Dogs are carnivores. A dog’s diet should consist of around 60% protein, 20% fat, and 10-15% carbohydrates. Dogs have a simple digestive system that is designed to digest meat, not grains or vegetables.
The high carbohydrate content in legumes can induce an upset stomach in some dogs. However, there are many types of legumes with widely varying nutritional profiles that could prove beneficial for your pet.
Mung beans are nutritious since they contain many essential nutrients including thiamin, folate, magnesium, and vitamin K1. They also provide proteins and iron in adequate amounts which may help in replenishing your dog’s red blood cells.
Mung beans also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have several health properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant activities.
As long as your dog is not lactose intolerant, mung beans can be beneficial to its health. However, it would depend on the size of your dog and how much mung bean it consumes. Since mung beans are rich in starches, too much intake may give rise to more serious problems like diabetes mellitus or obesity.
A healthy adult dog that weighs around 20 lbs may eat up to 100 grams of mung beans without any harmful effects just once a day while smaller breeds could get away with 50 grams.
Obese and older dogs may be more sensitive to starches and should eat mung beans in smaller amounts if at all. Some other possible consequences of overfeeding your dog with too much mung beans may include flatulence, vomiting, or diarrhea. With regards to the latter, you should know that it is a good idea to limit your dog’s intake of legumes since they contain natural toxins which could affect certain tissues such as heart muscles and brain cells.
This is why beans are considered to be toxic for dogs. If your dog can’t digest legumes easily or have a bad reaction after eating mung bean sprouts, you should avoid feeding it with this type of food in the future. Mung bean sprouts are usually found on Asian cuisine menus.
They are easy to prepare and are very nutritious for humans as well as pets. It would be best if you consult your vet before giving your dog something new to eat especially if they haven’t had any mung beans before since some types may contain high levels of toxins that could harm them.
Recommendations:
Mung beans are low in fat but in carbohydrates which makes them unfit for a dog’s diet. Dogs can eat a few beans as a treat but should not be given too many of them each day.