Interview with Dr Marty Goldstein

This episode is sponsored by Dr. Marty Pets.

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, recorded live at Fetch Nashville, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes special guest Marty Goldstein, DVM, who reflects on how a personal health journey led him to rethink pet nutrition, explains what he sees as the pitfalls of traditional and home-cooked diets, and discusses advanced glycation end products (AGEs), compounds formed when food is heated in the presence of carbohydrates, which he believes will be an emerging area of research in veterinary nutrition science, and more.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So tell me a little bit about [the food]. What's in the food? What is it? What's so wonderful about it?

Marty Goldstein, DVM: Well, first of all, it simulates nature. It's all food. We passed the AFCO regulations, and there is nothing in here that is an additive. So if you look at the label, in so many foods, because they heat it, which destroys so many nutrients, they have to add [nutrients] back in. You'll see thiamine mononitrate, selenium sulfide, and this and that. Our food scientists, with me, figured out food that simulates nature. This is 81% protein, meat protein, and organ meats, which was their delicacy in the wild.

Christman: Wow.

Goldstein: And they love this stuff. So the reason I went freeze-dried is that we were selling 1000 lb a week of raw food out of our freezer in my practice. You know how expensive it is to ship that and freezing, and this and that? This is shelf-stable for up to 2 years. All the moisture is taken out, so you don't have microorganisms growing. We use a process called HPP, high-pressure pasteurization, which knocks out all pathogens. So there's no fear about feeding raw food, and the animals just love it.

Christman: What are the AGEs in pet food that pet parents should care about?

Goldstein: AGEs are advanced glycation end products. This is the new science that's going to enter our profession. It's needed. Heating food in the presence of carbohydrates and sugar creates these substances that are inflammatory, cause allergies, and suppress the immune system. So, what makes this food so good is that there are no carbohydrates in here, and it's not heated.

So this is AGEs-free. We are now, through the American Holistic Veterinary Foundation, doing the research to create an international index on how to detect advanced glycation end products in food and rank them, and we'll be able to improve the entire pet food industry. And the big companies are going to jump on board because they love animals, and they want animals to be healthy. Period.