Sunflower Oil

Does anyone here know if sunflower oil has pro-inflammatory effects? Someone once mentioned that in another cat forum and I'm wondering if anyone here has any information on that. A while back I used to feed California Natural. During that same time period Spotty was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel diesease which he no longer has symptoms of and he's been eating regular cat food such as Iams. Besides, I don't believe he ever had IBD. He simply ate dry food too fast and threw up so many times that he upset his stomach and it was an inflamed nasopharynx that had caused him to stop eating for a few days which was what landed him in the animal ER in the spring of last year. Now he's a normal cat with no symptoms, just a happy healthy cat, eating drinking, playing, urinating and defacating normally. But I'm wondering now, if sunflower oil is a bad thing to give a cat which is one of the ingredients in California Natural.

Having significant amounts of experience with human IBD, I doubt very seriously that it was caused by eating too fast. How was your cat diagnosed?
It is very possible that your cat was allergic to an ingredient, or more than one, in a certain cat food. I'm glad you've found a food that your cat does well on.
Why do you specifically think it was the sunflower oil?

Here is a link on IBD in case people are unfamiliar: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resou...chure/ibd.html

Because in another cat forum someone mentioned something about sunflower oil having pro-inflammatory effects. I was meaning to ask the person about it but I can't log into that forum. But it's been on my mind and so I want to know if it's true. Is sunflower oil a pro-inflammatory ingredient?

My cat's diagnosis of IBD, I truly don't believe it. If he had IBD he would have symptoms, even to this day. But he does so well on regular cat food, Iams which many believe is inferior to a food like California Natural he' is thriving on. But he was eating California Natural the week he was hospitalized and diagnosed with IBD last year. So this is why I'm looking into it. Weird, isn't it?

I don't know the answer about sunflower oil, but I did a search and found several formulas of cat food formulated for cats with food allergies that advertised that they didn't have sunflower oil. Perhaps its an allergy? Hopefully someone with more cat-nutrition knowledge will be along.
I do know that some people with IBD quit having symptoms for years and then have flare-ups, sometimes without changing a thing. Has your cat been on medication since he was diagnosed? What do you think it was, if not IBD? Do you think the oil just caused inflammatory symptoms that resembled IBD? I don't know what a "nasopharynx" is.

I wonder if it wasnt anti-inflammatory effects?

This seems vaguely familiar... Did also read about some of the food oils as beneficient here. Besides cant understand why sunflower oil would cause inflammations.

Also quite possible the writer did wrote pro, but meaned "positive" "good" - ie - anti...

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I don't know the answer about sunflower oil, but I did a search and found several formulas of cat food formulated for cats with food allergies that advertised that they didn't have sunflower oil. Perhaps its an allergy? Hopefully someone with more cat-nutrition knowledge will be along.

I do know that some people with IBD quit having symptoms for years and then have flare-ups, sometimes without changing a thing. Has your cat been on medication since he was diagnosed? What do you think it was, if not IBD? Do you think the oil just caused inflammatory symptoms that resembled IBD? I don't know what a "nasopharynx" is.

Click to expand...

A nasopharynx is the area between the nasal passage and the mouth. Cats rely very highly on their sense of smell to eat. Last year in Spring, Spotty's nasopharynx became inflamed, probably from eating dry food and vomiting it back up too many times. He was disinterested in eating because he couldn't smell the food and had to be rushed to the animal ER where he was rehydrated with fluids and then given an appetite stimulant. He was not diagnosed with IBD when I took him home but then I got a call from the vet that he has IBD and he was temporarily prescribed prednisone which I managed to take him off later last year. I don't know if he really has IBD or that was mistaken for an upset stomach. Spotty now has absolutely no symptoms of IBD. If it flares up in the future then I will respond accordingly and get treatment. Oh the mysteries.

Well, I couldn't find any information on sunflower oil and how it relates to being in pet food but I did find some info here. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/...lammation.html

Sunflower oils are high in omega 6 as opposed to omega 3, and therefore have a pro-inflammatory effect. It's basically not optimum for us people to be cooking with sunflower oils. For cats, I really don't know. Well to be on the safe side, I don't think I'll ever go back to feeding California Natural just in case there was any relationship between the sunflower oil and his diagnosis of IBD.

One interesting thing in the article you linked is that fish oil is listed as being anti-inflammatory, which is an ingredient of the food you switched to. More research needed, I'm almost too skeptical of "health food" sort of things.
If you really think the IBD-like symptoms were caused by sunflower oil, many other foods have that as well, so I would stay away from them all together.

I would agree with you, any food that causes a cat to vomit regularly isn't the best for that cat. If you've found one that works, yay!! I hope the cat's symptoms never return.

Sunflower oil in the wrong propotion can cause a little inflamation... Ideally you want somewhere between a 5 to 1 omega 6 to omega 3 to a 3 to 1 ratio... It is the omega 6 that humans eat in far to high a quanity thus contributing to inflamatio... Pet food companies that dont focus on healthy skin and coat have misrepresented the sunflower oil omega 6 issue...

My cats dont have issue with sunflower oil but I have to balence it in the dog or she gets a small reaction... but she is also not allowed lamb for the inflamation issue and I found no lamb = happier less stiff Gigi

Originally Posted by StefanZ

I wonder if it wasnt anti-inflammatory effects?

This seems vaguely familiar... Did also read about some of the food oils as beneficient here. Besides cant understand why sunflower oil would cause inflammations.

Also quite possible the writer did wrote pro, but meaned "positive" "good" - ie - anti...

Click to expand...

Ah, so sunflower oil DOES have some connection, negative, with inflammations...

OK, so my quess about a pro/contra misunderstanding may have been the other way around: ie the person referring DID read pro-inflammation, and THOUGHT it to mean ANTI...


As Im sure it was proposed as a home-remedy in some cases instead of kortisone (prednisone) - of course after a vet approval.

EDIT: In the article is written: "The best substitute for these fats is olive oil, which is mildly anti-inflammatory." They also do mention flax-oil. Yes, it was perhaps flax oil I did read about...

A conclusion is perhaps if you do worry about sunflower oil in the otherwise excellent California Natural, do give the cat some flax-oil or even olive oil, both known as good oils.