Can a dog eat sweet potatoes?
Sweet potato is a very traditional food that has gained a lot of popularity thanks to the fitness culture, which grows in Brazil and around the world. It is a tuberous root originating in South and Central America that was introduced to the European continent by Christopher Columbus after his travels through the Americas.
- As more and more guardians are encouraged to offer a more natural diet to their dogs.
- We often hear doubts about the human foods that the dog can eat and that are harmful to their health.
- ???.
- ? Can the dog eat watercress? or ‘the dog can eat onions’.
- These are some of the questions caregivers often ask the accommodation when they decide to go beyond food and incorporate fresh food into their best friends’ diet.
In this peritoAnimal article, we will talk about the benefits and precautions of giving sweet potatoes to dogs. Check!
To understand if your dog can eat sweet potatoes, it is essential to know the nutritional properties of this food. In addition to clarifying the benefits of incorporating it into your puppy’s diet, this will also help you become more aware of your own food.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100 grams of raw sweet potatoes have the following nutritional composition:
As you can see, sweet potatoes are low in calories and fat, high in carbohydrates and fiber, which offer a moderate intake of plant proteins. This allows limited sweet potato consumption to create satiety, promote muscle gain, help improve digestion while being an excellent source of energy for metabolism.
Sweet potatoes also provide significant levels of minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. And while it cannot be considered a “supervitamin” vegetable, it offers a good content of vitamin C, vitamins A and B vitamins. Together, these nutrients are essential to strengthen the immune system and prevent a wide range of diseases, and are great friends of the health and aesthetics of skin and hair.
It is also interesting to note that by containing natural antioxidants, such as vitamin C, sweet potato helps combat the action of free radicals and cellular aging, by preventing symptoms of old age in dogs, among which is the gradual deterioration of cognitive ability. sensory skills. .
If you’re wondering if your dog can eat sweet potatoes, the answer is: yes! Sweet potatoes are not among the vegetables that dogs cannot eat, in fact, they offer several health benefits for canines. However, precautions should be taken to ensure that consumption of this tuber is beneficial.
First of all, you should keep in mind that sweet potato can not be the basis or main element of your pet’s diet, as dogs need to consume a good dose of protein a day. Although dogs have become omnivorous and are able to digest various foods that wolves are not, meats remain the most appropriate source of protein to meet your body’s nutritional needs. Therefore, you should not base your puppy’s nutrition solely on plant-based proteins and carbohydrates, as this could develop nutritional deficits and cases of anemia in dogs.
In addition, sweet potato is a food rich in sugars and carbohydrates, which can be incorporated into the diet of dogs, but always in moderation. Excessive or excessive carbohydrate consumption can cause digestive problems in dogs, such as gas, vomiting and diarrhea. On the other hand, excess sugars can cause your dog to gain weight quickly and are more likely to develop certain diseases associated with canine obesity, such as diabetes, joint problems and cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, we recommend that you always consult a veterinarian before incorporating any new foods, such as sweet potato, into your puppy’s diet. This trained professional will help you determine the recommended amount and frequency of consumption based on your pet’s height, age, weight and health status.
You’re probably wondering how to give your dog sweet potatoes and make the most of the nutritional benefits. The first point to consider is that your dog should never eat raw sweet potatoes, as they are difficult to digest and can cause serious digestive problems or even symptoms of poisoning in the most severe cases.
Don’t forget to always give boiled sweet potatoes, in chunks or pureed, to promote the digestion and assimilation of nutrients. If you want to please your fur, you can also use sweet potatoes to make delicious homemade recipes, such as a stash of sweet potatoes with ground meat or chicken.
In addition, you can prepare healthy sweet potato snacks in the oven and use them as a positive reinforcement in your puppy’s education, to reward him for his efforts and achievements, as well as to encourage him to continue learning. But don’t forget to include salt, spices or oils that can harm the dog.
Finally, you can also offer potatoes to dogs with diarrhea to help replenish water, nutrients and energy. But it is essential to respect a moderate dose to prevent excess fiber from having a harmful effect and re-stimulate intestinal transit, aggravating diarrhea.
In this video from our YouTube channel, we discuss these 8 fruits for dogs, their benefits and recommended dosages:
If you want to read articles similar to Can you eat sweet potato ?, we recommend that you visit our Balanced Diets section.