\u00a0<\/strong>Balancing the alkalinity and acidity of the diet is important to your dog\u2019s health.<\/p>\nOrgans like the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, hormones, heart, kidneys function better in a more alkaline environment. Too much acidity can contribute to inflammation which is responsible for a lot of chronic disease.<\/p>\n
Proteins like meat make the body more acidic, while most vegetables and some fruits have an alkalinizing effect on the body.<\/p>\n
#3 Range of Nutrients<\/strong><\/p>\nVegetables provide proteins, lipids, fats, carbohydrates, phytonutrients and fiber, making them a complete food \u2013 at least for herbivores like cows, sheep and rabbits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t mean your dog can thrive as a vegetarian.<\/p>\n
First, it would be difficult\u00a0to feed enough vegetables to\u00a0fully nourish him.<\/p>\n
Second, you\u2019d need to add some grains and legumes to provide a proper balance of amino acids.<\/p>\n
Protein sources like meat and muscle meats provide\u00a0a full arrray of amino acids.<\/p>\n
#4 Water<\/strong><\/p>\nFruit and veggies are an excellent source of water. Many dogs today live in a chronic state of dehydration, which contributes to problems such as kidney disease or the formation of bladder stones.<\/p>\n
#5 Vitamins<\/strong><\/p>\nRaw vegetables provide most vitamins, including:<\/p>\n
\n- Most of the B vitamins (but are low in B12, B1 (Thiamine) or Choline, so your dog needs foods like liver and eggs to supply these nutrients)<\/li>\n
- Vitamin C and co-factors: dogs make their own vitamin C but need the co-factors that help the body use it<\/li>\n
- Vitamin A, E and K<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There\u2019s not much vitamin D in vegetables and dogs don\u2019t have enough bare skin to absorb it from the sun like we humans do. So again, dogs need liver to supply vitamin D.<\/p>\n
#6 Minerals<\/strong><\/p>\nDark leafy green vegetables contain important minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium.<\/p>\n
Vegetables like alfalfa and seaweed are also good sources of minerals. Alfalfa roots go 40 feet down into the subsoil and absorb minerals from the earth. Seaweed picks up minerals and micronutrients that are washed into the sea.<\/p>\n
Make sure these foods are organic, not produced with synthetic fertilizers. In the US alfalfa is a major genetically modified (GMO) crop so it\u2019s even more important to find a certified organic source.<\/p>\n
#7 Omega-3<\/strong><\/p>\nGrasses and algae (phytoplankton) have a full complement of essential fatty acids and are rich in Omega-3 (even more so if they\u2019re grown in a cold climate).<\/p>\n
Omega-3 reduces inflammation and supports the brain and central nervous system, as well as breathing, circulation, digestion, immunity and reproduction.<\/p>\n
When dogs are too high in Omega-6, it can impair these functions, so balancing the diet with Omega-3s is important.<\/p>\n
While many people feed fish oils, they are very unstable and can turn rancid easily, so feeding plant based Omega-3s like phytoplankton is a good way to give your dog these essential fatty acids.\u00a0Omega-3 helps slow degeneration and aging.<\/p>\n
#8 Phytonutrients<\/strong><\/p>\nPhytonutrients are only<\/em> in vegetable material.<\/p>\nPhytonutrients are protective. They include enzymes, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules (read more about these below).<\/p>\n
Phytonutrients are antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, antihelminthic (anti-worms), anti-aging, anti-degeneration and, most importantly, anti-cancer.<\/p>\n
And yet most kibble-fed dogs get none of these nutrients!<\/p>\n
Enzymes<\/strong><\/p>\nEnzymes in food help digestion. Tropical fruits like pineapple (containing bromelain) and papaya (papain) are especially beneficial.<\/p>\n
Some enzymes escape the hydrochloric acid in the stomach and are absorbed whole. When this happens they\u2019re also anti-aging, anti-degeneration and pro-health in your dog\u2019s body!<\/p>\n
Antioxidants<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nVegetables, fruits and herbs are chock full of antioxidants.<\/p>\n
Antioxidants protect against free radicals (unstable molecules that are a major cause of aging) and again, you can only get them from fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
Anti-Inflammatory Molecules<\/strong><\/p>\nAnti-inflammatory molecules include herbs like turmeric, all kinds of\u00a0berries, and Omega-3 fatty acids.<\/p>\n
Omega-3 isn\u2019t anti-inflammatory on its own, but it drives the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega-6, which is why dogs need both.<\/p>\n
#9 Fiber<\/strong><\/p>\nRaw vegetables supply healthy fiber.<\/p>\n
Vegetable fiber is far better and much healthier than fiber from grains. Vegetables contain soluble fiber, which is digested by microbes in the large bowel. Insoluble fiber bulks out the food and helps it pass through the colon.<\/p>\n
Fiber is vital in older dogs in treating and preventing degenerative disease.<\/p>\n
#10 Vegetables Help Treat Disease<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nMost important of all, vegetables help treat all degenerative disease processes. He says\u00a0vegetables are especially important in treating serious diseases like cancer and kidney disease.<\/p>\n
How To Feed Vegetables<\/strong><\/p>\nWe\u00a0recommend feeding vegetables to your dog, starting with puppies at about six weeks old.\u00a0Feed vegetables as about 10% of your dog\u2019s diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feed Them Raw and Pulverized<\/strong><\/p>\nVegetables should\u00a0be fed raw for maximum benefits, but you\u2019ll need to crush or pulverize them in a juicer or blender, or your dog won\u2019t be able to digest them. Chopping or grating isn\u2019t enough to make them digestible.<\/p>\n
Use whatever vegetables are in season, feeding lots of variety. Avoid onions, legumes, macadamias and avocados, which can be toxic to dogs.<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019re wondering about garlic, it\u2019s safe when used in moderation and has many health benefits \u2026<\/p>\n
If your dog isn\u2019t on a raw diet, he can still benefit from getting the extra nutrients from some fresh whole foods.<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s not absolutely essential to feed dogs fruit and veggies, but there are many life stages and health states where feeding vegetable material can have major advantages.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You might not\u00a0think fruits and vegetables for dogs\u00a0would be controversial \u2026 but it is! Many conventional veterinarians don\u2019t believe they\u2019re necessary for dogs \u2013 though some might tell you to add canned green beans to kibble if your dog needs to lose weight! Some raw feeders also don\u2019t give dogs vegetables, believing that an all-meat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37169],"tags":[],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-32991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dog-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32991"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dealstore?post=32991"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/offerexpiration?post=32991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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