Re lactic acid and possible cancer fighting properties-plus raw versus cooked vegetablesI was given permission by Suze F.to post it here Hi Toni, I'd love to hear what you come up with on your Internet search. Here is a quote from CJ Puotinen's "The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, "In his book "How to Fight Cancer and Win," William L. Fischer describes the importance of saurkraut and other lactic acid fermented foods as a support therapy in human cancer prevention and treatment. Those are fresh, raw, unpasteurized natural pickels, made without vinegar and with a minimum of salt, which are, Fischer explained, an excellent bowel tonic; they improve digestion, which in cancer patients is often compromised by a lack of hydrochloric acid and enzymes, and are themselves rich in easily assimilated nutrients. Lactic acid maintains beneficial intestinal flora while helping to eliminate harmful bacteria. According to German physician and scientist Johannes Kuhl, M.D., Ph.D., lactic acid foods are "hostile" to cancer. "No other full-value diet will do the job [of reducing cancer cases]," he wrote." It sounds like this process may more closely replicate the "pre-digested" plant material in a prey's stomach and intestines than cooked veggies, as you mentioned. However, I disagree that wolves and or dogs' ancestors didn't eat raw plant materials albeit, I believe, in small amounts. No one seems to agree how much raw plant material they ate but they ate some as do many modern day dogs if the owner allows it. Juliette de Bairacli Levy writes in "The Complete Herbal Handbook For the Dog and Cat," "The dog is no true vegetable eater, taking only what it gets from the contents of the intestines of the prey which it kills, and in very limited amounts, direct from various grasses, berries and mosses, which it seeks out for itself. Many dogs have completely lost their instinct for the seeking-out of herbs; only for that admirable, intestinal cleansing herb, couch grass (Agropyrum repens) , do dogs seem to retain their herb eating instinct..." (p.32) She does emphasize that dogs seek herbs more for medicinal purposes than for nutritional ones. Maybe we don't really differ on this point, I just think they do eat some raw plant material although a very small ratio compared to meat consumption. I do agree that dogs' ancestors probably didn't eat much raw cabbage or turnip unless these agriculturally-raised veggies have wild counterparts somewhere in the world where dogs' ancestors lived. Hmmm.... I'm beginning to think I overfeed veggies....I give my two 10 lb. dogs about 3 Tbs. each per day. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. This is another issue I've been pondering along with the digestion issue....