Like many of our articles about a specific ingredient, I’m going to start with a few things that are NOT great sources of fiber for your pet:
.
- Psyllium fiber (aka meta#>^il – I changed the letters so my post doesn’t get blocked). Why is this NOT a good source of fiber? I was told years ago by a pet food manufacturer that all (really, all) psyllium in the US has been sprayed with aluminum phosphine gas. Yuck..
- Oats and / or Wheat. Why not? Because if you’ve done the gut biome test for your pet and they are suggesting you add fiber, I guarantee your pet’s gut is screwed up and we do NOT want to put inflammatory grains in there. (“There” being in the gut of your sweet baby.) Conventional wheat and oats are both pro-inflammatory. Also, much of the supply of oats and wheat has been sprayed with glyphosate. Double Yuck.
.
So, what DOES classify as a good source of fiber?
.
Veggie Fiber. Why? It’s a prebiotic – which means it’s food for probiotics. So we’re feeding the probiotics so they can survive better in the gut. There are some nice ready-to-eat fermented greens for pups (certain kitties too).
.
And of course you can make your own. Here’s a recipe I “stole” from a great client (actually, I asked for her permission):
.
Veggie stew starts with some water in pot, add cabbage, celery, green beans, zucchini, spinach, and broccoli. Go heavier on the cabbage and broccoli, than zucchini, celery, and spinach. Add a little Celtic sea salt (better read my post about why salt is healthy if this makes you do a double take). Add any green spice: rosemary, dill, cilantro, etc. Cook on low-medium heat until cooked. When done it will look like a thick stew. Blend. Divide into smaller portions and freeze what you won’t feed in 5 days
.
How much fiber should you give? If it’s this great veggie stew, up to 20% of the diet. Remember, we’re trying to add food for probiotics.
.
That means you need to give probiotics too! (That’s a different post.)
.
After all of that, we haven’t even discussed what situations would suggest adding dietary fiber. The most scientifically driven situation is if you do a biome test, and the test results suggest adding fiber to the diet – but – let’s work on this together. Some people find fiber helps with dogs that get extremely hard stool when they eat a fresh food diet. Sometimes ground bones can make very hard stool. Then they’re always those cases when people wonder why their dog has anal gland issues, and all the vet can suggest is to add fiber. Or pumpkin. There’s no harm in fiber in this situation. There may be a little bit more that goes into it though. (I’m sure I have an anal gland post.)
.
And some people just feel like their dogs need fiber, because people do great with fiber.
.
Still seeing patients in Clearwater, Tampa, and virtually.