Turmeric is a safe and effective herb which can help to reduce inflammation in your dog. We love it so much we use it in every recipe of Whoa Nelly! Turmeric has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, and thankfully there is a growing body of western research which supports its therapeutic use.

Why feed your dog turmeric?

Turmeric can help your dog with:

What is turmeric?

The bioactive compound in turmeric is called curcumin, which is responsible for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. It is also the part which will stain your clothes bright yellow - be warned! There are two main ways that curcumin helps your dog: by reducing inflammation and neutralising oxidative stress.

Reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in your dogs body are important ways to maintain and improve their overall health. And lucky for us there is lots of research in both dogs and humans which shows that this is exactly what turmeric does!

Chronic inflammation is widely known to be at the root of many diseases. Identified in the development of many chronic diseases, inflammation is linked with cardiovascular disease, arthritis, allergies, metabolic syndrome, obesity and cancer.

Another cause of disease in dogs is oxidative stress, which occurs when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are unstable molecules which cause damage to the body. Antioxidants prevent this damage by donating spare electrons to the molecule which stabilises it. Ensuring there are enough antioxidants in the diet to neutralise the free radicals is essential to the overall health of your dog.

Relief from arthritis

One disease associated with inflammation is osteoarthritis. We typically see this as joint pain, especially when your dog is moving, and it generally increases in severity wth age. While Osteoarthritis was previously considered a degenerative condition, it is now thought to be connected with systemic inflammation. This condition is very common amongst dogs, with over 20% of adult dogs affected.

Research shows that turmeric can help provide relief from this debilitating condition. One 2017 study showed that dogs fed a combination of curcumin extract with hydrolised collagen and green tea extract exhibited less pain than the control group. Another study found that bioavailable turmeric extract is as effective as paracetamol in reducing pain and other symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. A seperate study shows how the different components in turmeric may stop the inflammatory state and oxidative stress.

Cancer prevention

Antioxidants have recently emerged as an important functional component in food due to the wide ranging health benefits. Oxidative damage has been singled out in preclinical studies as one of the key causes of cancer. Antioxidants may be helpful as a preventative measure by reducing oxidative stress.

Curcumin has a strong antioxidant activity which affects multiple processes and signaling pathways involved in cancer. Because of this, curcumin as a chemopreventive and potentially anti-cancer compound looks promising.

In-vitro studies have demonstrated its anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-angiogenic, and chemosensitizing activities against several tumor types, including breast cancer cells. Curcumin targets different pathways which are involved in the malignant phenotype of tumor cells. It can also inhibit the growth of Hodgkin’s lymphoma cell lines and increases the sensitivity of these cells.

While the anti-cancer properties of curcumin have been demonstrated in cultured cells and animal studies, the effects will vary with dosage and condition. Please keep in mind that no one is claiming that feeding turmeric will prevent your dog from getting cancer. But with cancer effecting 1 in 3 dogs in Australia we are open to anything that can help. Adding turmeric to your dogs diet seems like a safe nudge in the right direction.

When to avoid turmeric

Turmeric is a natural blood thinner, so let your vet know if you dog is consuming turmeric if they are having surgery or are on any drugs. Turmeric can increase urinary oxalate levels so is best avoided by dogs that are prone to kidney stones.

Improving effectiveness

The main issue with feeding turmeric is that it is not easily absorbed by the body. Curcumin is fat soluble, which means it needs fat to be assimilated. To get the most out of it, it needs to be fed with fat - and black pepper.

In traditional Indian cuisine, turmeric is always paired with pepper. This is because black pepper contains a compound called pepperine, which increases the bioavailability of curcumin by 2000%. Whoa! You don’t need to add very much, but it will make a huge difference to the overall benefit to your dog.

Interestingly, fermentation has also been shown to significantly improve it’s polyphenol content and antioxidant effect. This study shows that when fermented turmeric has an enhanced effect on the function of intestinal microbiota.

How to feed

We include organic turmeric in every pack of Whoa Nelly. It is featured in both of our fermented foods: Nelly Belly for adult dogs and Baby Belly for puppies. We are lucky enough to have Tory’s dad Farmer Dave growing beautiful organic turmeric for us in sunny Doonan.

If you are not feeding Whoa Nelly, a great way to add it to your dogs diet is by making Golden Paste. Here is a good recipe. When sourcing turmeric, remember quality is important. Always buy organic if you can!

PLEASE NOTE: The majority of research here has been conducted on humans, but there is a huge overlap in efficacy between our species. While more research needs to be done, we believe that the sheer volume of positive effects from feeding turmeric, combined with it’s relative safety, is easily enough to warrant it’s daily use in most dog’s diets 🐾