Is kelp good or bad for dogs and cats?
It’s a complicated answer.
There are a lot of great things about kelp.
For example, kelp has been linked to improved dental health. We sometimes recommend a product called Plaque Off, a product available for both pets and humans, which is basically just a kelp additive that helps prevent plaque buildup and gingivitis. However, for the longest time no one really knew why kelp seemed to help with dental health. Then, in 2012, researchers discovered a microbe which lives on kelp and produces plaque-fighting enzymes. In fact, they are now developing seaweed-based tooth paste with very promising results!
But fighting gum disease is not kelp’s only super-power. It can also improve a sluggish thyroid and even help with bone density.
Kelp is a natural source of iodine, which is involved in thyroid function. Supplementing with kelp has been proven to help euthyroid humans. For dogs, who tend to develop hypothyroidism as they get older, a bit of kelp in the diet can help support thyroid function. Kelp also contains high levels of calcium, magnesium and selenium, all of which are involved in bone health.
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
Before you rush out to buy kelp for your dog or cat, though, you need to know that there are a lot of cautions tied to kelp supplementation. Cats have a tendency towards over-active thyroid, which means that iodine supplementation is not always a great idea. In fact, some vets suspect that high iodine levels in food may actually be linked to an increase in hyperthyroid cat diagnoses.
Even in dogs, too much iodine can actually slow down the thyroid, as it tries to compensate for being ramped up by all the excessive iodine. According to Dr Jean Dodds, the dog’s system tries to balance itself out and the thyroid actually slows itself down further. The same goes for the other minerals found in kelp – too much calcium/magnesium can be a bad thing.
Talk to your vet about your pet’s current diet to see if the minerals in kelp would help or harm your pet. For pets on a homecooked or raw diet that needs vitamin supplementation, kelp might be a great idea. But if you’re feeding a pet food that already has the correct amounts of these minerals, you could accidentally overdose your dog or cat.
The source of the kelp matters, too. Remember that kelp comes from the sea, which means it can be tainted by pollutants in the water. Some lines of kelp supplements test positive for heavy levels of arsenic. That’s not something you want to put in your pet!
If you’re thinking about adding kelp to your pet’s diet, talk to your vet about your pet’s lifestyle, current diet, and health status to decide whether kelp will help… or harm.