Canned vegetables and fruits are becoming common with each passing day. Almost all exotic and seasonal fruits and veggies are available canned.
An increasing number of individuals, particularly young people, are making canned foods a regular part of their diet. Canned green beans, for example, are a popular side dish among many of us.
These are usually the finest option when you need something quick and ready to serve with steak or your favorite dinner recipe.
Being common as a part of our dinners, dog parents often ask if dogs can eat canned green beans safely. Below is the complete detail of whether you should feed your dog green beans or not.
Can Dogs Eat Green Beans?
Green beans, also called string beans, snap beans, and French beans, are safe for dogs. In fact, they provide a lot of benefits.
They can help them lose weight, strengthen their bones, are rich in vitamins, and much more. As a result, most dogs tend to love these long and slender green vegetables.
But can I feed green beans daily? What about the one with added salt? Green beans cooked or raw, which are better?
What about a balanced green bean diet for dogs? Are canned packaged treats safe for your pup? Let’s have a detailed look at these points:
Can Dogs Eat Raw Green Beans?
There is great controversy about whether raw green beans are safe for dogs or not. While some people say the raw vegetables are the best vegetables as none of the nutrients are lost.
But the same rule cannot be applied to legumes, especially beans. It is because raw beans are rich in lectins.
Lectins are proteins that are necessary for the survival of plants. They are natural antifungals of plants. They also act as storage proteins. In the growing seeds, they provide essential amino acids for growth.
Though they are found in all plants, their content is high in legumes. Dogs cannot digest lectin. They can become the cause of arthritis, urinary tract infections, or common sensitivity reactions. So, the best choice is feeding green beans after cooking them slightly.
Can Dogs Eat Green Beans When Cooked?
Yes, you can let dogs eat green beans when cooked. This is because cooked green beans have relatively low amounts of lectins, making them consumable by dogs.
Still, there are some things to care of, for instance, don’t cook for a long period as overheating or overcooking can reduce the number of essential nutrients.
In addition, it can lead to nutritional deficiencies in dogs. Symptoms of poor nutrition include excessive shedding of fur, skin problems, obesity, and more susceptibility to allergies.
One more thing to consider is the seasonings. Spices and seasonings not only make the food palatable but also tasty. Don’t add the beans you prepared for yourself to the dog’s diet, as these seasonings are not safe for him.
Too much salt can cause salt poisoning. Similarly, peppers don’t suit many dogs. They can badly affect a dog’s stomach, resulting in diarrhea and vomiting.
After avoiding overcooking and seasonings, you can give your dog green beans without any concern.
Can Dogs Eat Frozen Green Beans?
Yes, dogs can eat frozen green beans, but don’t put them directly from the freezer to the dog’s bowl. It’s not like plain yogurt frozen in an ice cube tray that be treated as cool dog treats.
Frozen beans are can be harmful to dogs with sensitive teeth. Instead, take the frozen beans and cook them lightly. After that, you can serve them as dog food.
Can Dogs Eat Canned Green Beans?
Don’t add canned beans to a dog’s diet. They are highly processed. They are loaded with oils, seasonings, and spices. Green beans cooked and packed with additional vegetables such as onion and garlic are not safe for dogs.
Canned beans come with additional chemicals to prolong their shelf life. They can be toxic for dogs.
Following are the reasons that make canned green beans bad for dogs:
Too Many Preservatives
While packing the green beans for dogs or humans, manufacturers pack them with many artificial preservatives such as BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene).
These compounds have been associated with many health hazards. For example, BHA has been nominated as a cause of cancer in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
It can have the same effects when added to dog food. BHT affects other body organs and promotes tumor growth. Both of them also cause skin allergies and affect the normal functioning of hormones in the body.
Another common preservative is sodium which is toxic for dogs in high quantities. In fact, a canned green bean diet packed with artificial preservatives is not safe for dogs.
Clostridium Botulinum
Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria found in meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruits surfaces. A low acidic condition or the presence of less oxygen favors the growth of this bacterium even more. In this context, canned foods packed carelessly can have sufficient bacteria in them.
The bacteria produce toxins that are harmful to humans as well as pets, causing botulism in them. When one lets a dog eat contaminated food, or canned dog treats having this bacterium, he can develop the disease.
Once he has ingested the food, the toxins produced by the bacteria can be carried by the blood to the nervous system, where they get attached to the neurons, negatively affecting their activity and resulting in paralysis.
They can also result in muscle weakness that can propagate to the legs. Botulism in dogs needs to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. If not treated timely, it can result in the death of your canine companion.
Fungus in the Opened Can
When the canned food is not airtight, it can let mold grow. The same can happen when properly canned food is opened and left in a moist place.
For example, some people complain that they left the can in the refrigerator, so it’s highly possible that the thermostat or the seal of the refrigerator was broken, which resulted in a high humidity level causing the food to turn moldy.
Different molds produce different toxins (commonly called mycotoxins), each differing in its level of toxicity. As a result, when a dog eats this moldy food, he can be prone to minor abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as to serious conditions such as tremors and seizures.
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Benefits of Green Beans
Pet parents who love green beans would like to add some of it to their pup’s diet. The nutritional value of green beans makes them a healthy snack.
Adding green beans, which are slightly cooked, to a dog’s diet, result in the addition of the following nutrients to the dog’s nutritional chart:
Vitamins
Green beans are rich in essential vitamins such as Vitamin A, C, and K that provide numerous benefits to the dog’s health. For example, according to the National Research Council Academy of Sciences, vitamin A is extremely necessary to maintain healthy vision and boost the immune system in dogs.
Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that helps the body neutralize free radicals. These radicals are formed during the metabolic processes and might end up being toxic.
The green bean diet also provides Vitamin K. This vitamin is produced naturally in the dog’s body, but some conditions may occur that demand the additional supplement. To fulfill this supplement, green beans are an ideal choice.
Antioxidants
Besides vitamin C, there are many other antioxidants in green beans. These include kaemferol, flavanols, and quercetin. They play the same role of eliminating the free radicals from the body.
Proteins
You must have heard the role of keratin in developing and maintaining nails, hair, and skin. Keratin is actually a structural protein that helps maintain the structure of the body parts. Some parts of the body, such as cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and muscles, are also proteinaceous.
Green beans can provide sufficient proteins to keep these structures healthy. But legume proteins are not complete proteins. Therefore, they lack some essential amino acids required by the dog’s body.
To fulfill this requirement, supplement dog food with other diets to provide him with all the essential amino acids.
Minerals
Eating green beans provide dogs with a variety of minerals. Some of these minerals and their role in the dog’s body are as follows:
Green beans provide phosphorus for dogs. It is essential for bones and teeth. Green beans can actually fulfill their daily demand for phosphorus. Potassium maintains heart and nerve health.
It is also important for muscle coordination. Iron increases the number of red blood cells in the body. It also promotes wound healing.
It also contains calcium that supports bone health. Moreover, magnesium provides energy for cellular activities.
Fibers
A rich amount of fibers make green beans good for dogs. Supplying fibers in dog food is extremely important. Fibers not only aid the digestion process but also provide other benefits.
It lowers the amount of LDL cholesterol. They are low-density lipoproteins and have a bad reputation due to their negative effects on the body, such as making the dog susceptible to heart diseases and strokes. Fiber also keeps blood sugar levels and body weight in check.
Low-calorie Content
It would not be wrong to call the green bean diet a weight loss diet. For obese dogs, weight loss might not be less than a challenge.
The owners worried for their overweight dogs need not be worried anymore. If the dogs are facing difficulty losing weight, giving green beans can help them reach the ideal target weight.
It is because this green beans diet is low in calories. Moreover, being rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals it can provide necessary nutrients to weight loss patients.
In short, green beans are an excellent choice to make a dog lose weight. Avoiding high-fat food and increasing the number of green beans in a dog’s food can reduce much of its present weight.
How Many Green Beans Can Dogs Have?
Plain green beans are considered healthy treats as long as you are feeding dogs a moderate diet. They are better than the traditional treats available in the market.
Neither they can be added to the dog’s regular diet, nor are they an occasional treat. Feeding the dog 2-3 times per week makes green beans safe for them.
What if a Dog Has Eaten Too Many Green Beans?
Feeding too many green beans can result in an upset stomach. Green beans do provide many nutrients, but it’s not a whole diet.
The dogs need many other nutrients that are absent in green beans. Hence, dogs’ green bean diet should be balanced with other foods so that none of the nutrients are left out.
Conclusion
Green beans for dogs are perfectly fine. They are loaded with a number of nutrients and provide enormous benefits to the body.
However, do remember that raw green beans are rich in lectins, and canned green beans are rich in preservatives, making both of them bad for dogs. Only the lightly cooked beans without seasonings are safe for dogs.