Can Dogs Eat Quinoa?
Eating healthy can be a very tough job. Nowadays, everyone is trying to promote a healthy and gluten-free lifestyle. It’s great if you manage to join in!
If eating healthy is your new trend, you may want to also start feeding your dog healthy foods. Now the question is, can dogs eat quinoa?
What Is Quinoa?
First things first. Before answering the man question in this post, can dogs eat quinoa, let’s start by explaining what quinoa is?
Even though everyone knows quinoa as a grain, it is actually a seed. It’s strongly related to the Swiss chard and spinach, and it’s been around for more than 3,000 years.
It has some amazing healthful properties, and you can easily find red, black, and white quinoa. It’s become so popular because it’s completely gluten-free but still keeps the healthy amino acids everyone is looking for.
Our diets need to consist of amino-acids because our bodies can’t produce them. They are an essential aspect, especially when it comes to the health of our immune systems, blood cell formation, and of course, muscle strength.
In just a cup of quinoa, there are about eight grams of lean protein and many minerals and vitamins. Quinoa contains vitamin E, vitamin B, potassium, and zinc.
Nowadays, the number of people choosing to feed quinoa to their dogs is increasing. It’s become present in many dog food brands because it can replace the usual calorific proteins.
But what’s very important is to know if we can safely feed quinoa to our dogs.
Feeding Dogs Quinoa, The Good
Can dogs eat quinoa? Well, take a look at these arguments and decide for yourself.
In quinoa, there is a large number of carbohydrates and a very low glycemic index. It’s great as a replacement for other grains. It’s got an impressive nutritional profile, and diabetic dogs can significantly benefit from it.
Being gluten-free and very low in calories makes it amazing for any dog who is experiencing obesity or has stomach problems of any kind.
For both dogs and humans, quinoa is very easy to digest. It’s rich in prebiotics, which is very important for healthy digestion. Thanks to the many minerals, vitamins, and fibers, it can easily replace other grains. Now, let’s see if there are bad parts of feeding quinoa to our dogs.
Feeding Dogs Quinoa, The Bad
When it comes to grains and pseudo-grains, such as quinoa, there is one significant counter-argument. They shouldn’t be in any dog’s diet. This is because dogs and humans have different digestive systems, and they may not have a high tolerance for grains.
If you want to try feeding quinoa to your dog, make sure you start with a small quantity. This is the rule for any new food you may want to introduce in his diet. If he tolerates it and there is no problem of any kind, you can slowly increase the quantity and frequency of quinoa meals.
Make sure you wash it very well, and it’s perfectly cooked before feeding it to your pup. In general, the quinoa coating is slightly toxic and bitter in order to keep birds away. Some sellers are processing it in order to get rid of those elements, but it’s always a good idea to wash it.
Feeding Dogs Quinoa, The Healthy
But is quinoa healthy for dogs? Well, yes, In some situations, quinoa can be a very healthy treat for your pup.
Because it’s very low in allergens and fats but has a high nutritional value, it can be great for some dogs that don’t usually tolerate grains.