WROCLAW, POLAND - 2020/06/09: Peaches seen displayed on the shelves of Wroclaw Market Hall (Hala Targowa we Wroclawiu), one of the biggest traditional markets in the city. (Photo by Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Do you like giving your pup a treat when you are enjoying one yourself? Do you find yourself cutting a piece of fruit for your dog to share with you? Have you ever wanted to create small treats for later with fresh fruits and vegetables such as peaches and avocados? Then you need to know which produce is safe for our pups to eat.
For this edition of “can our dog eat,” we turn to the juicy peach for inspiration. After all, if we love peaches, why wouldn’t our dog love them too?
So our question for this one is are peaches safe for our dogs to snack on? And what are the benefits of adding this fruit to their diet?
Is it safe for our dogs to eat peaches?
According to DogTime, the simple answer is yes, it is safe for our dogs to eat peaches. Specifically, it is safe for our dogs to eat the fleshy part of the fruit, but they absolutely need to avoid the peach pit.
Not only is the pit a choking hazards, but even if they chew on it and splinter the pit it can cause internal damage or blockages.
Beyond the pit as a hazard, it is important to note that too much peach can also be a problem because eating too much of this fruit can lead to our dogs dealing with stomach issues and diarrhea.
In general, when our pups get to enjoy peaches in moderation they benefit from the vitamins and minerals that are infused in the fruit. Whether it is the Vitamin A and C or the higher fiber content, this is a fruit that can actually be a good thing for our dog’s overall health and well-being.
While peaches might be safe for our dogs to eat, we still recommend consulting with your pup’s veterinarian before adding something new to their diet.
Any dog owner with a backyard knows the agony of stepping outside to find Fido has torn up the lawn — again. There’s food aplenty in the kibble bowl, so why would dogs nosh on things like grass? While you might write it off as just one more weird dog behavior, experts say that your dog’s grass-chomping habits may have complex evolutionary roots.
Inverse spoke with pet experts to answer all your burning questions about why dogs ingest strange items and whether it’s safe for them to eat grass.
Why do dogs eat grass?
“Grass eating is observed in both domestic and wild canines, yet the reason for it remains largely unknown,” Katy Nelson, a senior veterinarian at Chewy, tells Inverse.
However, pet experts do have numerous theories on why your dog might be chowing down on greenery.
One theory posits that eating grass helps ease gastrointestinal issues and can induce vomiting if the dogs have an upset stomach.
“In my personal experience, I see dogs eating grass commonly when they don't feel well or have gastrointestinal upset,” Kelly Hicks, a medical oncology resident veterinarian at Oregon State University, tells Inverse.
“The thought is that grass helps potentially with digestion and passage of stools.”
But not every expert agrees. Katherine Pankratz, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, tells Inverse dogs rarely vomit after they eat grass, so dogs are unlikely to be eating the stuff to soothe an upset tummy.
Danielle Bernal, a veterinarian with Wellness Natural Pet Food, tells Inverse dogs may consume grass to add fiber to their diet. This theory has a fair bit of scientific support. Pankratz cites a 2007 study: A poodle that was eating grass (and vomiting in this case, though this is less common) stopped after it switched to a commercial high-fiber diet.
“Although there is some evidence that dogs can digest carbohydrates, it may be most likely that the supplement of dietary fiber was likely the benefit and not the grass itself,” Pankratz explains.
Some research suggests that grass eating is an evolutionary behavior descended from dogs’ ancient ancestors: wolves. “It is thought that eating grass is an innate behavior, one that was present in domestic dogs’ distant ancestors,” Jamie Freyer, a veterinarian at Veterinarians.org, tells Inverse.
Your canine might also simply be bored or ravenous. According to a 2007 study, researchers found a correlation between dogs eating grass and the time of day. Dogs were more likely to eat grass before a meal — when hunger was highest — compared to after a meal.
It’s also possible the answer might be simpler than we think.
“There isn’t one specific reason that your pup likes the occasional grass snack. They just like the taste, texture, and feel of eating grass,” Bernal says.
Are dogs really carnivores?
Dogs, contrary to popular belief, are omnivores. Getty
You may be surprised to learn that dogs are not, in fact, true carnivores.
“Actually, in contrast to the cat, who is an obligate carnivore, dogs are omnivorous,” Freyer says.
Unlike cats, dogs can get important acids and vitamins from vegetable oils, according to Nelson. And Pankratz adds that canine molars have “relatively flat surfaces” that can grind bones and plants.
“Dogs can also digest almost 100 percent of the carbohydrates they consume and have a larger small intestine as compared to that of a strict carnivore,” Nelson says. The small intestine is where most of the nutrient absorption from food occurs.
In fact, dogs may actually need non-meat food sources from time to time such as grain to maintain a healthy diet.
“There is a link between grain-free diets in dogs [and] heart disease (i.e. cardiomyopathy), which supports the statement that dogs cannot be purely carnivorous animals,” Hicks explains.
Though it’s fair to say that grass is not an appropriate alternative source of food. If your dog consumes grass, it may pass it “fully intact,” Bernal says. “Unlike true herbivores, dogs are not designed to break down the hard, fibrous structure of a blade of grass and turn it into energy like a cow, sheep, or horse would.”
What other weird substances will dogs eat?
Dogs can eat anything from toilet paper to dirt. Often these habits are harmless, but sometimes they might be a sign of a more serious medical issue, experts caution. Getty
Much to their owners’ dismay, dogs are tempted to eat pretty much anything under the Sun — including inedible non-food items.
“Since dogs are scavengers at heart, they will sniff for remnants of food whenever available in pursuit of a tasty reward,” Bernal says.
“Their tendency to explore the world with their mouths often leads to eating things that most of us would not consider food,” Freyer says.
Some common non-food items that dogs have been known to eat include feces (their own or another animal’s), tree bark, toilet paper, dirt, and rocks.
If this sounds like the behavior of your dog, don’t panic. Most of the time it is fairly normal behavior. Consumption of seemingly strange items isn’t always a sign of poor pet training, experts say.
“Some dogs are more likely to use their mouths to explore their environments, such as puppies and young dogs, and dogs have a normal need to chew,” Pankratz says.
In fact, Bernal adds, “the reason dogs may eat these odd substances is the same reason they may eat grass.”
Veterinarians refer to the compulsive canine practice of eating non-food items as “pica.” However, if your canine companion is eating non-food items more often than not, it might be time to bring them in for a check up. “A variety of medical issues could contribute to this behavior of pica, such as nutritional deficiencies, inflammatory bowel disease, and parasites,” Nelson says.
There could also be mental health concerns that would explain this behavior.
“Other behaviors like attention-seeking, separation anxiety, and boredom can lead to pets eating or chewing on things they ordinarily would not have,” Nelson adds.
Whatever the reason, if your dog has a habit of eating foreign objects, you want to keep them under direct supervision whenever possible to prevent medical issues.
And, there is one item on that list you might want to watch out for. Eating poop — a practice known as “coprophagia” — is one of the more common and perturbing non-food items that dogs consume, and this one can have consequences. Poop contains a multitude of bacteria and other microbes and some of these species, when ingested, can cause an infection.
Further, you might want to watch out for objects that might be weirdly shaped, and as such, might not pass as easily. “[These objects] can pose an issue later down the line if [an] object is unable to be digested and gets lodged somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, causing an intestinal obstruction,” Hicks says.
Is it safe for dogs to eat grass?
It’s generally safe for dogs to eat grass, but keep alert for pesticides or parasites, experts say.Getty
“For the most part, eating grass and similar plant-like materials is ok for your dog,” Bernal says.
“Typically, eating grass is not harmful for a dog’s health unless it is occurring all the time.”
Nelson agrees though she says you still need to keep a close eye on your dog’s grass-eating and make sure they’re not consuming it in bulk.
“Grass itself is not toxic to dogs, but consuming excess quantities could lead to signs of illness such as vomiting, discomfort, and increased frequency of defecation,” Nelson says.
Nelson adds that if your lawn has recently been treated with fertilizers or pesticides, you’ll want to keep the dog off the grass for at least 48 hours. If your pet is ingesting grass at the dog park, keep an eye out for signs indicating the lawn may have been treated with chemicals.
However, if your dog is exhibiting any unusual behavior: vomiting, suddenly eating grass for the first time or increasing the amount of grass it consumes, consult a veterinarian. The grass may contain parasites that could be harmful to your pet, and the parasites may be spurning your dog to consume more grass, Pankratz says. In instances like these, she might consider a parasite preventative medication.
There are some expert-backed tips and tricks to help your pet avoid eating grass and other weird objects. Getty
Pankratz stresses there is no “one-size-fits-all" to keep your pet from eating undesirable items. You can start by identifying the underlying reason why your dog is eating grass or another item, which may require help from a veterinarian.
If your dog is simply bored, find other appropriate outlets to meet its needs, such as dog-safe chew toys or food if the animal is indeed hungry. You can also consider taking your dog out for a walk after meals, Pankratz says.
Hicks recommends you remove any potential ingestible objects when the dog is left unsupervised. It may also be necessary to crate your dog while you’re gone to prevent them from getting into areas of the house where they can eat foreign objects. Pankratz also suggests avoiding grassy areas on walks and keeping your dog leashed at all times. It might even be appropriate to have the dog wear a muzzle in certain environments, Pankratz says.
But the task is a difficult one.
“I think it can be hard to train dogs not to eat things they aren't supposed to ingest,” Hicks says.
Bernal also suggests using simple commands such as “leave it” to direct your dog to stop eating the item or applying a substance to make the object “taste bitter and nasty enough that the dog should leave it alone.” Products that are safe to use can often be purchased at pet stores, but consult your veterinarian first.
Pankratz says you can also consider behavioral modification — a form of guided training that teaches the dog to think differently about and appropriately deal with tempting behaviors. For example, if your dog shows an interest in eating grass, calmly interrupt (without threat or fear) with a diversion, and then guide your dog on what they should do instead with the skills that they know (i.e., sit and look at you, touch their nose to your hand) or a more acceptable behavior (i.e., chase a ball) and reward them for doing so.
Why do dogs raid the trash for food?
Your dog raiding the trash might not be a sign of poor training, but an evolutionary behavior.Getty
If you’ve ever seen your dog pilfering through the trash, again: Don’t blame yourself. It does not necessarily mean a sign of poor training. It could simply be a callback to your pup’s learned evolutionary behaviors, or, more simply, a means to pass the time.
“Dogs are scavengers and, evolutionarily, their scavenging behaviors brought them to living alongside human civilization,” Pankratz explains.
Freyer adds, “When they raid the trash, it is likely because something in there smells tasty and they want to eat it.” Dogs possess an incredible sense of smell. In fact, their noses contain 300 million olfactory receptors. That’s 50 times that of humans, who have a meager six million. As such, the scent of leftover food may literally be too strong to resist.
“So while we may not smell that bit of steak that we dropped in the trash after dinner last night, your dog certainly can,” Nelson says.
Importantly, though, it is necessary to keep them away from the trash can, as eating leftover foodstuffs could give them a bellyache or worse, pancreatitis, Freyer says. They also run the risk of ingesting a foreign body that they can’t pass.
“In most cases... dogs recognize that knocking down the garbage bin daily is not acceptable household behavior, so if your dog is showing that they cannot resist, implementing additional training is highly recommended for their safety,” Bernal explains.
There are other strategies you can use, too. For example, you can keep your trash cans behind closed doors and closets, or purchase specialized tightly sealed rubbish bins that keep all the smells inside and away from your dog’s sensitive nose.
So yes, dogs eat weird things like grass and garbage. Often, there’s no need to intervene. But now you know the reasons why, and when it’s necessary to interject — or call your vet for backup.
When it comes to treating Covid-19, seeking care instructions from your healthcare provider along with following basic safety guidelines like wearing a double mask, self-isolating and frequent hand-washing are crucial.
That being said, watching what you eat can also help alleviate some of the symptoms and aid recovery.
"Maintaining a diet high in fruits and vegetables is important as they are replete with vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, C, magnesium and zinc among others," says Dr. Adrienne Youdim, an internist who specializes in medical weight loss and nutrition. In addition, antioxidants and polyphenols found in certain fruits and veggies also enhance immunity, reduce inflammation and promote metabolic health—all of which are important in times of infection and particularly Covid-19 given its predisposition of affecting people with metabolic disease more severely, adds Dr. Youdim.
"If you're down with the Omicron variant, your throat might be on fire. Some people say their throat feels like it has razor blades in it. Who wants to eat a heavy burger or a big bowl of pasta while you're feeling that way? Opt for lighter foods instead," says Dr. Robert G. Lahita aka Dr. Bob, director of the Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatic Disease at Saint Joseph Health and author of Immunity Strong.
Broths and soups are the best option. "Not only are broths and soups great for hydration when sick, but they are also easy to cook when you may be feeling weak or exhausted," says Pomroy. "You can opt for a soup with pureed vegetables for added benefits," she says.
Even soft-cooked vegetables like carrots, onions and spinach are ideal, says Dr. Lahita. In addition, celebrity nutritionist Haylie Pomroy recommends loading up on sweet potatoes. "It's packed with vitamin A, which is great for fighting inflammation—a common side effect of Covid-19. You can eat these mashed or as crispy wedges if you don't have a sore throat, she suggests.
"Foods high in omega fatty acids including fish can also be beneficial given their positive effect on immunity not to mention fish are a source of vitamin D—a nutrient whose deficiency, makes us more susceptible to respiratory infections," notes Dr Youdim.
Dr. Youdim also recommends increasing use of olive oil as it's a significant source of polyphenols—which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic properties. "They also enhance the immune response by increasing antioxidant defenses and decreasing inflammation in the tissues," says Dr. Youdim. "Olive oil also contains omega-3 fatty acids which cause activation of both innate and adaptive immunity and have anti-inflammatory properties," adds the internist.
You should also incorporate probiotics in your diet while you have Covid-19 as they help balance your gut microbiome which plays a key role in improving your immune function, says Dr. Lahita. Foods like yogurt, kefir, tempeh,, kimchi, miso, kombucha, traditional buttermilk and many kinds of cheese are excellent natural sources of probiotics for your gut, he says.
Meanwhile, "avoid spicy foods and lemon, orange, and other citrus as these can burn your throat and make it feel even worse. You should avoid coffee too as it can have dehydrating effects. And steer clear of hot liquids, although warm tea can help soothe a raw throat," adds Dr. Lahita.
“What are you even doing?” my mother yelled from across the room.
I’d been comically trotting around the house, picking up a few items and holding them to my nose to determine if they were the culprits behind the stench.
“Trying to figure out what stinks.”
Suddenly, holding a Tupperware of chopped onions, I had a primary suspect. “That’s it! It’s the onions,” I exclaimed.
My mom grabbed the container and promptly put it back. “I chopped these 15 minutes ago. There is no way they are rotten.”
I caught the coronavirus in April 2021, during India’s deadly second wave, which drove a worldwide surge in cases. My infection, although technically “mild,” left me bedridden with a high fever and headaches throughout the 10-day isolation period. As my quarantine ended, I was relieved that the worst was behind me — or so I thought.
A month into recovery, I started noticing a rude cacophony of pungent smells that were mildly rotten, then sometimes metallic after they entered my nose. Desperate for answers, my investigations concluded that everything stank — but onions and garlic were the primary culprits.
I figured the ailment would disappear, but it didn’t. After a month of fiddling with my food, unable to work up an appetite because of the stench, a tweet led me to discover that I was suffering from a condition that made me a “covid long-hauler.” I barely understood what that meant at the time, but I knew it would be awhile before things were okay.
Breakthrough infections for vaccinated people have been at unprecedented high levels with the omicron variant, which means there’s now a looming uncertainty about how long covid will affect them. Anthony S. Fauci has confirmed that long covid can develop “no matter what virus variant occurs.” Most agree that vaccines reduce but do not eliminate the risk of long covid. Researchers say we’ll have to wait until May 2022 to properly assess omicron’s relationship with long covid.
While parosmia isn’t as life-threatening as other long covid conditions that damage vital organs, that doesn’t make it easy to live with. As Richard Orlandi, an ear, nose and throat physician, told University of Utah Health, “Depending on the severity, this condition can range from an annoyance to a frustrating and anxiety-inducing symptom.”
For me and others, that frustration is compounded by the uncertainty that comes with a lack of treatment or cure. It’s partly what led me to seek my own answers — talking to other young women who, like me, had no idea what to make of this newfound impairment.
When Aditi Mehta, a 24-year-old from New Delhi, got typical covid-19 symptoms in April 2021 despite being partially vaccinated, they lasted only 24 hours, she said. But a month later, her sense of smell started playing tricks on her. When she turned to her doctor for advice, she received no answers, she said: “They had no idea what was happening.”
A doctor recently confirmed that physicians could not help Madison Evangelista, a 29-year-old from Washington state, with a loss of smell that has persisted for months. Evangelista was infected in December 2020, right before the vaccine rollout in the United States. Parosmia symptoms showed up months later, and she still struggles with them, she said.
A friend told her there was no way it could be happening because all of her friends who had covid-19 had recovered, Evangelista said: “I thought there was something wrong with me because I wasn’t getting better but everybody else was.”
Googling symptoms proved helpful for many, as it enabled people with parosmia to find support online. For Mehta, just discovering what it was called gave her experience legitimacy. “When I saw the name, I knew my condition was real and I wasn’t alone,” she said.
Finding a community allowed many to process how profound a loss it had been. “It’s one of your five senses, after all,” said Vaishnavi Bajpai, a 21-year-old from Uttar Pradesh, India, who is studying medicine and who tested positive for the coronavirus in November 2020.
Our sense of smell is often underappreciated, even though it plays a key role in our perception of environmental hazards, nutrition, social relationships and overall well-being. Simply put: When smell goes, everything goes.
The most unforeseen consequence of parosmia for me was how paranoid it made me for my safety. Some accused me of hyperbolizing my condition when I would triple-check the stove — no longer trusting myself to detect a gas leak. But speaking to Bajpai about my fears confirmed that they weren’t nearly as irrational as I thought. She said she’d been heating a bucket of water and didn’t realize it was burning on an immersion rod; she couldn’t smell the smoldering plastic. She frantically called her mother, she said, unsure whether she would “ever be able to live alone like this.”
For some, what stings most is no longer being able to enjoy food. During the worst phase of my parosmia, the thought of food would send me down a spiral — I was conflicted between not wanting to eat because of the smell, yet obviously needing nutrition. Parosmia didn’t just dull my appetite — it also stole a treasured hobby. Simply stepping inside the kitchen to cook or bake would push me into crying spells. Eventually, to spare myself the emotional turmoil, I stopped cooking altogether.
Many, I found, had similar experiences with their relationship to food.
To Rachel LaFerriere, a 22-year-old student from Ohio who got covid in August 2021 despite being fully vaccinated, many foods smelled like a “garlicky, oniony plate of eggs left sitting out for two weeks.” For her, parosmia has darkly colored life’s little moments. “Going into a restaurant and smelling the food was one of the joys of my life. And now it’s ruined,” she said.
The loss of routine meals weighed heavily on Shreya Garg, a 21-year-old from Haryana, India, who was infected with covid in June 2021. She misses devouring her cherished breakfast of seven years — a parantha (stuffed flatbread) and green chutney. “I tried it again recently. It wasn’t the best. I’m ignoring that this is a lifelong issue for people and [that] it might never be 100 percent again for me,” she said.
Six months in, my parosmia is no longer a daily interruption. Yet I don’t feel okay enough to say I’m “recovered.” I still can’t eat onions and garlic. And many others like me are experiencing varied emotions about the unexpected, lasting changes.
Some, like Garg and LaFerriere, say they avoid thinking about it, optimistic that their bodies will pull through. (As LaFerriere put it: “If I have to live with it forever, I’ll find ways to adapt.”)
For others, the omicron wave has only heightened anxiety about the condition. “I have a lot of fear of catching covid again,” Evangelista said. “I don’t know how that’s going to impact my parosmia.”
But it’s not only the long-haulers like us who need to watch out.
The “omicron is mild” narrative is rooted in a false binary — you either succumb to the infection or emerge unscathed. This overlooks the understated middle child: the possibility of developing long covid conditions that can alter the course of your life.
Most of the people interviewed for this article experienced largely asymptomatic infections. University of Arizona Health Sciences found that 67 percent of people who recovered from “mild or moderate” infections experienced symptoms more than 30 days after their positive test.
Despite popular perception, a mild infection doesn’t guarantee a 10-day quarantine and then business as usual. We’re already noticing troubling consequences of the “omicron is mild” narrative — “covid parties,” for example, designed to infect people with omicron to get it out of the way. That we’re in the thick of a pandemic with a virus that’s ever-evolving should be reason enough to not take a new variant lightly.
But if that’s not reason enough — take it from me: You don’t want to wake up one morning with your morning cup of coffee smelling like rotten milk.
Nona Uppal is a freelance writer based in New Delhi.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert due to concerns that ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken salad products produced by Simply Fresh Market, a Marietta, Ga. establishment, may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. A recall was not requested because the known affected product is no longer available in commerce for consumers to purchase.
The RTE chicken salad with apples and walnuts items were produced on Jan. 17, 2022. The following product is subject to the public health alert [view label]:
8-oz and 16-oz. deli hinged containers of “simply fresh MARKET CHICKEN SALAD Apples & Walnuts” with a sell by date of “1/25” printed on the label.
The products bear establishment number “EST. P47170” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to three local markets in Atlanta, Ga.
The problem was discovered when the company notified FSIS that product sampling reported positive Listeria monocytogenes results.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.
Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Less commonly, persons outside these risk groups are affected.
Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.
FSIS Issues Public Health Alert for Ready-To-Eat Chicken Salad Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination | Food Safety and Inspection Service - USDA.gov Read More
Charles Barkley consistently elicits reactions from the NBA players he opines on.
On Thursday, Barkley said he thought Zach LaVine deserved an All-Star starting nod over Trae Young, on account of the Bulls having the second-best record in the Eastern Conference while the Hawks (22-25) are in 12th.
Trae Young had some words for Charles Barkley after his All-Star take.Getty ImagesCharles Barkley stuck to his guns — and took Trae Young’s ‘twinkie’ retort in stride.Screengrab
Young was clearly watching the segment, and expressed his gratitude for being selected — while sneaking in a potshot at Barkley.
“Truly Blessed!! Thank you to the Fans. ALWAYS LOVE !! 2X!!” Young tweeted. “Chuck eat a Twinkie and be quiet sometimes,” he added, with laughing and peace emojis.
Truly Blessed🙏🏽 !! Thank you to the Fans ❤️ ALWAYS LOVE !! 2X!!
