Benefits Of Cranberries For Dogs
When it comes to your dog’s diet, they need to get all healthy nutrients that can boost their immune system and prevent unwanted diseases. Even though there is a selection of processed dog super-foods packed with all the necessary ingredients, it is nice to mix up their diet and give them fresh human food.
Fruits and vegetables play a significant role in your dog’s diet, even though most people avoid them due to their high sugar ratio. However, if you balance their diet and give them fruits or vegetables as a treat, it can lead to many health benefits for your dog.
In today’s article, we will focus on cranberries, and we will find out more about their nutritional qualities and all of their benefits that can improve your dog’s life.
First of all, are cranberries safe for dogs?
Yes, cranberries are safe for dogs, and they should be given as a snack, not as their main diet. Depending on the dog and its preferences, cranberries are great in either dried, frozen, raw, or cooked.
Nutritional Qualities of Cranberries
They are considered super-food for humans, and cranberries are safe for dogs in moderate amounts. We are talking about a fruit packed with many vitamins that can improve your dog’s health.
Cranberries are packed with:
- Vitamin C – which is great for your dog’s muscles, skin, immune health, and wound healing;
- Vitamin E – An important antioxidant that strengthens its immune health;
- Manganese – Important for growth, metabolism, and the antioxidant system;
- Vitamin K1 – Critical component in blood clotting.
On top of that, cranberries are rich in fiber, quercetin, proanthocyanins, and other antioxidants.
Benefits of Cranberries for Dogs
All of this sounds great, but what kind of benefits do cranberries bring for the dog? – Actually, cranberries come with many helpful benefits that can improve your dog’s health.
Improving their immune system and Gut Health
Building a strong immune system should be your main priority if you want to avoid the headache of going to the vet now and then. To build a strong immune system, you need to balance your dog’s diet and include some superfoods like cranberries.
Since your dog’s immune system heavily relies on what’s happening within the gut, you need to come up with a diet that will balance the microbiome that is essential for their digestive system and their immune system.
This is where cranberries come in handy. They show a significant efficacy as natural antimicrobials, which are very helpful in preventing colonization of your dog’s gut by infection-causing viruses, fungi, or even bacteria.
In other words, to maintain a healthy immune system, you need to get rid of the harmful bacteria without harming the good bacteria, and cranberries are great for achieving balance in their gut. On top of that, they are a great inflammatory ingredient that will improve their digestive system.
Cancer prevention
Unfortunately, cancer is fairly common with dogs, especially dogs past 10 years. Statistical analysis has proven that more than half of all dogs that live past 10 years develop cancer, and most eventually die from it.
Therefore, it is imperative to prevent this from happening, but you need to balance your dog’s diet since it does not occur instantly. Cranberries are great just because many studies have shown that they have tumor growth preventing characteristics in more than 17 types of cancer.
Cranberries can lower cancer risk in dogs by modifying pathways, decreasing cellular proliferation, and alternating reactive oxygen species.
Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease
It is safe to say that heart diseases are not common with dogs. With that said, some dog breeds like Boxers, Boston Terriers, Bulldogs, Samoyeds, or Russel Terriers are more prone to heart diseases, which is why you need to change your diet.
Using cranberries as a treat, you’ll reduce the risk of heart disease in your dog just because the fruits contain hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids that reduce the risk of atherosclerosis which is the first cause of strokes and heart attacks in dogs.
Prevent Diabetes
Too much sugar is bad for everyone, especially for dogs. Since fruits are packed with sugar, it is good for people with diabetes to avoid fruit, although the sugar is natural.
However, berries are great for diabetics, especially cranberries. They are low in sugar compared to most fruits and can help lower blood glucose. On top of that, the added fiber is great for lowering diabetes risk.
Improving Oral health
Apart from the many good characteristics of cranberries, they’re also great for keeping your dog’s mouth clean. Oral health is important with dogs, and it can lead to many serious issues due to inflammation in the mouth that can translate to the whole body.
Cranberries are great for stopping bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract or gut lining, and they also stop bacteria from sticking to their gums and teeth. So, if your dog’s diet is made out of kibble or canned food (that can cause dental health issues), it is a good idea to give them cranberries once a while to keep their oral health on an optimal level.
