Processing Methods
How food is processed determines how much nutrition survives. [[PawGrade]] detects the method and caps the score by it — see [[Scoring System]]. Part of [[Nutrition]].
Ranked best → worst
- Homemade / home-cooked — full control, no preservatives, freshest. Needs nutritional knowledge to avoid deficiencies.
- Raw — closest to ancestral, max enzyme/nutrient retention, highest bioavailability. Best commercial option if well sourced.
- Freeze-dried — raw with water removed at very low temp. ~95% of nutrients retained, shelf-stable. Nearly as good as raw.
- Gently cooked — low-temp; loses some enzymes but whole-food ingredients intact. Far better than kibble.
- Air-dried — slow low-heat drying. Better than kibble, below freeze-dried. Check ingredient quality.
- Wet / canned — whole ingredients but cooked hot (240–250°F). Destroys most enzymes; good hydration.
- Dry kibble (extruded) — worst. 250–300°F under pressure, virtually no enzymes; synthetic vitamins added back post-processing. High-carb, ultra-processed.
Enzyme survival cheat sheet
| Method | Temp | Enzymes |
|---|---|---|
| Raw / freeze-dried | none / very low | ~95% |
| Dehydrated / air-dried | 104–118°F | most survive (right at threshold) |
| Gently cooked | low–medium | partial |
| Wet / canned | 240–250°F | mostly destroyed |
| Extruded kibble | 250–300°F | virtually none |
Carbs & Labs (matters for [[Hershey]])
Labs carry a POMC gene mutation → more carb/glucose-driven. They do better with ~10–20% carbs than zero. Best whole-food carbs: cooked sweet potato, white rice, pumpkin. High carbs (>30%) feed lipoma growth via insulin → fat storage. See [[Organs and Lipoma Diet]].