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Can Dogs Eat Nutritional Yeast? How Healthy Is It?
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Nutritional yeast is used by many people as a flavor enhancement for their meals. If you are a dog owner who enjoys using nutritional yeast in your kitchen, you may wonder if your dog can enjoy some too. The answer is yes, dogs can enjoy nutritional yeast as part of a healthy and well-balanced diet. Here is what else you need to know.
The Benefits of Feeding Your Dog Nutritional Yeast
Not only can your dog eat nutritional yeast, but they can also benefit from consuming this food. The first thing to note is that nutritional yeast is a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It’s low in calories but provides an excellent source of niacin, folate, riboflavin, and B12, all of which a dog requires for good health and happy life. Nutritional yeast also contains all nine essential amino acids, so it’s a great source of protein too.
Trace minerals that are responsible for healthy growth and gene regulation are found in this food product. The powerful antioxidants found in nutritional yeast can help keep your dog's immune system healthy. In addition to being a benefit to your dog's health, nutritional yeast is thought to help fight off flea infestations due to the abundance of B complex vitamins. These vitamins may help make dogs and cats less attractive to fleas.
Make Sure Your Dog’s Nutritional Yeast Is Fortified
Nutritional yeast comes in two forms: fortified and non-fortified. The non-fortified version contains important vitamins and minerals, but the fortified version contains even more, along with other minerals. Therefore, it’s best to choose a product that is labeled as fortified. You should see this label on the front of the packaging or right above the ingredients list.
It is important to note that there is a product available called brewer’s yeast, which is a by-product created through the process of beer production. This is not what’s being referred to when discussing nutritional yeast, but it does have nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, and magnesium that could benefit your dog’s health, so if you accidentally give them brewer’s yeast, there is no need to worry.
Ways to Feed Nutritional Yeast to Your Dog
This food product is flaky and dry, so it crumbles down into a powder easily. The flakes are thin, so they can be eaten as-is without being ground down. There are several ways that you can feed nutritional yeast to your dog:
- Sprinkle it on their food.
- Roll small balls of peanut butter in it to make homemade snacks.
- Add it to a homemade dog smoothie recipe.
- Include it in a homemade dog biscuit recipe.
A Quick Recap
Nutritional yeast can be a healthy addition to any dog’s diet. A little goes a long way, so this is a cost-effective food to keep around the house. It may also be healthy for your human household members too! Hopefully, this guide has provided you with insight into the benefits of feeding nutritional yeast to your dog and fun ideas for how to feed it to them!
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Rachael has been a freelance writer since 2000, in which time she has had an opportunity to research and write about many different topics while working to master the art of fusing high-quality content with effective content marketing strategies. She lives off the grid in Hawaii with her husband, her garden, and her rescue animals including 5 dogs, a cat, a goat, and dozens of chickens. She is an artist at heart and loves to read, paint, and make jewelry in her spare time. As a vegan, Rachael is obsessed with helping animals in need both in her community and anywhere in the world where she feels she can make a difference. Animals also happen to be her favorite topic to write about!
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