Written by : Sudanshu Goyal
Pet Nutritionist & Founder, Understood
Published: 26 Jan 2026 | Last reviewed: 26 Jan 2026
How Pet Nutrition Actually Works Inside the Body
(And Why Labels Don’t Tell the Full Story)
Ever wondered what plants and animals were originally meant to eat?
Plants thrive when their roots absorb nutrients from the soil in forms they can actually use. Animals, too, evolved to receive nutrition in ways their bodies can digest, absorb, and benefit from. Not just consume.
Over time, however, our relationship with pets has changed. We’ve domesticated them, humanized them, and often feed them based on convenience and labels rather than biological design. In doing so, we sometimes forget that pets are not small humans, they are animals with very specific nutritional needs.
Is pet food nutrition on the label always absorbed by the body?
So what’s actually wrong with what we feed our pets?
It’s a fair question. Pet food today comes with detailed nutritional labels, and many pet parents choose food based on what they understand from human nutrition. But one important factor is often overlooked: the nutrients listed on a package are not the same as the nutrients a pet’s body can absorb and use.
This difference lies in something called bioavailability.
What Does Bioavailability Really Mean?
Most of us understand what nutrition is and why it matters for health. Far fewer of us think about how much of that nutrition the body can actually absorb after digestion.
Bioavailability simply refers to how much of the nutrition present in food becomes available to the body after digestion, not what goes into the bowl, but what finally reaches the cells.
A food can look nutritionally complete on paper and still fail to adequately nourish the body if digestion and absorption are compromised.
Why Bioavailability Matters Even More for Pets
Unlike humans, cats and dogs eat the same two or three foods repeatedly; often every day, for years. They have smaller digestive systems, limited dietary variety, and far less flexibility when it comes to adapting to inefficient digestion.
Because of this, what we feed them matters more than we often realize. Small inefficiencies, when repeated daily, can quietly add up over time.
To understand this better, imagine eating only dry food every day while consuming very little water. Even if the food contained all essential nutrients, digestion would feel uncomfortable, absorption would be inefficient, and the body would struggle to make full use of what’s being consumed.
Why Dry Food Can be Harder to Digest for some Dogs & Cats
It is important to have moisture in your dog or cat's food. When food lacks adequate moisture, digestion itself becomes more demanding. The body has to work harder to break the food down, often relying on internal fluids to support the digestive process. Over time, this added effort can reduce digestive efficiency rather than improve it.
When digestion is inefficient, not all nutrients are fully broken down or absorbed. Some pass through the digestive tract without being utilised. This doesn’t mean the food lacks nutrition, it means the body struggled to access it. So one may feel their dog eats but looks unhealthy
The body absorbs nutrients best when they come from ingredients it naturally recognises and can process using its own enzymes. This is why nutrients from whole, minimally processed foods are generally absorbed more effectively than those that have been heavily altered.
A familiar comparison is supplementation. Even in humans, only a portion of certain supplements is absorbed, while the rest is excreted. The same principle applies to pets.
This is why two foods can show similar nutritional values on a label yet deliver very different nutritional outcomes inside the body.
Signs Your Pet May Not be Digesting Food Properly
Dog digestion problems rarely show immediate signs when nutrition isn’t being absorbed efficiently. They adapt. They continue eating. They appear “fine.”
Over time, however, subtle signs may begin to appear:
Picky or inconsistent eating
Dry or irregular stools
Low energy after meals
Gradual coat or skin changes
These are often signs of digestive stress rather than a lack of ingredients. A pet can look healthy and still not be nutritionally supported in the way its body needs.
What Pet Parents Can Look For Instead
If bioavailability matters more than labels alone, feeding decisions don’t need to become complicated. A few simple principles can help guide better choices and improve the dog digestion problems, picky eating, and gut health are:
Ensure adequate moisture in food, so digestion can happen comfortably and efficiently.
Choose ingredients that are recognizable and natural, not just nutritionally correct on paper.
Observe how your pet feels after eating. Energy levels, digestion, and stool quality often reveal more than any label can.
Focus on consistency, providing food that aligns with what your pet’s body is designed to process rather than following human food trends.
A Calmer Way to Think About Nutrition
We all wish for our pets to live long, healthy lives. They trust us silently, every single day, to make the right choices for them. Feeding doesn’t need to be driven by fear, trends, or confusion. It works best when it supports digestion first and nutrition follows naturally.
Better nutrition doesn’t always mean changing food overnight. Sometimes, it simply means changing how the body receives it.
This belief is what guided how Understood Meals were designed gently air-dried for safety and convenience, then served moist to support digestion and nutrient absorption.
