What are anti-inflammatory foods and how can your dog benefit from it too?

Dogs are like people; they can experience health problems. But what if there was an option to add some healthy and natural ingredients to your dog’s food that would benefit them in both the short-term and long-term?

This brings us to one of the hot topics, Anti-inflammatory. Right now, you probably think, what is it? Well, there’s no need to worry, little changes by including it to their meals can be helpful.

What is anti-inflammatory?

We often hear the word anti-inflammatory thrown around a lot so what is it? Inflammation occurs when your immune system sends out cells to fight bacteria or heal an injury or damaged cells. It has to do a lot with our immune system. This can happen to anyone whether a human or other animals like our beloved dogs at any time. In other words, it’s an overreaction of the body’s immune system in response to external irritants like environmental toxins, allergens, or even certain types of food products which are known as “allergic ingredients.

Chronic inflammation is one of the leading causes of many common health problems in dogs today. Studies have suggested that over feeding of processed pet food and over-medicating are two common factors that stress a dog's body and immune system.

You can prevent and lower the risk of chronic diseases in your dog by adding anti-inflammatory foods to their diet on a regular basis.

Here’s 5 list of anti-inflammatory foods that you might already have at home!

• Vegetables such as Cruciferous veggies. These are broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Studies have shown that these vegetables have powerful properties to prevent diseases and boost the body's immune system.
• Top Tip: Dogs don’t digest vegetables well like we do because of their shorter intestines. To help their body to absorb the nutrient, it is recommended to either puree it or blanch the veggies first.
• Dark Leafy Greens: Kale, spinach, Swiss chard and collard greens are all rich in the antioxidants vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. These veggies also have few calories and portions of these colorful varieties can contain almost twice as many antioxidants than the green variety.
• Apples: Apples contain a substance called catechin, which prevents the growth of pathogenic bacteria. They are also rich in vitamin C. Make sure your dog eats the apple skin, make sure you wash them properly and if you can afford, go for organic grown apples. They also contain quercetin, which has anti-inflammatory and antihistamine effects.
• Berries: Studies have shown that blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries and blackberries all contain anthocyanins, which give fruits and vegetables their red or blue color. Anthocyanidins are antioxidants that help protect your heart and brain. Blackberries contain resveratrol, an anti-inflammatory compound that may fight cancer. Berries also have less sugar than many other fruits.
• Mushrooms: Portobello, shiitake, enoki and oyster mushrooms are edible fungi that are rich in selenium. And lion’s mane mushrooms are reported to reduce inflammation related to obesity. Cooking them first is better as your dog can’t digest raw mushrooms. Be careful, some mushrooms can cause an allergic reaction to dogs as well as humans

Here at Nom Nom Treats, we love DOGS! They are family like humans and deserve to look and feel good about themselves. Our dog's health comes first, and that’s our treats have added benefits to it and not only single ingredient dog treats

Maintaining your dog’s long-term health includes a healthy clean diet and lifestyle. Prevention is always better than cure!

When in doubt speak to your trusted vet or a holistic practitioner.