Ketogenic diet has been around for a long time and has many supporters due to many health benefits. You may be asking yourself: “can keto diet be also good for dogs”? It turns out cancer and chronic diseases prevention, weight loss, and overall health improvement are among reasons why your furry friend might try low carb diet.
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
Keto is a very low carb, high fat, and moderate protein levels diet. In a normal diet, cells convert carbs into glucose to use it immediately for energy or store in the liver as glycogen. When we remove carbohydrates from dog’s diet, it will use ketones from fat instead as fuel. This is a metabolic state called ketosis.
Benefits of Keto Diet for Dogs
Ketosis has several health benefits such as weight loss, reduced insulin levels, increased fat burning, and suppressed apetite. Additionally, unlike other fasting diets, low carb diet helps dogs maintain and even grow muscle. It’s a long term solution for pet owners to help their dogs maintain healthy weight.
In a research on epileptic dogs, it was found that after 3 month of high protein and low carb diet more than 14% of dogs became seizure free, and more than 50% experienced a reduction in seizure frequency.
Pros & Cons of Dog Keto Diet
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Weight Management Keto diet can help overweight dogs lose weight by making them burn fat for energy | Nutritional Deficiencies It can be more difficult to provide the dog with all necessary nutrients in a keto diet and there is a risk of an unbalanced nutrition |
| Cancer Therapy Some studies suggest that a keto diet may help in the treatment dog cancer by depriving cancer cells of glucose | Cost High-quality protein are expensive |
| Epilepsy Management There is evidence showing that keto diets help reduce the dog seizure frequency | Stomach irritation Dogs can experience digestive irritation |
| Improved Energy Level Keto diet may help improve dog’s energy level and reduce inflammation | Not for All Dogs A keto diet may not be suitable for all dogs, particularly those with kidney disease or fat metabolism difficulties |
Ketogenic Diet Research
High protein diets have been gaining a lot of attention due to some research pointing towards their ability to cure cancer. Cancer cells have different metabolism than healthy cells and can’t use fat for energy which slows their growth and reproduction. Mice on ketogenic diets have significantly slower tumour growth.
During a study held in a shelter for terminal cancer dogs following ketogenic diet, receiving cancer treatment (surgery, chemo therapy), and their tumours were monitored with PET scans, more than 55% of dogs lived beyond their original prognosis which are very promising health benefits of a ketogenic diet.
Are There Side Effects Of Ketogenic Diets?
Some dogs, as they are adjusting to the burning fats instead of carbs, may become lethargic for a few days which is known as keto flu. After being introduced to keto dog food, your dog may also experience diarrhea or constipation. High fat diet may increase risk of pancreatitis.
Go Keto With Your Dog
When it comes to canine nutrition, keto diets are pretty similar to raw dog food diet and your dog may be already transitioning to a full keto diet.
General guidance for dog owners who want to try ketogenic diet is to shape it around 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbs coming strictly from vegetables.
Ketogenic dog food recipes should include leaner cuts of raw meat to satisfy the nutritional needs for amino acids and minerals.
How to prepare Keto Dog Food
Looking for a simple homemade dog food recipe? A great place to start is combining 8oz of ground beef, 1 tbsp of coconut oil with a few sprinkles of shredded red cabbage for a healthy and inexpensive dog treat. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix evenly. The recipe should be enough for one meal but you can split it into two.
High Protein Dog Treats Suitable for Dogs on a Keto Diet
To make things more interesting for your furry friend, especially if he is one of the picky eaters or has food sensitivities, you can replace ground beef with:
- Ground turkey
- Ground chicken
- Ground pork
They are all healthy fats, high protein and low carbohydrate keeping your dog in good health.
Low Carb Dog Food Recommended for Ketogenic Diet
Most vegetables contain too many carbohydrates for your dogs to eat. Luckily, there are suitable options for keto diet that are high in vitamins, and minerals making them a great option to your dog low carb meal:
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Cabbage
- Sweet potatoes
- Brown rice
Key takeaways
- Ketogenic raw food triggers a metabolic state called ketosis in dogs based on fat-burning as opposed to glucose-converting. Fat burning is natural and metabolically optimal for carnivorous canines.
- There is anecdotal evidence keto diet can prevent and cure cancer and chronic metabolic diseases.
- Ketogenic diet is a good dog’s dietary choice to lose weight, gain muscle, and support gut health
- Homemade dog food recipes in keto diet can be as simple preparing dog food rich in raw meat (ideally grain free) and low amount of carbs . Many dogs are already following this diet.
- Changes in dog nutrition can cause temporary such as lethargy, constipation or diarrhea. However, many dogs adjust to the new diet fairly quickly.
- Ketogenic diet can be almost entirely based on natural ingredients such as lean meat cuts, low carb vegetables (green beans, sweet potatoes, brown rice)
I hope you found this article useful. Ketogenic diet is more than a fad and there are some important reasons why you may want to try it.
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