Sweet potato – the superfood for your dog
It's tasty, it's orange, it's healthy – the sweet potato. In addition to its unique flavor, it contains many nutrients. You might be wondering if your dog can eat sweet potato too? The answer is: Yes! Why it deserves a permanent place in a →healthy diet for your dog, you'll find out here.
Why are sweet potatoes so healthy for dogs?
The American health authority recently declared sweet potato the healthiest vegetable. With a base value of 100, the →regular potato already scores 83. The sweet potato achieves an incredible 186 points, boasts a high nutrient content and is an excellent source of carbohydrates and fiber. Good news for the →chubby pups among us: this superfood comes completely fat-free too.
Especially when feeding a BARF diet, a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit are given. However, there are some important things to keep in mind.
Rich in antioxidants for health
The sweet potato tuber provides your dog with a range of important antioxidants and proteins, which fight free radicals in the body. They also greatly increase the activity of the antioxidant glutathione in the body, which is especially important for the maintenance of a healthy organism.
Antioxidants also have a supportive effect against cell damage – current research shows that they can actively fight cancer cells.
Full power against diabetes
If your four-legged friend has →pancreatic diseases, then you probably know that dogs can also have problems with blood sugar levels. The substance caiapo found in the skin of sweet potatoes stabilizes and regulates blood sugar levels in your dog and has a positive effect on cholesterol levels . So much concentrated power shouldn't be missing from any food bowl!
Here at Pets Deli, we also rely on the beneficial nutrients of sweet potato and use it in various types of food. For example, you'll find sweet potato in our delicious dry food varieties →Chicken with sweet potato and garden herbs or →"Sensitive" venison with salmon, sweet potato and mulberry. Stop by and take a sniff!
Delicious! Premium Dry Food for Your Dog
How do I feed sweet potatoes to my dog properly?
In theory, your dog could also eat sweet potatoes raw, but for better digestibility you should feed sweet potatoes to your dog as follows:
Cut into small pieces and cooked.
The skin of the tuber is harmless and can be eaten as well.
Make sure to let the cooked sweet potato cool down before serving it to your dog.
Adjusted to the daily ration of nutrients for your dog, there's nothing wrong with your furry friend eating sweet potato daily.
Sweet potato is a healthy and tasty addition to your four-legged friend's bowl. Thanks to its sweet flavor, many dogs love eating the orange tuber!
Can my dog eat raw sweet potato?
Raw sweet potato is harmless and can be eaten by your dog. However, the vegetable is easier to digest when cooked. So it can happen that raw sweet potato sits heavy in your dog's stomach and he can't digest it as well and gets a tummy ache.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with a piece of raw sweet potato, but for regular feeding it should be cooked first.
Not all potatoes are the same
Boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, sweet potatoes – not quite! Despite what the name suggests, sweet potatoes have little in common with our regular potatoes. Both grow underground – and that's about it.
Sweet potatoes belong to the bindweed family, which is found in tropical regions. Their tubers can grow up to 30 cm – while the garden potato barely reaches Chihuahua size, in South America you can find real dachshund-sized super tubers. They don't have much in common in taste either, as sweet potatoes stand out with a fruity-sweet note.
