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Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio
CALCIUM TO PHOSPHORUS RATIO:
In humans and animals Calcium to Phosphorus balance is essential to the development and maintenance of a strong and healthy skeletal structure.
It is important to have more Calcium than Phosphorus in your pet’s overall diet. Meat without bone (boneless meats) and especially organ meats are much higher in Phosphorus than Calcium. Eggs are also slightly higher in Phosphorus than Calcium.
There are three ways people who feed their pets a raw diet accomplish a balance of Calcium to Phosphorus when feeding boneless meats or eggs:
- mixing the boneless meats with ground frames (carcass with meat removed). Our preference because it is the most natural form of Calcium.
- adding ground eggshell. Calcium Carbonate – an antacid. Highly acidic stomach acids allow our pets to safely digest raw meat. Calcium Carbonate reduces stomach acid. We suggest eggshell with cooked eggs or occasional cooked boneless meats only. Pure Bone Meal Calcium is the safer choice for raw boneless meats and raw eggs.
- adding any other Calcium supplement. Least favorable because supplements may contain other ingredients that dogs and cats are sensitive to.
Bone is the most natural source of Calcium for our carnivorous companion animals. According to acu-cell.com, “Of the approximately 1000g of Calcium in the average 70kg adult body, almost 98% is found in bone.” The Calcium to Phosphorus ratio in bone is 2.5:1 (two and a half times more Calcium than Phosphorus.)
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"How much [Calcium] is "plenty"? A good guide would be to use a natural prey animal as standard - about 7-10% of its total weight will be bone, so anything in excess of 10% of the total diet would be "plenty". You should not exceed 25% - because you do need to leave room for other nutrients also…"Mogens Eliasen, PhD, Balancing the Calcium/Phosphorus ratio in a raw diet for dogs (2003)
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Carnivores were biologically designed to eat whole-prey animals; the meat, fat, organs, and bone. Our pets can easily digest and absorb the Calcium and other nutrients found in bone. Therefore, we trust that whole-prey supplies a good balance of necessary nutrients; including the proper ratio of Calcium to Phosphorus for our pets to thrive. Carnivores ground whole-prey products include the prey’s bone in the ratio nature intended for our carnivorous kids.
We feed our pets primarily Carnivores whole-prey products because we believe the bone content is naturally within the average healthy range.
When you feed primarily whole-prey products, you will only need to consider giving your pet added Calcium when you are serving them boneless meats, organ meats, or egg.
Poultry and Other Frames (animal carcass with meat removed):
“Frames” is the term used to describe the animal carcass once it’s been de-boned.
It is the bone structure of the animal with the choice meats removed. Frames are generally 50% to 60% or more bone with little meat and naturally higher in Calcium than Phosphorus. Because we use ground carcass-“Frames” to balance boneless meals we work in percentages of raw boneless meat to bone instead of milligrams of Calcium to ounces of raw boneless meat. When we feed boneless meats, like our Carnivores boneless Lamb or Venison, we simply add about 10% organ meats and enough ground carcass-Frames as a bone Calcium source to mimic whole-prey.
You don’t have to be exact with every meal. About seven to thirteen percent (7% to13%) bone in the overall diet is the range we strive for. With a variety of food, a balance within range, over time is fine.
Extra Bones = Extra Calcium: To supply added Calcium as well as enjoyment and other health benefits, we also feed our mastiffs weekly snacks of Poultry Necks and Recreational Bones which are both on the higher end of Cal:Phos ratio (significantly more Calcium than Phosphorus.)
Do Not Feed Frames (carcasses with little meat) or Necks as a Regular Diet:
Feeding Frames and Necks as a regular daily diet would supply an excessive, unnatural amount of bone; disrupting the balance nature intended.
Balancing the Calcium in Boneless Meat Meals – A handy guide:
The following is how we balance boneless meats like our Carnivores Boneless Ground Lamb and Venison, the Beef Trim Meat Chunks or the Boneless Bison (Buffalo). This is just a guideline; again, there is no exact science here.
Option 1 - preferred method
Using Frames/ground carcass - the goal is a bone content in the 10% range:
1 lb. (16 oz.) Carnivores Boneless Ground Lamb or Venison, or Beef Trim
or Boneless Bison (Buffalo), (100% meat – no bones or organs)
Higher in Phosphorus than Calcium
1/8 to 1/4 lb. Primal Grind (heart- a muscle meat, bone, liver)
(2 oz. to 4 oz.) Available in Lamb, Buffalo, or Beef
These Primal Grinds are balanced with a
Calcium to Phosphorus ratio of 1.33:1 and 1:1
Carnivores Chicken, Beef or Rabbit Organ Meat can be
substituted for Primal Grinds. Just add additional
Frames to increase the Calcium because they do not
contain bone
1/3 lb.(5.3 oz.) Oma’s Ground Lamb and Bone or Quail Frames
(Frames/carcass) approximately 50% meat and 50% bone
(2.65 oz. of each) Higher in Calcium than Phosphorus
1/2 to 1 Tbsp Optional – Veggie-Puree, or select pureed vegetables
We feel this mix mimics the bone and organ content found in the whole-prey model. Make adjustments accordingly when feeding a smaller quantity to a smaller animal.
Balancing the Calcium in Eggs:
Eggs are slightly higher in Phosphorus than Calcium. Each egg (white and yolk) has approximately 78mgs more Phosphorus than Calcium. This can add up if you are feeding eggs twice a week. Feeding foods with higher Calcium levels, such as Poultry Necks and Recreational Bones on a weekly basis would likely offset this minimal difference. To be on the safe side, for each egg you can add about 85mgs of elemental Calcium (just shy of 1/8th of a teaspoon of pure Bone Meal). Eggnog Recipe
I’m gonna sleep on it,
but I think the best Calcium for me is in bones…..
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Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio
Learn: why we need to keep this balance, what experts say is the best Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio range, how much more Phosphorus than Calcium is in various boneless meats and how many milligrams of Calcium is needed for balance, which boneless meat is extremely high in Phosphorus, which two boneless meats are balanced in Calcium to Phosphorus, how much more Calcium frames (ground carcass) and poultry necks supply and why you don’t want to feed them as an everyday diet, about ground eggshell- how to prepare it and when and how much to use, other sources of Calcium, about Calcium absorption and which Vitamin D to avoid and other reasons you may not want to use certain Calcium supplements…
Reference Links:
Nutrient Composition Of Whole Vertebrate Prey (excluding fish) Fed In Zoos,
by E. Dierenfeld, PhD, H. Alcorn, BS, and K. Jacobsen, MS.
(See pages 12 and 13 for mineral content of whole-prey.)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/zoo/WholePreyFinal02May29.pdf
Balancing the Calcium/Phosphorus ratio in a raw diet for dogs (2003),
by Mogens Eliasen, PhD
Self Nutritional Data – Reference tool for nutrients found in foods
http://nutritiondata.self.com/
The “Weird” Types of Meat with the Highest Nutrient Density,
by Catherine Ebeling – RN, BSN & Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialists
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/weird-nutrient-dense-meat.html
Egg yolks, organ meat, milk, and sea fish are rich in Vitamin D,
by Dr. Shagufta Feroz http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=396296180937
Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio Chart for Vegetables
http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/calphos.htm
Vitamin D Pharmacology
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDPharmacology.shtml
Heavy Metal Toxicity – sources of heavy metals
http://tuberose.com/Heavy_Metal_Toxicity.html
Gloria Dodd, DVM on aluminum found in processed pet food
http://www.byregion.net/articles-healers/HeavyMetal_Pets.html.
Recall excess Quantities of Vitamin D
http://thenewsoftoday.com/dog-food-recall-initiated-from-blue-buffalo-pet-food-producer/3588/
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