Can a Dog Eat Jicama? Best Ways to Give Jicama to Dogs

Can dogs eat jicama? If you are a dog owner, you are probably worried about anything your little pal puts in his mouth. And it’s perfectly normal to his health concerns you now just about the same as you are concerned about your health.

Also known as Pachyrhizus erosus, Mexican turnip, or Mexican yam bean, jicama is the name of a vine native from Mexic. However, now jicama mostly refers to the edible tuberous root of the herb. Luckily, dogs are allowed to eat jicama, regardless of the breed.

Even if this plant is raw or uncooked, dogs can eat it. However, the only good part of the consumption of the herb is its root. Other slices of jicama, like its seeds or its parts above ground, are thought to be toxic, so you may want to avoid giving those parts to your Shiba Inu german shepherd mix dog.

Why You Need to Give Jicama to Dog

Jicama or yam bean is full of fiber, iron, calcium, and vitamins. The fiber content of jicama can help in improving the bowel moments and improve the digestive system of dogs: vitamins, potassium, and iron help to keep your dog’s immune system healthy.

Because of the health benefits in some dog foods, jicama is also included. It is also a good source of Inulin, which is prebiotic that helps to keep your dog’s stomach healthy. It is high in minerals and low in calories; hence it makes an excellent treat for dogs.

Full of Nutrients

The nutrient profile of this herb is impressive. Most of the calories of jicama come from carbohydrates, while the rests steward smaller amounts of fat or protein. The plant also contains lots of essential minerals, vitamins, and fiber.

This great nutritional vegetable contains smaller amounts of vitamin B6, vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, thiamine, zinc, riboflavin, copper, and pantothenic acid. Jicama is low amounts of calories, but high volumes of water and fiber, making it great if you are looking for your dog to lose weight.

Different Methods of Jicama for Dogs

Method 1: Raw

Wash the vegetable
Remove stems and leaves
Peel it and remove the skin
Now cut it into bite-sized slices and serve.

Method 2: Boiled

Repeat the first three steps and now add your jicama into boiling water. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes with lid covered. After 5 minutes, could you remove it from the top and let it cool? Once it cools off, cut them into small pieces and let the dog enjoy.

Method 3: Roasted

Again repeat steps 1,3 &3 of method 1. Now cut it into cubes. Spread them over the pan. Sprinkle a few drops of olive oil and roast the cubes at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Can Jicama Harm Dogs?

Yes, as mentioned, stem, leaves, and skin of jicama are toxic to dogs. Some dogs may even be allergic to this veggie. If you feed your dog with jicama and find symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, or skin problems, don’t give him this veggie from next time.

Jicama Might Help with Weight Loss

This is a very nutrient-dense type of food because although it has a low-calorie number, it also has a very high nutrient number. It`s also pretty high in fiber and water, making it easy for your dog to feel filled up after consuming it.

Also, jicama`s fiber might aid keeping your dog`s blood sugar steady. Because fiber helps with reducing down digestion, it prevents your canine friend`s levels of blood sugar from rising too fast after consuming it. – Read this.

This occurs when cells are much less sensitive to insulin, which makes it a lot more complicated for glucose to get into the cells to be used for fuel (energy). Alternatively, the glucose will remain into your dog`s bloodstream, increasing his levels of blood sugar.

There aren`t any studies on dogs yet. However, research in mice outlines that consuming jicama might raise consciousness to insulin and reduce the levels of blood sugar.

This great herb also has the prebiotic fiber inulin, which is related to weight reduction and proven to have some impact in hormones which affect fullness or hunger.

Thus, consuming this beautiful and useful plant might only raise the number of gut bacteria which help with weight reduction, but it might aid your little pal feel a lot more satisfied after finishing his meal.

It Might Decrease Cancer Risk

Jicama has vitamin C and vitamin E in its structure, as well as beta-carotene and selenium. These antioxidants can do the beautiful thing of neutralizing any free radicals they find that might cause cancer or cell damage. Also, this herb is considered to be a great source when it comes to dietary fiber, one single cup containing over 6 g of fiber.

According to one research, dietary fiber is known to protect against colon cancer. This study proved that people who consumed over 27 g of dietary fiber every day had a fifty percent smaller risk to get colon cancer, in comparison with people who consumed only 11 g, for instance.

These studies are indeed performed on humans. However, it`s well known that dogs can feel cancer as well, especially old dogs. According to Pets.webmd.com, 50% of our canine friends of at least ten years of early experience cancer at a certain point.

So, it`s only sensible to assume that jicama can only benefit when it comes to this. Also, as already mentioned, this particular vegetable has a great prebiotic fiber known as inulin.

Prebiotics might decrease the risk of developing cancer by improving the number of good bacteria as well as boosting safety. Research in mice has proven that by adding products that contain inulin to a specific diet might fight against developing colon cancer.

Jicama Can be Boost to Heart Health

Jicama has lots of nutrients which turn it into an appealing option when wanting to improve your dog`s heart health. It has an essential number of dietary fiber that is soluble, which might aid decrease the levels of cholesterol by merely not allowing bile from being resorbed in the gut. Also, it doesn`t allow is liver to produce even more cholesterol.