Can Dogs Eat Miso Soup?
Miso soup is delicious food that you can either enjoy as a side or as a main course if you add other ingredients like vegetables and proteins. It has a unique, salty broth that adds to its flavor profile. Since you enjoy it so much, you might be wondering if it is something that you can share with your dog, too!
So, can dogs eat Miso Soup?
Miso soup is delicious and has some great health benefits for us humans. However, it is not recommended that you share your miso soup with your dog, even if you are trying to pass on these health benefits, too. Technically, you could let your dog have a taste of miso soup, but a bowl of miso soup would be too much. It is better not to try feeding your dog miso soup at all.
What Is Miso Soup?
Miso soup is a soup dish, and its base is typically a mix of dashi stock and miso paste, which are then mixed together. This soup is a traditional Japanese soup, and the miso paste that is used is a fermented soybean ingredient. The dashi stock is a stock that is made with different ingredients, depending on its flavor profile and flavor strength– some dashi ingredients include bonito flakes, dried sardines, or dried shiitake mushrooms.
Miso soup is known for its umami, which is one of the main flavor profiles used to describe food. Umami is the base of a lot of Japanese cooking. It has a deep, savory flavor, coupled with a salty and sweet richness. Due to this and its connection with umami, miso paste is also used in many other dishes.
Can Dogs Eat Miso Soup?
Miso soup is delicious and has some great health benefits for us humans. However, it is not recommended that you share your miso soup with your dog, even if you are trying to pass on these health benefits, too. Technically, you could let your dog have a taste of miso soup, but a bowl of miso soup would be too much. It is better not to try feeding your dog miso soup at all.
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Risks of Feeding Your Dog Miso
While a few sips of miso soup is not going to harm your dog, it is still not recommended that you let your dog eat miso soup, too. This is because there are a lot of potential risks involved, especially when your dog eats too much miso soup. Some of these risks include dehydration, allergic reactions, and sodium toxicity.
Soy Allergy
Since miso is a fermented soybean paste, it can be dangerous to dogs with any sort of soy allergy. Even just a taste could trigger a reaction, depending on how severe the allergy is. If it is just a soy sensitivity, this could still lead to an upset stomach or other discomforts for your pet. This is why it is so important to always be aware of the ingredients in the food you are feeding your dog– even if it is just dog food!
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a serious health condition that could be caused by eating too much miso soup. While this will not happen immediately, it could develop if you continue to feed your pet miso soup. Pancreatitis can be caused by several different factors, some of which are related to their diet– for example, if their diet is high in fat, this could lead to pancreatitis. Symptoms of pancreatitis include vomiting, fever, diarrhea, and lethargy.
Dehydration
There is a lot of salt in miso soup, and sometimes more salt is added for flavor during the soup preparation. High salt content can be dangerous to dogs for a few different reasons, one of them being that it can cause dehydration. Dehydration can lead to a loss in appetite, panting, dry nose, and other similar symptoms. It can also cause your dog to drink too much water and make themselves sick or need more trips outside to use the bathroom!
Sodium Toxicity
Another scary and very serious health condition that can be caused by the salt in miso soup is sodium toxicity. Sodium toxicity is also known as salt poisoning and can have severe effects on your pet if not recognized and treated. It can be shown by symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, decreased appetite, and tremors– or even seizures. Typically, this is not something that would happen right away but could occur if you continue to feed your dog miso soup.
Added Ingredients
Often, chefs add other ingredients to the miso soup broth to make it more hearty. These ingredients may range from dried seaweed to cumin, to tofu to chili oil. Certain added ingredients can be unsafe for your pet and can cause allergic reactions or other severe health concerns. For instance, scallions, which are also known as green onions, are a popular additive to miso soup. Onions can cause onion toxicosis in your pet, which affects their red blood cells. If the onion toxicosis is bad enough, it can even turn out to be fatal for your dog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dogs eat soy?
Yes, your dog should be fine if it eats soy– provided, of course, that your pet does not have an existing soy allergy to contend with.The amount of soy that your dog is ingesting does matter, too, so it’s important that you discuss any dietary changes with your vet before you decide to implement them.
How bad is miso soup for you?
Miso soup can be a healthy food for you in small quantities. However, it is important to realize that miso soup also has a great deal of salt in it, and salt is often added when it is being prepared. Too much salt can cause issues like heart disease and high blood pressure.
Is miso soup toxic to dogs?
Miso soup on its own is not toxic to your dog, you should be wary of any added ingredients to the soup. For instance, green onions are often added to miso soup, and all kinds of onions are toxic for dogs and often cause onion toxicosis in the body.
Is it OK to drink miso soup every day?
Miso has an alkalizing effect on the body and can also strengthen your immune system in order to help fight infection. Drinking one bowl of miso soup a day has been linked to lower risks of breast cancer.