Cancer is a multifaceted condition influenced by various factors, including your dog’s diet, environmental pollution, exercise, stress, and vaccines.  At Feed Real Institute, we focus on how nutrition can support your dog’s overall health during normal times and during illness. This article focuses on omitting foods that can contribute to the risk or progression of cancer. 

There is one area where all veterinary and animal nutritionists agree: dogs do not need carbohydrates to survive! Yet most kibble contains 40-65% carbohydrates. No research has been reported linking kibble directly to cancer in dogs. However, numerous studies link chronic inflammation, the ingestion of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and obesity to the development of cancer in dogs. All of these factors are also linked to kibble. 

The ancestral diet of the wolf is comprised of 85-90% meat, primarily whole prey, which includes flesh, fur, bones, organs, and glands, small amounts of fish, and 10-15% grasses, nuts, berries, and other vegetation, most coming from the stomach contents of their small prey. This diet equals 49% protein, 45% fat, and 6% carbohydrates. Typical dry dog food contains 25% protein, 32% fat, and 43% carbohydrates. 

Cancer cells thrive on sugar. The primary source of sugar in a dog’s diet is carbohydrates because they convert to glucose when digested. Cancer cells use glucose as their main energy source. They are programmed differently than all other cells in your dog's body and must have high glucose levels to stimulate cell reproduction. 

Reducing carbohydrate intake limits the fuel supply to cancer cells, which may slow down their growth. A low-carbohydrate diet can induce a metabolic state called ketosis, where the body produces ketones as an alternative fuel source. Studies have shown that ketones inhibit cancer cell growth, while normal cells can still use other fuel sources efficiently.

As your dog’s body is using so much energy to process the excessive carbs, the rest of the body suffers, including the immune system.  A diet low in carbohydrates helps support a healthy immune system response, which is essential for fighting cancer cells.

Carbohydrates can cause spikes in blood sugar levels, leading to increased insulin production. High insulin levels might promote inflammation, which contributes to cancer cell proliferation. Chronic inflammation is associated with cancer development and progression, so reducing inflammation through diet could be beneficial. 

The best energy sources for your dog are animal protein and fats. Fats are dogs' most effective energy source since they can digest them quickly. Fats, unlike carbohydrates, are an anti-inflammatory source of energy for dogs. 

Fat is a natural component of a species-appropriate diet for dogs. In the wild, dogs consume a diet that contains around 44% fat. Between 90-95% of that fat consumed is directly metabolized for energy, with your dog getting 2.5 times the amount of energy from fats than from carbohydrates. Fats are converted to ketones rather than glucose. The production of ketones is a natural metabolic response to fuel the body when glucose availability is limited. You are providing your dog’s body without feeding the cancer cells by feeding a low-carb and high-fat diet.

As foods are cooked at high temperatures, dangerous end-products are created. Any kibble that is extruded at high heat will contain advanced glycation end products (AGEs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All of the products are linked to chronic inflammation, leading to diseases such as diabetes, skin disorders, and even cancer. 

Another reason to avoid kibble for all dogs, but especially those battling cancer, is malondialdehyde, an end product of fat oxidation.  Preservatives used in kibble work well until the dog food bag is opened. The oxidation process of fats is initiated by the presence of oxygen. Every time the bag is reopened, the oxidation rate increases, causing the fats and oils to break down into smaller compounds or by-products. Malondialdehyde is one of these by-products, which is a known cancer risk.  Oxidation also causes the fats to become rancid. So the “best if used by date” only applies to the unopened bag. 

The preservatives are also a concern. BHA and BHT, compounds commonly used in animal food preservation to maintain freshness, flavor, and color, have been subjects of controversy due to conflicting research outcomes. Some studies indicate these compounds may promote tumor growth, whereas others suggest anticarcinogenic effects at low concentrations. In October 1985, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified BHA as a Possible Human Carcinogen, leading to its prohibition in children's products and those accredited by the EPA’s Safer Choice program. The European Union has banned BHA in certain foods, citing its potential as a hormone disrupter based on evidence of reproductive harm in experimental animals.

Dog treats can also contain dangerous ingredients, especially those that are smoked or have smoked flavoring. Smoking involves combustion, which produces PAHs. Even if dog food only simulates smoked flavors, the process or the additives used still produce or mimic these harmful compounds.

Although we encourage dog parents to share their fresh, whole food with their dogs, you should refrain from dumping leftover bread, pasta, and desserts into your dog’s bowl. Cooked animal fat trimmings could lead to pancreatitis, while the extra carbs can cause inflammation in your dog’s body. 

Dogs with cancer should have a well-balanced, controlled diet to ensure optimal health. Avoid providing unnecessary carbs. Foods that your dog easily tolerated before her cancer diagnosis may rejected and cause her distress as she battles cancer. 

Currently, one commercial diet claims to support dogs with cancer: Hill's Prescription Diet On-Care Dry Dog Food. But let’s look at the composition of the diet: Protein 24.8%, Fat 21.9%, Crude ash 4.8%, and 38.5% carbohydrates, assuming a moisture content of 10%.  A species-appropriate diet would contain 49% protein, 45% fat, and 6% carbohydrates. Continuing to provide a carbohydrate diet results in feeding the cancer cells that your dog is trying to fight. 

As a dry dog food, Hill's Prescription Diet On-Care Dry Dog Food is ultra-processed, which means it contains AGEs, HCAs, and PAHs. Again, this is counterproductive to your dog’s ability to fight off cancer.

Whether raw or gently cooked, fresh food diets offer an excellent source of balanced nutrition that can considerably improve health. You can produce a species-appropriate diet that contains minimal carbohydrates and no end products from ultra-processing.  You can tailor the diet to the specific needs of your dog. 

Some dogs with cancer cannot tolerate the raw food diet once their immune system becomes severely compromised due to the nature of the cancer or the type of chemotherapy being given. The Introduction To Real Ancestral 6x and Choosing A Feeding Method will teach you more about feeding a fresh, whole-food diet.

Basing your dog’s diet on the Real Ancestral 6X Diet™ or the Real Ancestral Diet, the bowl will include:

Dogs with cancer need a diet that feeds their body, but starves the cancer cells. Avoid feeding sugary, starchy carbohydrates that will convert into glucose during digestion.

Limit table scraps to small pieces of meat and vegetables cut during meal preparation.

Veterinary Oncology: Biology, Big Data and Precision Medicine 

Understanding the Warburg Effect: The Metabolic Requirements of Cell Proliferation | Science 

Tumors show enhanced dependency on glucose and glycolytic pathway 

Why do cancers have high aerobic glycolysis? 

Metabolic changes during carcinogenesis: potential impact on invasiveness 

Cancer's sweet tooth: the Janus effect of glucose metabolism in tumorigenesis 

Worst Food For Dogs With Cancer

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