Can You Feed a Dog Health Food for Humans?

Dog health food may include a wide range of products you see in all pet stores. Pet food manufacturers have started producing dog health food based on the idea of health food for humans. However, you may ask yourself if you can feed your dog health food formulated for humans. The answer may vary according to the type of health food and the ingredients used to make the health food. Certain ingredients that are beneficial for humans may be toxic for dogs. While some health foods formulated for humans will not do any harm to your dog, these foods may not have any benefits, so it is better if you stick to dog products only.

Health Food for Canines

The health food for canines is broad term which can be used by food manufacturers to market their products and may or may not include ingredients that are good for your pet.

Ideally, health foods for canines should contain ingredients such as:

  • Proteins
  • Fats
  • Fibers
  • Carbohydrates
  • Vitamin and minerals

The health foods may be formulated for certain dog breeds, as not all types of dog have the same nutritional requirements. Also, there may be health foods formulated for dogs with certain medical conditions such as diabetes or kidney disease.

Health Food for Humans

Just as with the health food for pets, the health food for humans may or may not have health benefits, as the manufacturers are free to use nearly any marketing language they like.

The health foods may contain various ingredients plus vitamin supplements which should be beneficial for a person’s health. 

Can You Feed a Dog Health Food for Humans

The shortest answer to this question is no. This is simply because you may not be aware of all the ingredients in the health food and some ingredients that are not toxic for humans may be toxic for canines. For example, ingredients such as onions, garlic and various other herbal ingredients (i.e. aloe vera) that have health benefits for humans may cause toxicity in your pet.

Even if you check thoroughly the labels and make sure the food doesn’t contain any ingredients that are potentially dangerous for your dog, you have to know that health products for humans are not necessarily beneficial for dogs. Formulas that strengthen the human body may not have the same effect on dogs.

Health foods such as raw vegetables or fruits can be fed to dogs and should be part of their daily diet. Fresh carrots, broccoli, apples or even celery stalks may be a great snack or treat. However, if the human health food is processed and mixed with various other ingredients, you should avoid feeding it to your dog.

You should pay great attention to what your dog eats and stick to products that are formulated for canines. In this manner, you can make sure your dog is safe and gets the benefits of dog food.

 

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