It’s a common debate if feeding beans to your dog is safe or not. Usually, when preparing a meal including beans, dogs sneak some pieces away but is it safe for dogs to eat beans?
Yes, dogs can eat beans. Beans can make up a healthy diet for your dog, as they are fiber-rich and contain proteins. Plus, you can feed beans to your dog as a treat. However, make sure that the feeding amount shouldn’t be more than 10% of your dog’s daily calorie intake.
Beans are high in calories. Thus, you shouldn’t feed these in excessive quantities to your dog. Also, some beans can be toxic to dogs. To keep your pup away from toxic beans, we will tell you how to identify them and what kinds of beans are safe for your dog. So, hold on tight and get ready to be swamped with every detail about beans that will help you consider it a part of your dog’s diet.
What Are The Best Beans For Dogs To Eat?
Lima, black beans, kidney beans, edamame, garbanzo, white beans, pinto beans, soybeans, and green beans are best for dogs.
Moreover, there are no special instructions to prepare these beans for dogs. You can prepare it the same way you make it for yourself. However, avoid adding too many spices. Let’s dive in and gather the best beans for dogs to eat.
Black Beans
Black beans are highly beneficial for dogs as they comprise excellent vitamin K, C, and manganese sources. If your dog is overweight, you can serve black beans to burn fat after consulting with your vet.
Other than that, black beans also help regulate the sugar level of your puppy and strengthen the immune system.
Lima Beans
Lima beans are also known as butter beans. This bean type is an excellent source of plant-based protein for dogs. Besides that, lima beans are rich in fiber and are a healthy addition to the canine’s diet.
If your furry friend has diabetes, lima beans can be its perfect diet partner. It also prevents blood sugar levels from rising suddenly after eating. However, make sure to cook lima beans without any seasonings.
Cooked Kidney Beans
This bean type is nontoxic and contains multiple minerals and vitamins. Other than that, it comprises antioxidants that help your pup maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Like other beans, kidney beans are also packed with fibers and proteins. So, if your dog is suffering from any digestive issues, kidney beans can solve it. It helps free the radicals from the body and strengthen the immune system.
Pinto Beans
Pinto beans are an excellent source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and plant-based proteins. These beans are more beneficial for your dog’s health when combined with brown rice. Besides plant-based protein, pinto beans also have massive nutritional values.
Garbanzo Beans
Garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas. These beans are among the best for dogs to eat as long as they are cooked plain. Plus, garbanzo beans are found in most dog foods as well. These beans are packed with fiber and boost your pup’s energy level.
White Beans
White beans or navy beans provide extraordinary benefits as they are loaded with antioxidants. They are enriched with fiber and protein like other beans and can be a part of your fur ball’s healthy diet.
Moreover, white beans are an excellent source of detoxifying molybdenum. White beans also produce alpha-amylase inhibitors to regulate fat storage in the body.
Edamame
Edamame beans are rich in vitamin K, minerals, antioxidants, and fibers. This combination helps reduce the risk of heart diseases in your pup. Other than that, edamame also helps improve the blood lipid profile of your dog and prevents hyperglycemia.
Soybeans
Soybeans contain high-quality protein, fiber, and phytoestrogens. If your pup is suffering from sleeping disorders, you should consider adding soybeans to its diet. Also, it is an effective way to manage their diabetes as these beans increase insulin.
Besides that, soybeans also comprise an abundance of iron and copper. Both minerals help improve the blood circulation in your dog.
Green Beans
Green beans contain a good quantity of calcium and vitamin K. These nutrients are essential to keep your pup’s bones strong and healthy and reduce the risk of fractures. Other than that, green beans also comprise vitamin B that helps reduce your pup’s depression.
Moreover, these beans boost your dog’s energy level and decrease heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity risks.
What Will Happen If My Dog Eats Beans?
Beans will provide several benefits to your dog, but only when they are served in moderate amounts.
Below, we have discussed some surprising benefits of eating beans for your pooch.
Contains Antioxidants
Beans are found to be richly packed with polyphenols which are antioxidants. These antioxidants fight the effects of radicals that damage the chemicals produced by your pup’s body during metabolism and other body processes.
Reduce Heart Risks
If you serve beans to your dog in moderate amounts, then your dog will be less likely to die of cardiovascular problems. Beans contain fiber and nutrients that help lower your pup’s cholesterol, decreasing heart disease factors.
Reduce Cancer Risks
Beans also act as an anti-inflammatory agent that helps in reducing the risk of cancer in your pup. Moreover, according to a study in 2016, beans can reduce the growth of colorectal cancer as they prevent cancer cells from multiplying.
Regulates Glucose And Blood Pressure
Beans are pretty high in fiber, which helps in reducing the glucose level of your pup’s blood. Not only does it reduce the glucose levels, but it also keeps your furball’s blood pressure at an average level.
What Beans Are Toxic To Dogs?
Broad beans, coffee beans, chili beans, baked beans, and raw kidney beans are toxic to dogs.
These beans can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and sometimes neurological issues. Below, we have listed some beans that are toxic to dogs.
Broad Beans
Broad beans, or fava beans, contain PHA compounds, which can be very toxic to your pup. This bean variety can make your dog seriously ill, resulting in constant vomiting, blood in the urine, and dizziness.
Besides that, Fava beans can also bring abdominal pain and diarrhea to your furry friend. They can also cause favism due to congenital disabilities. Plus, it can interrupt the ability of your pup’s digestive system to metabolize vitamin B6.
Baked Beans
Baked beans contain lectins, so consuming many of these beans can cause abdominal issues. Besides that, baked beans have high sugar, which is unhealthy for dogs.
And, if your furry friend has diabetes, these beans can be fatal to it. Besides sugar, they also comprise onion and tomatoes, which can also be harmful to the canine’s health.
Coffee Beans
Coffee made with coffee beans is an energy-boosting drink for us, but it can be entirely toxic for our furry friends. These beans contain caffeine, which is extremely dangerous for your pooch.
Unfortunately, if your dog ingests the coffee beans, it will immediately start panting, throwing up, developing diarrhea, and becoming sweaty. It must be surprising for you, but even a small dose of coffee beans can cause seizures or death.
Raw Red Kidney Beans
Feeding your pup raw red kidney beans can lead to food poisoning, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea within one to three hours of ingestion. Raw red kidney beans contain lectin in it, which is not healthy for your dog’s health at all.
Moreover, uncooked red kidney beans comprise a high concentration of phytohaemagglutinin, broken up only when you boil them properly.
Can I Give My Dog Canned Black Beans?
No, you should avoid feeding canned black beans to your pup as they contain preservatives, which can harm your furball’s health.
However, canned black beans do not make dogs ill instantly, but it isn’t a healthy choice. They are loaded with sodium which can interrupt your furry friend’s digestive system. Let’s dig in deeper to know how beans can hurt dogs.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Beans contain high amounts of non-digestible fibers, leading to gastrointestinal problems for your dog if it isn’t habitual to eat them. Therefore, it’s better to gradually add beans to your canine’s diet.
You can also reduce this discomfort by changing the water used to soak the beans two to three times to wash away the residual starch.
Iron Absorption
Most of the beans, including white beans, soybeans, kidney beans, and lima beans, are packed with high iron levels. Other than that, beans contain non-heme iron, which is not as easy to absorb for your dog as absorbing heme iron.
So, it is better to serve beans to your pup with seafood, meat, or another vitamin C source to improve iron absorption.
Bean Allergy
If you have already diagnosed your dog with soy or peanut allergy, there are many possibilities that your dog will catch a bean allergy as well. Although beans are not food allergens, sometimes they can cause an overreaction to your furball’s immune system.
Other than that, proteins in the beans create antibodies in the dog’s body that cause food allergies in dogs, including diarrhea.
