How Can Turmeric Help Your Pet?

There are a number of recorded benefits of how this herb can help your dog,

• Pain: because all dogs are subject to arthritis, turmeric can play an important role due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It tops the list for natural remedies for treating dogs with stiff joints.

• Blood Clots: Curcumin is also a blood thinner, which makes it an essential component when it comes to reducing the risk of blood clots and ridding the body of excess cholesterol. Although cholesterol doesn’t effect dogs like it does people, clots can lead to a number of problems for dogs, including heart issues.

• Irritable Bowel Disease: Curcumin also stimulates bile production in the liver, which aids in digesting food properly because it helps break down dietary fats. Active dogs require diets that have at least 20 percent fat, so a little turmeric can go a long way with respect to aiding in overall digestion. Dogs that are pregnant, nursing or underweight require more fat in the diet, which means that more turmeric could help.

• Cancer: There are some reports emerging, albeit somewhat tentatively, that turmeric could play a role in fighting cancer. Animal and test tube studies have revealed the herb’s capability to play a role in preventative medicine as an antioxidant. It has also been proven to shut down the blood vessels that feed cancer cells in some cases, although more research is certainly needed on the subject.
• Dementia: In India where turmeric is used regularly among many; the number of people suffering from dementia and similar memory related diseases is considered very low.

*Dogs that are prone to kidney stones should not be given turmeric since it increases urinary oxalate levels.

* Avoid giving turmeric and diabetic drugs together, and if you’re giving your dog aspirin, don’t give the two together. Give one or the other.