20 Foods That Can Help Your Dog Live Longer
The only thing wrong with dogs is that they don’t live long enough. Dogs love us more than they love themselves and enrich our lives in more ways than we can count. As dog owners, we want what’s best for our furry family members and they deserve the best care we can provide.
One way we can help keep our dogs healthy, so that they live as long as possible, is by ensuring that they are getting the proper nutrition, which includes antioxidants.
How to Prevent Cancer and Heart Disease
Antioxidants help prevent cancer and cell damage. They protect the body’s cells from free radicals and strengthen the immune system. Free radicals are chemicals that cause harm to cells that are formed in the body and can overwhelm the body and cause stress, premature aging, heart disease, a weakened immune system, and cancer.
Causes of Cancer and Other Diseases
Some internally generated sources of free radicals are created in the body and occur due to inflammation, exercise, medications, heart disease, injuries, etc. External sources include second hand smoke, the chemicals we use to clean our homes, pesticides, air pollutants, radiation, and much more.
Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals and reduce their capacity to do harm to our dogs. Some free radicals are produced during normal metabolism in the body and others are found in food.
What you can Do to Help Your Dog Live Longer
The antioxidants vitamin E (α-tocopherol), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and B-carotene are vital for our dog’s health and cannot be created in the body.
Some dog foods are supplemented with antioxidants but they are also readily available in fresh form and can be used to supplement food or fed as treats. The fresher the source of the food, the better for your dog. Highly processed foods loose many of their antioxidant properties and the digestive enzymes your dog needs to absorb the vital nutrition.
20 Foods that will Protect your Dog’s Health
Adding and rotating these 20 foods into your dog's diet, will help your dog fight free radical damage and promote better health.
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Strawberries
- Apples (seeds are toxic)
- Bananas
- Peaches (pits are toxic)
- Cabbage
- Bell Peppers
- Broccoli
- Sweet potatoes
- Russet Potatoes
- Ground flax seeds
- Lentils
- Kale
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Spirulina
- Pumpkin
- Eggs
- Cheese
Feeding Tips
If your dog does not like raw vegetables, you may lightly sauté the food in olive or coconut oil for a very brief time so that the food is not completely cooked yet tastes better. Or, you may grind the food and mix into your dog’s meals. Some owners even feed their dog some food frozen as treats, such as blueberries and peach slices.
