Can Dogs Eat Broccoli?
If you’re eating your dinner and your dog is sitting looking up at you with those big puppy dog eyes, then you might find yourself wondering: can dogs eat broccoli?
We know they can eat meat, but chances are that you might not want to share that. And you shouldn’t share your pudding, as this contains too much sugar for dogs.
But most of us would happily give away our broccoli. And as it’s good for us, perhaps it might do some good for our dogs as well? In this post, we will answer the question of whether dogs can eat broccoli and also provide some useful tips to help ensure your dog enjoys the broccoli in the safest and healthiest fashion possible.
CAN YOU GIVE DOGS BROCCOLI?
If you are wondering whether dogs can eat broccoli, then it might be because you have heard about how fruit can be damaging for dogs. After all, fruit is very high in sugar, and this can in turn cause a lot of damage.
Sugar isn’t particularly good for humans. Sugar causes inflammation and it can irritate the nerves. If you have too much sugar, then this can be a serious issue that ends up causing nerve damage. When this reaches the eyes, it can lead to blindness. This is why diabetic patients often suffer with blindness when their condition progresses.
Likewise, anything that is high in sugar is bad for the teeth. It can also cause diabetes by leading to lowered insulin sensitivity.
The good news though, is that broccoli has a lot less sugar than fruit. That means it’s safe to give your dog a little more broccoli than you would be able to give them apples or oranges. This is also why some people suggest that a vegetable smoothie is healthier for humans than a fruit one!
That said, broccoli is still not a perfectly safe option for dogs. That’s because it does contain a lot of fiber. In small quantities, fiber will help your dog to digest its food and will allow them to digest their food more easily, avoiding stomach upsets and helping them to get the most of the nutrients that are in the rest of their dinner. Try mashing some broccoli into a meat mixture and they’ll enjoy this benefit!
Too much fiber, though, is a problem and can actually cause your dog’s digestion to get worse. Dogs don’t eat a lot of fruit and vegetables like humans simply because their digestion doesn’t need it. Give them too much fibrous fruit and vegetables and you can actually cause more problems than solutions, and this might lead to lots of mess on the carpet and stomach pain. Be particularly careful about this if your dog has a history of a sensitive stomach!
Moreover, this can be an issue because of a substance called isothiocyanate. These have been associated with gastric upset, though it’s not a particularly severe issue and only tends to build up in larger quantities.
Give your dog just a few pieces of broccoli every few days. Let it be a treat and not a staple of their diet!
BROCCOLI HEALTH BENEFITS
While it’s true that broccoli can be harmful for dogs in large quantities, it can also offer a host of different health benefits when consumed in the right quantities.
For starters, broccoli is rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to support the body’s immune system, and this can reduce the likelihood of illness and problems. If your dog is prone to getting colds or the flu, then making sure they eat lots of food rich in vitamin C can help! Vitamin D is also a useful option.
At the same time, broccoli is also rich in calcium. Calcium is a mineral that helps to build strong bones. That means that it can help to prevent joint problems, sprains, fractures, and other related issues. Vitamin C also helps to support strong bones.
There are more benefits to broccoli too—such as iron. For all these reasons, giving your dog just a little broccoli in their dish with the rest of their food can be a good thing. And if it should fall on the floor and your dog should vacuum it up when you’re eating, then you have no reason to worry!
Dogs can eat all kinds of human food in fact and a lot of these things are very good for them. Just make sure to do your research and don’t overdo it!