Healthy food for dogs

Healthy food for dogs

There are many foods that actually provide specific benefits for your dog’s health. These are foods that can very easily be added to your dog’s diet, no matter what kind of diet you feed.

The nice thing is, no matter where people are when they come to me, and depending on their openness to changing the diet, if they’re not completely ready to move from kibble to raw (which is my ultimate goal), there are some very basic things they can add to the diet that can make a tremendous difference to their dog’s health.

HOMEMADE DIETS MADE EASY

 

Better Bones is naturally air dried bones from grass-fed Australian cattle. It’s the safe and natural way to balance your dog's raw or home cooked meals.

Food Therapy

Nutrition really is the foundation of health. It’s the body’s fuel and provides the building blocks for the maintenance of health, tissue repair and energy.

That’s why most holistic health practitioners focus a great deal on diet and nutritional supplements.

No matter what my patients come to me for, no matter what the concern is, one of the first things we talk about is diet and digestive health.

We need to be thinking about food as the most important medicine we take every day. Feeding fresh, wholesome, low processed or unprocessed nutrition is paramount in maintaining your dog’s health.

 

9 Healthy Foods For Dogs To Support Health And Promote Healing

These are some of the foods I recommend for my patients on a daily basis. As a general rule, these are wonderful things that can be added to almost any diet for dogs. 

1. Bone Broth

Bone broth provides such tremendous benefits for your dog. It’s literally a healing potion. What is bone broth exactly? It’s bones, simmered low for several days with apple cider vinegar. This slowly breaks down of all of these nutrients, making them extremely bioavailable to the body.

 

Benefits of bone broth:

 Improves digestion and helps heal “leaky gut” – All disease starts in the gut (autoimmune, allergies, asthma, chronic inflammation)! Gelatin soothes and repairs the mucosal lining to help seal the gut barrier, which can become damaged and allow toxins into the blood stream. Gelatin assists the breakdown of proteins and fats from food, making them easier to digest.

Provides minerals and increases their absorption – Bone broth is rich in macro-minerals (calcium and phosphorus) and trace minerals (magnesium and zinc). Bone broth helps with the absorption of these minerals.

Boosts the immune system – Gives the body tools to boost antioxidant activity which helps to fight infections.

Improves skin health – Collagen builds strong skin and protects the skin from aging.

Supports brain function – Glycine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Bone broth helps improve cognition and memory and promotes better sleep.

2. Raw Goat Milk

Raw milk (unpasteurized) is one of the most nutrient-rich foods around. Just take a look at the nutrient profile:

Fat soluble vitamins A, D and K2

Healthy fats: Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) and Omega-3s

Probiotics and digestive enzymes

Protein/amino acids

Immunoglobulins

Minerals and electrolytes: calcium, magnesium, potassium

There are many health benefits of raw milk. It’s been shown to strengthen the immune system and reduce allergies. Thanks to the probiotics and digestive enzymes it’s great for gut health. It can even help to repair leaky gut and promotes better skin health.

Less allergenic – lower in lactose content

Easier to digest and absorb because the fat globules are smaller

Higher levels of MCTs (30-35% in goat milk vs 15-20% in cow milk)

Higher levels of vitamin A, zinc and selenium

In general, I recommend about ¼ cup per day for small dogs, ½ cup per day for medium dogs and ¾ cup per day for large dogs. Start out with smaller amounts and work up to these amounts.

 

3. Organ Meats

No matter what you feed, be it commercial raw, homemade meals or something else, organ meat is a crucial component of the diet. Many commercial diets and home cooks will follow the 80-10-10 rule (meaning 80% muscle meat, 10% bone and 10% organ meats), but I like a bit more than that.

Organs and glands are nutrient dense. This includes the liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, brain, stomach (tripe) and heart. Liver and other organ meats are strength builders (also known as blood builders). In Traditional Chinese Medicine they’re called blood tonics. And we know that carnivores prioritize the organs – they go for the organs first.

Liver: vitamin A, B, iron, folate, zinc, amino acids, ribonucleic acid. Research shows it’s great for building strength and endurance

Kidney: vitamin A, B12, riboflavin, iron

Heart: CoQ10, vitamin B12, amino acids, collagen

Adrenal glands: vitamin C

Brain: omega-3, selenium, zinc, vitamin B12

Tripe (green, not bleached): digestive enzymes, probiotics, selenium, zinc, vitamin B12 

4. Eggs

Eggs are considered a nutritional powerhouse. They’ve been called the most complete protein and are literally 100% bioavailable. And they’re so easy to add to your dog’s diet.

 

They provide:

High quality protein and amino acids

Vitamins A, D, E complex B vitamins

Omega-3s

Antioxidants

Calcium, selenium, zinc

One of the things eggs are most beneficial for is cardiovascular health, so don’t buy into the hype of the last few decades that say eggs aren’t good for your heart! The cholesterol in eggs actually regulates cholesterol in the body. And the brain and liver rely heavily on cholesterol for normal function. They’re also good for eye and skin health.

5. Omega-3 Oils

For omega-3 oils, I recommend feeding small, oily fish on a regular basis.

There are many health benefits to this including:

Brain food

Anti-inflammatory

Joint support

Kidney function

Heart health

Skin and eye health

Sardines and anchovies, as very small fish, haven’t had time to accumulate the toxins found in larger fish. They’re cleaner and offer an amazing source of omega-3s. And stay away from farm-raised fish. Oily fish can be rich, so start with smaller amounts first and work your way up. For smaller dogs, you can start with ½ a sardine per day, and for larger dogs work up to as much as a tin every other day.

 

6. MCT Oil

One of the other medicinal power foods that I like to recommend for all of my patients is MCT oil. MCT stands for medium-chain triglyceride, a very good fat. It’s thermally stable, so it doesn’t readily oxidize, even with high heat. That makes it great to cook with.

There are a vast array of health benefits:

Brain food – improves cognition and helps decrease dementia

Anti-microbial (bacteria and yeast/candida) – lauric acid

Full of antioxidants and minerals

Reduces inflammation

Boosts immune system health

Good for skin and oral health

As a healthy fat, it also helps to fight cancer. One of the things we know about cancer cells is that they can’t use fats. Cancer cells need glucose, or sugars, which carbs break down into, to fuel themselves. We can help starve cancer by providing a diet that contains more healthy fats and fewer carbohydrates.

7. Kelp

One of the reasons kelp is so good for dogs is that it’s full of trace minerals. Our soils are becoming so depleted that they’re mineral deficient, so we need to look for other sources of trace minerals. The ocean is providing these minerals. It’s the lifeblood of the planet.

 Kelp seaweed absorbs a lot of its nutrients in its fronds/leaves, not from the roots. Compared to plants that grow on land, sea vegetables have 10-20 times more vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It’s also a powerful source of trace minerals and complex phytonutrients.

 

8. Mushrooms

Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods that can be offered on a daily basis. I use them myself every day. Mushrooms contain some of the most unique and potent natural medicines on the planet. They’ve been used in Chinese herbal formulas for centuries because they provide such powerful health benefits.

 Some of the best mushrooms include:

Turkey Tail

Reishi

Cordyceps

Lion’s Mane

Shitake

Chaga

Maitake

Medicinal mushrooms are packed full of vitamins and nutrients including beta glucans, flavonoids, prebiotics, digestive enzymes and antioxidants. One of the most well-known benefits is the amazing boost to the immune system. Digestive health and anti-cancer benefits are also good reasons to add them to your dog’s diet.

 

9. Fermented Foods

Fermented foods are a fantastic source of beneficial bacteria (probiotics). They usually contain a wider variety than supplemental probiotics with more concentrated numbers of bacteria. They’re also great for supporting immune functions. Fermented foods assist in detoxing the bowel and chelates heavy metals/chemicals, can help heal leaky gut and IBD.

One of the reasons fermented foods are so awesome is because of all the nutrients. The fermentation process produces:

Vitamin C, K2 and B vitamins

Acetylcholine – a neurotransmitter

Choline – balances and nourishes the blood

Enzymes support digestion and metabolic activity

Lactic Acid – represses cancer cells

Some of the best options for fermented foods are:

 Kefir

Yogurt

Fermented veggies

Fermented fish stock

Fermented fish sauce

Kombucha