Why we recommend Kale

When it comes to staying healthy, it seems like every day brings something new to worry about.

And it doesn’t stop with your own diet. Each new piece of information helps guide not only what you eat … but what you feed your dog as well.

And some foods always seem to flip flop between good and bad. For you it may be eggs, grains and butter.

For your dog it’s veggies, supplements, and pink meats.

In case you weren’t already stressed enough, there’s another food up for debate …

And that’s kale. (Along with other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower).

To help you decide what to do, I talked to some experts. But first here’s some background on kale …

Why Kale May Not Be The Right Choice For Dogs

Back in 2015, an article came out. It suggested cruciferous vegetables may be hyperaccumulators of toxic heavy metals like thallium.

This includes kale.

The source? The soil the vegetables are grown in. This is on top of concerns that too many cruciferous vegetables can lower thyroid levels.

So does that mean you should stop feeding your dog kale?

I decided to ask some experts. But before I show you what they had to say, I want to talk about what makes kale so good for your dog.

Why Kale Is Good For Dogs

Kale was all the rage for a while there. Everyone was on the new healthy trend of adding kale to smoothies and salads. Some even shared this superfood with their pets.

Many still do. After all, kale is full of healthy nutrients. It’s a good source of …

Fiber
Vitamin K
Vitamin E
Iron
Calcium
Potassium
Magnesium

It’s also filled to the brim with antioxidants that fight cancer and disease. And that’s what I really want to talk to you about.

How Your Dog Will Benefit From The Antioxidants In Kale

Your dog needs antioxidants to prevent oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress happens when there’s an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in your dog’s body.

Free radicals are unstable molecules with an odd number of electrons. They’re a natural byproduct of everyday processes … things like metabolism and exercise.

But they’re also caused by environmental toxins like …

Pollution
Secondhand smoke
Pesticides

To try and stabilize themselves, free radicals interact with other molecules. This can damage proteins, DNA and other cells. And eventually this damage will lead to diseases like …

Diabetes
Inflammatory conditions
Heart disease
Premature aging
Cancer

Antioxidants stabilize free radicals and stop them from reacting with cells and DNA.

Your job is to make sure your dog has enough antioxidants to fight free radical damage.

Kale is an excellent choice! It’s full of antioxidants that offer tons of health benefits …

1. Carotenoids

Carotenoids are plant pigments. They’re responsible for the colors red, orange and yellow in plants, algae, bacteria and fungi. Yellow daffodils, red tomatoes, even the warm hues of autumn leaves. They’re also one of the reasons the reason flamingos, salmon and shrimp who eat foods rich in these compounds are pink.

Carotenoids are rich in antioxidants that protect your dog from free radicals.

Kale has three major carotenoids … lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene.

Beta-carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid. This means it converts into vitamin A in your dog’s body. And vitamin A is important for your dog’s skin, coat, muscles and nerves.

Beta-carotene also helps …

Improve vision health
Restore the immune system
Improve cognitive function
Protect skin from sun damage
Prevent cancer

Like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin are great for the eyes and skin.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are most effective in supporting retina health. In fact, they’re the only carotenoids you can add to your dog’s diet that will accumulate in his retina.

Research shows that this helps protect against …

Lutein and zeaxanthin can also protect your dog from the sun’s UV rays. This reduces skin inflammation and slows aging.

Studies show that lutein and zeaxanthin improve heart health. They reduce the buildup of plaque that hardens the arteries. This will lower the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Lutein and zeaxanthin also help increase glutathione levels.

Glutathione is an antioxidant that’s produced in your dog’s cells. And it’s one of the most powerful antioxidants his body can make. It also helps with liver detox.

In fact, low glutathione may cause up to 45% of liver disease in dogs.

But glutathione is depleted by …

Stress
Environmental toxins
Aging
Diet

And it can’t be easily replaced because dietary glutathione gets digested before it’s absorbed.

So your dog needs compounds like lutein and zeaxanthin to keep up glutathione levels.

2. Flavonoids

Like carotenoids, flavonoids are plant pigments found in fruits and vegetables. They are also powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

The two most common flavonoids are quercetin and kaempferol.

And kale has both!

Quercetin is well-known for its ability to fight allergies. It’s even referred to as nature’s Benadryl.

This is because quercetin is also an antihistamine.

Your dog’s body releases histamines to fight allergies. It’s what causes your dog to swell and get itchy. Quercetin reduces histamines and stops your dog from having an allergic reaction.

While kaempferol doesn’t help ease allergies, it has many benefits. Kaempferol helps …

Reduce inflammation
Improve heart health
Protect the brain
Control diabetes
Manage liver and metabolic disease

Quercetin and kaempferol can both protect against cancer.

3. Chlorophyll

Have you ever seen your dog eat grass? If you have, there are a few reasons for it.

Sometimes dogs eat grass to settle an upset stomach. Sometimes they do it just because they want to … and it’s totally normal behavior.

Other times, your dog may crave an important nutrient he isn’t getting enough of … chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is also a plant pigment. It’s the reason grass is green.

Chlorophyll’s chemical structure is a lot like your dog’s hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin is in your dog’s red blood cells and helps carry oxygen all over his body. Because the structures are so alike, chlorophyll can help replenish red blood cells.

Chlorophyll also has many other benefits. It isn’t as powerful as the other antioxidants, but it does help with oxidative stress. That means it can protect cells from damage.

Chlorophyll also helps …

Fight infections and heal wounds
Boost the immune system
Break down stones in your dog’s urinary tract
(Caution: many foods high in chlorophyll also contain calcium oxalate, which can cause stones. I will talk about this more in a bit.)

Chlorophyll can also bind to toxins and heavy metals like mercury. It then carries them to your dog’s kidney, which flushes the toxins out of his system. This can help reduce organ damage and may prevent diseases like cancer.

The problem is that your dog may not digest the grass he’s eating to get his chlorophyll intake.. And that means he isn’t absorbing the nutrients he is after.

Not to mention the grass may get treated with dangerous herbicides like Roundup.

Luckily there are lots of foods you can add to your dog’s dish to increase his chlorophyll levels.

Kale is one good source of chlorophyll.

…

4. Vitamin C

Vitamin C has many roles in your dog’s body. It supports tissue, cartilage, bones, blood vessels and teeth. It improves your dog’s ability to absorb calcium and iron. It also helps control the allergic response.

And it’s an antioxidant that helps prevent disease and cancer.

Unlike humans, dogs produce their own vitamin C. But sometimes your dog needs an extra boost.

It may be a good idea to add vitamin C to your dog’s dish if …

He has allergies
He needs an immune system boost
You want to up his antioxidants
Your dog is a senior (dogs over 7 have trouble producing enough vitamin C)

It’s also helpful if your dog is stressed. That’s because vitamin C is used to produce anti-stress hormones.

Common sources of stress for dogs can be …

If he’s experiencing a lot of stress his body may use up vitamin C quicker than it can be produced.

Kale is full of vitamin C. One cup of kale has more vitamin C than spinach or a whole orange.

So now that you know both the good and bad about kale, what do the experts have to say?

What The Experts Have To Say About Kale For Dogs

When you weigh the risks and the benefits, don’t get too overwhelmed by the information. This goes for any food you feed your dog, including kale.

The key is moderation.

If you feed a varied diet of clean whole foods, you’re already way ahead of the game.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some highly respected experts had to say about the issue:

“Follow your grandma’s advice: everything in moderation! The crucifers are the warrior veggies that knock out cancer; don’t deny your dogs the benefits of the indole-3-carbinol found in these healing foods, but use them in rotation. Buy crucifers grown in organic soil to avoid thallium contamination from environmental pollutants. If dogs have been fed conventionally grown cruciferous vegetables, both cilantro and chlorella can be used to naturally bind and excrete (chelate) thallium from the body.” – Karen Becker DVM

“Kale is rich in some minerals that when compared with AAFCO, FEDIAF or ancestral standards, are short in many meat-based diets. So the choice often comes down to use moderate amounts of kale and similar vegetables, find other foods that provide the minerals, add mineral supplements or have a diet that may be deficient in some important minerals. Mineral-rich vegetables reduce the number and amount of supplements that we need to add to meet standards.” – Steve Brown, Pet Nutrition Expert

“The facts have always been there, if we saw them or not: Thallium is a renowned and vicious toxin, and kale appears to be an efficient accumulator of thallium. So this current interest in thallium is basically the intersection of two recent trends; our ability to detect smaller and smaller amounts of an element or molecule (rapidly improving lab sophistication) and devout foodies more able to follow extreme diets of their choice. I don’t see that pets are at increased risk from dietary thallium if they are fed prudent diets. All mammals have effective systems for neutralizing the occasional toxin. Unless fed a predominately vegetable diet, that itself was predominantly kale, for several months, I would not worry about thallium.” – Richard Patton PhD

What about the thyroid problems?

Thyroid expert Jean Dodds DVM has an easy enough fix …

“Cruciferous vegetables if fed raw have goitrogenic properties and can lower thyroid activity. But, once they are cooked, even lightly steamed, the goitrogenic activity is minimized.”

And lightly steaming them is the best option. If you boil them, you will destroy the nutrients that make broccoli so great for your dog.

(Goitrogens are substances that lower thyroid hormone production. This can cause the thyroid to enlarge.)

How To Feed Kale To Your Dog

To help your dog reap the benefits of kale with the lowest risks possible, follow these feeding tips …

Always buy organic, this will lower the risk of toxins and heavy metals in your kale.
If you buy non-organic kale, add some chlorella or cilantro to help get any thallium out of your dog’s body.
Lightly steam the kale to reduce its effect on thyroid hormone production.
Make it a part of a balanced diet and introduce kale slowly to avoid gastric irritation.

Other Cautions

I mentioned earlier that chlorophyll in kale can help break down stone. The problem is, kale also contains calcium oxalate. This can cause kidney and bladder stones.

Dogs who are prone to stones should eat food rich in calcium oxalate (like kale) in moderation.

Kale also contains isothiocyanates.

Isothiocyanates are one of the compounds that lowers the risk of cancer in humans. But in dogs, it can cause gastric irritation and in large amounts may be toxic. It’s recommended that kale and other cruciferous vegetables not make up more than 10% of your dog’s diet.

Marie is a member of the Dogs Naturally team. She is always discovering natural ways to keep her and her dog Charley happy and healthy and looks forward to sharing what she learns with the DNM community and other pet owners.