· By Mike Grindy
Whole Foods vs. Synthetic & Processed Food for Dogs
When it comes to feeding our dogs, we’ve all been conditioned to trust the back of a packet. If the label says "complete and balanced," that should be enough, right? But the more we’ve learned about how nutrients actually work in the body, the more we’ve started to question that. Especially when it comes to where those nutrients are coming from.
This isn’t about fads or food trends. It’s about giving dogs what their bodies recognise as food. It’s about absorption, bioavailability, and reducing the strain on their system. It turns out, there’s growing evidence that whole food ingredients may offer real advantages over synthetic and processed ones.
What Are Whole Foods (and Why Do They Matter for Dogs)?
Whole foods are ingredients that are as close to their natural state as possible. For dogs, that means things like pumpkin, sweet potato, blueberries, mushrooms, and even herbs like dandelion root or milk thistle. In many cases, they’re dried or ground into powders, but crucially, they haven’t been stripped of the compounds that help the body absorb and use their nutrients.
That’s one of the biggest differences between whole and synthetic: the natural cofactors. Vitamins and minerals in whole foods come packaged with enzymes, amino acids, fats and fibres that help the body process them. When you feed a dog turmeric, for example, it comes with natural oils and compounds like curcumin that work in harmony with the body, especially when paired with something like black pepper.
These ingredients don’t just feed the body; they support the systems that process nutrients. Fibre from vegetables acts as a prebiotic. Natural enzymes help break food down more efficiently. And phytonutrients in herbs and spices offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune supporting effects that synthetic premixes don’t replicate.
Synthetic and Processed Pet Food: What’s Really in It?
Most processed dog food, especially dry kibble, relies on synthetic vitamin premixes to meet nutritional requirements. That’s largely because the intense heat and pressure used during production destroys many of the natural nutrients in the food. To make up for that, manufacturers add back synthetic versions in isolation.
The problem? The body doesn’t always recognise or process those synthetics in the same way. In fact, some vitamins (especially the fat-soluble ones like A, D, E and K) can build up to harmful levels if given in excess, because they don’t have the natural buffers and regulators found in whole foods.
These added nutrients also tend to lack diversity. For example, a synthetic vitamin D supplement won’t come with the omega-3s, selenium or protein that a dog would get from eating oily fish. It’s a onenote input in a system that runs best with balance.
As Dr. Judy Morgan, a holistic vet, puts it: kibble is "an inappropriate, junk food diet" for dogs, highly processed, low in moisture, and often made with pet grade waste ingredients. While it might look good on paper, that doesn’t mean the nutrients are being properly used by the dog’s body.
Bioavailability: It’s Not What You Eat, It’s What You Absorb
Bioavailability is essentially how well a nutrient is absorbed and used by the body. This is where whole foods really start to shine.
Whole foods come with the compounds that make absorption easier. Pineapple and papaya contain enzymes like bromelain and papain, which aid digestion. Seaweed contains fibre that nourishes the gut microbiome. Herbs and spices often contain prebiotics or natural compounds that support inflammation reduction or liver health.
Whole foods also carry buffers that make overdose or nutrient imbalance far less likely. A carrot contains betacarotene, which the body can convert to vitamin A if needed, but only as much as it needs. A synthetic vitamin A pill offers no such control.
Studies suggest that nutrients from whole foods are more readily absorbed and less likely to overwhelm the body than their synthetic counterparts. They’re also more likely to be self-limiting. Your dog won’t overdose on vitamin A from a few carrots, but could from a concentrated pill.
A 2022 clinical study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science showed that dogs fed a whole food diet had reduced inflammation and improved immune markers compared to those fed extruded kibble (source). Another 2024 study found that dogs maintained healthy nutrient levels on balanced, plant-based whole food diets without the need for synthetic vitamin premixes (source).
Powdered Whole Food Supplements: Can They Work?
This is a question we asked early on while developing D33. Can whole food powders, when properly sourced and minimally processed, still offer these benefits?
The short answer seems to be yes. Dehydrated or freeze-dried ingredients retain much of their nutritional integrity if handled carefully. The trick is avoiding extreme heat and preserving the full spectrum of compounds that give these ingredients their potency.
Take medicinal mushrooms, for instance. A University of Pennsylvania study on dogs with cancer found that Turkey Tail mushroom extended survival times without any pharmaceutical intervention (source).
Or flaxseed, which has been shown to improve coat health and increase omega3 levels in dogs’ blood when fed regularly (source).
Or kelp, which has proven benefits for dental health thanks to its natural enzymes and mineral content (source).
And then there are blended formulas that combine these ingredients in thoughtful, balanced ways. The goal isn’t to flood the bowl with powders, it’s to select ingredients that work together and add real value.
The Power of Nutritional Synergy
Nutrients don’t work in isolation. They interact. Vitamin C boosts iron absorption. Fat enhances uptake of fat-soluble vitamins. Curcumin in turmeric is far more bioavailable when combined with piperine from black pepper.
That’s what makes whole food ingredients so powerful. They contain the entire matrix. The compound you’re aiming for and the natural support system that makes it work better.
This is something that gets lost in synthetic nutrition. You might be giving the "right" nutrient, but without its natural partners, the body has to work harder to make use of it. That increases strain, and sometimes reduces impact altogether.
What to Watch Out For
Of course, not all powders are created equal. Just like not all pet foods are. It’s important to check sourcing, processing methods, and formulations. The goal isn’t to throw 30 powders into a tin and hope for the best. It’s to combine ingredients that work together, in forms the body can recognise, and in amounts that actually do something.
Some supplements include synthetic fillers or isolate compounds that are hard to absorb. Others are so overprocessed that any benefit is lost. That’s why we’re transparent about how our products are made and why we keep refining.
It’s also why veterinary guidance matters, especially for dogs with health conditions. But for the vast majority of dogs, a well-formulated whole food supplement can be a simple way to boost nutrition, support digestion, and reduce reliance on synthetic additives.
Final Thoughts
We didn’t create D33 because we wanted to chase a trend. We did it because we couldn’t ignore the growing research. Dogs do better on real food. While not every dog owner can cook fresh meals every day, adding whole food powders is a practical, science backed step in the right direction.
We’ll keep digging into the science. We’ll keep refining. What won’t change is our belief that dogs deserve more than just processed pellets and a scoop of synthetics. They deserve food their bodies know how to use.
Thanks for reading.
References:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinaryscience/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.898056/full
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11020905/
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/compoundderivedmushroomlengthenssurvivaltimedogscancerpennvetstudyfinds