Bananas
Every pet parent wants to give their furry friend a long and healthy life. Sharing a banana with your dog is an easy way to help achieve that goal.
Bananas offer some of the same health benefits to dogs as they do to humans. Here are six major benefits you should know:
1. Helps Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure
Bananas are rich in potassium and vitamin B6. These nutrients can help regulate blood flow. Lower blood pressure leads to healthier heart function.
2. Strengthens Muscles
Bananas are also high in magnesium, which plays a key role in muscle maintenance. For active dogs, eating bananas can help ensure they maintain strong muscles.
3. Boosts Bone Strength
The potassium in bananas can reduce calcium loss from bones, and the magnesium helps promote healthy bone growth.
4. Improves Brain Function
In addition to improving heart health, vitamin B6 can promote cognitive ability, meaning bananas can help keep your dog’s mind sharp.
5. Strengthens Immunity
If your dog eats bananas, it can help increase resistance to illness. Bananas contain vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps dogs heal and repair faster.
6. Enhances Digestive Health
A medium-sized banana has 2.6 grams of dietary fiber, which can help regulate the digestive tract. Bananas are also a prebiotic that feeds the probiotics (good bacteria) in the gut.
Bananas Provide a Good Variety of Antioxidants
One of the most notable benefits of bananas is that they are rich in bioactive compounds that exhibit powerful antioxidant properties, including phenolics, carotenoids, biogenic amines, and phytosterols. Among these, phenolics are the primary compounds contributing to the fruit's ability to reduce oxidative stress. Some of the phenolic compounds found in bananas include catechins, epicatechins, and gallic acid.
Catechins, in particular, help combat oxidative damage through various pathways. According to a study published in Biomedical Dermatology, catechins not only help capture free radicals but also help inhibit UV and pollution-induced damage, activate collagen synthesis, and inhibit the production of enzymes responsible for collagen breakdown.
In another study published in Toxicology Reports, gallic acid was found to exhibit protective effects against lead-induced oxidative stress in rats. According to researchers, this compound may help reverse oxidative damage caused by lead toxicity "not by decreasing lead bioaccumulation but by enhancing antioxidant defenses."
How Flavonoids Can Benefit Your Pet
Another type of phenolic compound found in bananas is flavonoids. According to an article in Food Quality and Safety:
"Among the flavonoids detected in bananas are quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, and cyanidin, which provide health benefits primarily by scavenging free radicals, ROS, and RNS."
In addition to their antioxidant action, these flavonoids exhibit other health-promoting therapeutic properties. For example, quercetin has been found to reduce the risk of obesity in animals by inhibiting mitochondrial dysfunction caused by oxidative stress. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, which have been linked to improved lipid metabolism in obese dogs.
Furthermore, myricetin has been studied for its potential effects on canine osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that accounts for about 85% of all canine bone tumors. According to a study published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, myricetin helped suppress cancer cell proliferation and DNA replication, increasing apoptosis among osteosarcoma cell lines. The researchers concluded that myricetin could be a "potentially effective and less toxic therapeutic agent" for reducing the risk and controlling the progression of canine osteosarcoma.
Carotenoids Can Support Your Pet’s Immunity and Vision
In the previously mentioned study published in Food Quality and Safety, bananas were also found to be rich in carotenoids, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of these compounds can help protect your pet's eyes from reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation, which can cause age-related eye diseases.
Carotenoids can also help improve your pet’s immune health. A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine evaluated the effects of carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene, on the immune responses of young and elderly dogs. The results showed that beta-carotene helped restore immune responses in older dogs. This compound is found in higher quantities in bananas with yellow and orange flesh.
Phytosterols Can Help Optimize Cholesterol
Another notable compound found in bananas is phytosterol. According to an article in Frontiers in Pharmacology:
"Various research reports that (phytosterols) have a wide variety of interesting pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, chemopreventive, and anti-atherosclerotic effects."
The mechanism of action of phytosterols lies in their structural similarity to cholesterol, allowing them to compete with cholesterol for intestinal absorption. A study published in Domestic Animal Endocrinology evaluated the effect of phytosterols on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol levels in dogs. The researchers found that this compound helped lower LDL levels while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol.
Other Nutrients Found in Bananas
Bananas are known to be a rich source of potassium, providing 33 mg of this mineral per tablespoon serving. This mineral plays a role in regulating heart rate and blood pressure levels. A tablespoon of bananas also contains about 0.8 mg of vitamin C, another antioxidant that acts as a cofactor for various biological processes, including collagen synthesis, immune function, and wound healing, among others.
Bananas are also rich in fiber, especially in their green variety. Green bananas contain resistant starches and pectins, which are a good dietary source of prebiotics. Unlike prebiotic supplements, whole food sources of prebiotic fiber can help nourish the beneficial bacteria in your pet's digestive tract without the risk of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and other gastrointestinal issues. Green (unripe) bananas have substantially less sugar than the ripe fruit, so for pets, the greener, the better.
The Downside of Bananas
Now you know that dogs can eat bananas and that they are a healthy addition to your dog’s diet, but you shouldn’t overdo it. If you do, the benefits can quickly turn into disadvantages.
Bananas have natural sugars and starches. For reference, a medium-sized banana has 14 grams of sugar and about 6 grams of starch.
Too much sugar and starch can be harmful to your dog. Weight gain can be a concern. As with humans, obesity in dogs can occur when they consume diets high in starches.
While bananas offer digestive benefits, overfeeding can result in stomach issues. Excess sugar, for example, can often cause diarrhea. And for some dogs, eating too much banana can also lead to constipation.
Can I Give My Cat Banana?
If your cat seems interested in this fruit, you can try giving them a small amount. However, it’s highly unlikely that your cat will enjoy bananas, as they are not attracted to sweet foods, unlike dogs and humans. Instead, they prefer foods that taste like animal products, which says a lot about their nature as obligate carnivores.
How to Serve Bananas to Your Dog
The amount of banana your dog can eat depends on their size.
The Wise and Wonderful Integrative Veterinary Center suggests:
- Medium to large dogs should only have half a regular-sized banana.
- Small or miniature breed dogs should eat only 2 or 3 small slices.
Because of their sugar content, bananas are best given only as a treat. In general, treats should make up only 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake.
Ways to Serve Bananas to Your Dog
There are countless ways to serve bananas to your dog. If you’re looking for ideas, here are some you can try:
· Mix banana with your dog’s food.
· Mash it and stuff it inside one of their toys for enrichment.
· Give it a solid texture by freezing and then slicing, or dehydrate it in a dehydrator or oven at low temperature.
· Use it in homemade dog biscuits, like the ones from Benny’s Cuits.
When it comes to your dog’s diet, you should be careful about what they eat. After all, the food you provide is the foundation of good health.
Dogs are carnivores but are capable of eating a mixed diet that includes fruits and vegetables. With its various minerals and vitamins, banana is a great addition to a balanced diet.
If you let your dog eat bananas, remember that moderation is key. This way, they’ll reap the benefits while avoiding the negative consequences.
Referências Bibliográficas
· Dogs Naturally, Can Dogs Eat Bananas? Get The Facts
· Bananas: A Beloved Fruit to Help Boost Your Pet’s Health, Bark & Whiskers
· Bioactive compounds in banana and their associated health benefits – A review, Food Chem. 2016 Sep
· Activity of catechins and their applications, Biomedical Dermatology, 2020
· Bone Cancer in Dogs, American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, 2010
· Phytosterols: From Preclinical Evidence to Potential Clinical Applocations, Front Pharmacol, 2020
· Bananas, raw. FoodData Central. USDA
· Vitamin C. National Institutes of Health
· Health Benefits of Green Banana Consumption: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2019 Jun