Adding Vegetables To Your Dogs Food by Color Benefit
Benefits of colorful veggies added to your dog’s diet.
Green: contain Leutin, an antioxidant that aids vision. High in potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Folic Acid, Leafy Greens, Celery, Broccoli, Cabbage, Green Peppers, Kale, Spinach, Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Zucchini,
Orange: Betacarotene, Vitamin C, promote vision, healthy skin, support a strong immune system. Pumpkin, Carrots, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes
Red — rich in phytochemicals, lycopene, and anthocyanins that improve heart health and reduce risk of cancer. Red Peppers, Roasted Beets, Radishes (not whole)
Purple: high in antioxidants and phytochemicals that are anti-aging, reduce risk of cancer and support mental clarity. Eggplant (in very small quantities) , Purple Cabbage
How to get colorful vegetables in your dog’s diet?
Save a little when you prepare your own meals.
Are you a juicer? save the pulp and strain to add to your dog’s bowl
You can add up to 20% of the total food.
With the exception of a few crunchy carrots and cucumbers — veggies should be steamed, roasted and finely chopped for maximum digestibility & nutritional absorption
Help Your Dog Digest Vegetables
You’re going to hear all the FB experts tell you your dog doesn’t eat vegetables. That s dog woudln’t forage for them in the wild.
Your dog’s prey eats vegetables and if it’s in the belly of the prey, they would ingest all that is there. One key benefit of ingesting food through prey — is that the digestive enzymes already produced by the prey would help your dog absorb these nutrients better. So while a dog may naturally have trouble digesting RAW vegetables - prey ingesta gives it a kick start. Likewise, we can start that process and aid your dog with steaming/roasting, chopping, and using digestive enzymes in their diet supplementation.
Adding digestive enymes to your dog’s nutritional plan is a great idea — whether you’re a kibble feeder, canned feeder, homemade cook, or raw.
Benefits of adding vegetables to your dog’s diet —
Vegetables help alkalize your dog’s body. Too much acidity can lead to inflammatory conditions & chronic diseases. Reduced acidity can be beneficial to the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, hormones, heart and kidneys.
Offer additional nutrients — vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, fiber, and healthy carbohydrates, from fresh whole food sources.
Offer your dog additional hydration — thus supporting the kidneys and bladder.
Colorful vegetables are right in phytonutrients that are ONLY available in fruits and vegetables. Phytonutrients may offer support in:
reducing cancer cells
inflammation reduction
improving gut health
Vegetables introduce enzymes into the digestive system, making digestion easier & improving metabolic processes.
Vegetables fight disease and aging caused by free radicals, making them great antioxidant support in whole food options.
Studies tell us that adding vegetables like this to your dogs’ diet can reduce the risk of disease by up to 90%
Dogs that ate any green leafy vegetables, like broccoli, had reduced the risk of developing bladder cancer by 90% and the dogs that consumed any yellow – orange vegetables like carrots reduced the risk by 70%!
So yea, I’ll include those foods in my dog’s diet!
It’s not people food if it’s in your dog’s bowl.
( http://ilarjournal.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/1/100.full ) (Raghavan, Knapp, Bonney, 2005) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16013542/
Choose Organic Vegetables wherever possible.
Remember — No onions, leeks, or shallots. Fresh Garlic in Moderation.