places for your parrot to find without worrying about spoiling quickly like fresh food will.
We live in a "fat free" oriented culture where fat is thought of as something that is "fattening" and not good for us. But we have gone overboard in eliminating fats from our own diets, and sometimes also from the diets of our pets. There are some fats that have high nutritional value and elements not found elsewhere. Here we tell you about three of these so you will understand why we include them in our products.
Only Hemp seed oil contains Omega 6, Omega 3 and GLA (gamma linonlenic acid). Only Hemp seed oil contains 75-80% polyunsaturated fatty acids, the highest in the plant kingdom and unique among seed oils. Though flax oil is high in Omega 3, the perfect balance of hemp's EFAs allows your body to best digest the excellent properties in hemp oil. Hempseed is considered by leading researchers and medical doctors to be one of the most nutritious food sources on the planet. Shelled hempseed is packed with 33 percent pure digestible protein and is rich in iron and vitamin E as well as omega-3 and GLA. A recent report funded by the Canadian government states that hemp protein is comprised of 66 percent high-quality edistin protein, and that hempseed contains the highest percentage of this of any plant source. Hemp also contains three times the vitamin E contained in flax. Unlike soy, hemp is not genetically modified, and it doesn't contain the anti-nutritional qualities commonly found in soy.
Because the human body produces no Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), it is important that EFAs be consumed on a regular basis. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of Americans take in too little of one of the most important EFAs--omega-3--which is found in flax, walnuts, deep-water fish, and hempseeds. EFAs are the "good fats" that doctors recommend as part of a healthy, balanced diet. The quality of omega-3 is vital, and can be diminished by oxygen, heat, and light. Thus consume the freshest seeds possible and store them in a dark, cold environment such as a refrigerator. Hemp seed oil has been dubbed, "Nature's most perfectly balanced oil" due to the fact that it contains the perfectly balanced 3:1 ratio of both the required essential fatty acids (EFAs) for long term human consumption.
Since the 1960s, coconut oil has been unfairly labeled as "unhealthy." The media reported studies of how tropical coconut oils were laden with artery-clogging fats. What wasn't reported was the fact that the coconut oil used in the studies was hydrogenated — not the virgin oil used for centuries as a staple food. We now know it's hydrogenation — artificially adding a hydrogen molecule to oils in order to make them shelf-stable — that's the problem, not coconut oil. Hydrogenated soy, corn, and canola oils — loaded with dangerous trans-fats and processed with toxic hexane solvents — are routinely added to packaged foods. Hydrogenation fattened corporate profits and American waistlines, and is now linked with diseases.
Why is it that baby formulas often include coconut oil as an ingredient? Because coconut is one of the most healthy super foods in the world. Coconut oil is cholesterol and trans fat-free, contains only 1% Omega-6 and is rich in medium-chain "good fats" that doctors recommend.
One of the good fats that comprises about 50% of coconut oil, is lauric acid. Lauric acid is a rare medium-chain fatty acid found in mother's milk that supports healthy metabolism and is now being studied for its anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial health-protecting properties. Some researchers predict that lauric acid will become as well known in health circles as Omega-3 is today. In fact, the Monsanto company has already developed a GMO canola oil variety that attempts to mimic coconut oil's high percentage of lauric acid. As we learn about the downsides of consuming too many Omega-6 vegetable oils, coconut oil is making a comeback.
WHAT IS IN THAT PELLET YOU’RE FEEDING?
Here are some common ingredients we have found in some of the popular brands of pellets:
Soy protein isolate or isolated soy protein- this may sound good, we think of soy as being nutritious like tofu or edamame. But soy protein isolate is a highly processed food added to other processed foods for flavor. In the processing of the soy beans, one of the byproducts that is in the soy protein isolate is MSG, which causes many health problems in some people.
Natural flavoring- again, this sounds good. It’s natural right? Here are some natural ingredients commonly found in food products: sugar, MSG. Manufacturers buy proprietary blends called “natural flavoring” in which other ingredients they don’t want us to know about are hidden. If you call to ask what is in their natural flavoring they won’t tell you. You can, however, ask about specific ingredients if you have a health issue with them. You can say “is there any MSG or other similar product involving glutamates in your natural flavoring?” and they will generally tell you.
Vitamins and minerals added- if this was a wholesome, nutrient rich food, they wouldn’t have to add vitamins and minerals. This is usually done when they are using cheap ingredients or ingredients that have been so highly processed that the vitamins and minerals have been removed in the process.
Here is a link where you can look up what food additives are: http://www.nutritiondata.com/topics/food-additives
Wheat, barley, kamut, rye, spelt- glutinous grains
"No sugar added." They may say this but what does it really mean? No processed sugars (but they have honey, molasses, other sweeteners)
Here you see Gorbash eating a Kaipen Krunch roll. He has torn it open and is now eating the filling. We find that sometimes parrots who wouldn't eat the exact same filling ingredients if you put it in their bowl as loose ingredients will eat them in a roll. When they work to tear something open, it seems to make it more desirable, like a child opening a present.
We believe that not enough is known about the nutritional needs of parrots and no company should make the claim that they are providing a “complete diet” for a bird in one bag. More is known about species that have been kept in captivity and bred for more generations, such as budgies. We also don’t totally agree with the idea that food should be chopped up so much as to be unrecognizable or hidden in birdie bread to make them eat things we think are good for them but they won’t eat otherwise. This may be a good plan for a bird that has been raised on a very limited diet as a start to get them to vary their choices and expand their taste horizons. However, in the wild, with some exceptions of very specialized feeders, parrots pick and choose what to eat each day. There is evidence from research that wild animals choose food seasonally to help with certain seasonal weather or breeding times of year. They also sometimes choose food to neutralize certain toxins they may eat or to help them get well when they are sick. So we want our parrots to have a variety of healthy food to pick from.
In our Unpellet, we put the smaller ingredients that would end up falling to the bottom of a bowl and getting uneaten in the “Green Chunks.” This includes the nutritious alfalfa and dandelion greens as well as the oils and small grains and seeds. All birds that have sampled this so far love these green chunks. Other larger ingredients are left whole or in large enough pieces that your bird will get a wide variety of tastes, colors and textures. They may eat more of certain things on some days than others. You may wish to recycle what they don’t eat one day into birdie bread or put it on top of their fresh food the next day. Or you may decide that they are eating enough and what they aren’t eating may be left for a reason.
Eucalyptus- Why Do We Include It in our UnPellet mixes?
All of the ingredients in our parrot foods are human grade products except one. Eucalyptus. We buy fresh untreated eucalyptus from California and wash and dry it ourselves. Why do we include eucalyptus leaves? Some people have concerns that it may not be safe to eat. People don't eat it. Here is an article about parrots in the wild eating eucalyptus.
