Today I want to look at some foods that can help lower your dog’s stress hormone known as cortisol. There are lots of dogs out there that are suffering from some type of stress or anxiety issue and yes, there is a lot to stress management. Things like diet and nutritional deficiencies, chemical load, your dog’s lifestyle and their environment, medications, inappropriate living situations and so on all play a big role in whether your dog becomes stressed and how their body copes with this. But what your dog eats is also a significant part because foods can have an impact on cortisol in both good and bad wats. Let’s take a look at some of the best foods to add into your dogs diet so stay tuned for more.
Just so you understand what cortisol is. Cortisol is a steroids hormone made in your dogs adrenal gland. While it has a number of functions, its main one is the regulation of stress within the body. It’s a bit like a built in alarm system for your dog which triggers what is known as the fight or flight response.. When in balance cortisol does a great job at controlling inflammation, improving sleep cycles, balancing stress levels, and controlling things like blood pressure and blood sugar levels for your dog. But too much or too little and things start to become very problematic. Uncontrolled inflammation, poor immune function, loss of muscle tone, irritability and nervous behaviour, increased gut permeability or leaky gut, fatigue, weight gain or loss are jus some of the problems that are associated with high or our of balance cortisol levels. So by decreasing levels we can help our dogs improve not only their stress but overall health too. So lets take a look at our first foods- those food that have high levels of b vitamins can really help to lower or burn off those high levels of cortisol. In particular, foods high in vitamin b5 and b12 can be very beneficial. Foods to consider include salmon, leafy greens especially spinach and collard greens and kale, organ meat like liver and kidney (if offering these only give in small amounts and) try source organically if possible, organic beef and chicken, broccoli, sweet potato and organic eggs (especially the yolk but please feed the whole egg to gain all the nutrition. All of these foods can supply your dog good levels of b vitamins that can help combat those high cortisol levels. Foods that are high in omega 3 fats are especially helpful because of their ability to reduce inflammation which is elevated with high levels of cortisol. While oily fish are one of the best sources (fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines etc) there are some plant based sources that are also great. Think chia seeds, hemp seeds, and olive oil. Try adding in one of these at least 3 times weekly but more can be given depending on your dog and their stress situation. watch for more........
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