Animal Consumption
Chocolate is a food product with appeal not only to the human population, but to many different animals as well. However, chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of xanthines, specifically theobromine and to a much lesser extent caffeine, that are detrimental to the health of many animals, including dogs and cats. While these compounds have desirable effects in humans, they cannot be efficiently metabolized in many animals and can lead to cardiac and nervous system problems, and if consumed in high quantities, even lead to death. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, some cocoa derivatives with a low concentration of xanthines have been designed by specialized industry to be suitable for pet consumption, enabling the pet food industry to offer animal-safe chocolate and cocoa flavored products. It results in products with a high concentration of fiber and proteins, while maintaining low concentrations of sugar and other carbohydrates, thus enabling it to be used to create healthy functional cocoa pet products.
Read more about this topic: Cocoa Bean
Famous quotes containing the words animal and/or consumption:
“We say of an animal that it is intelligent, and we say the same thing of a woman; but in neither case is it usually appropriate—clearly for very different reasons.”
—José Bergamín (1895–1983)
“There is held to be no surer test of civilisation than the increase per head of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Yet alcohol and tobacco are recognisable poisons, so that their consumption has only to be carried far enough to destroy civilisation altogether.”
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)