Low Glycemic Foods

[Abby's Mom]

I know that on other individual forums, that there are discussions surrounding foods, and what foods may be appropriate for a diabetic dog. I thought I would share this link. Not that they recommend any for a diabetic dog, but these may be good starting points to discuss with your vet.

http://www.gripetfoods.com/CertifiedDogFoods.htm

[Casey's Mom]

Re: Low Glycemic Foods

Wow my foods are on that list. I must be doing something right. I hope
Merrick canned and Nutrisca dry.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Low Glycemic Foods

In dogs, low glycemic foods aren't necessarily what you want. There are a lot of dogs whose insulin will outstrip the digestion of those foods because they are low on the glycemic index and drop the blood sugar too quickly.

I've seen a few dogs on Orijen for example who had to have some rice or other cereal added to it to balance their blood sugar. Taste of the Wild, a grain free food, is another one that rarely works well for diabetic dogs without some supplementation of something that's digested more quickly.

Probably it's a function of how dogs process insulins - they tend to process the intermediate insulins like NPH faster than people do. So back when a lot of people used NPH as their basal insulin, they were also using R faster acting insulin to deal with the glucose generated by their meals while dogs rarely need faster acting insulin. They often get essentially the net effect of N and R from NPH alone. Some of them get such a fast kick from NPH that it drops their blood sugar sharply as if it were faster acting insulin.

It is all dog dependent. They vary wildly in how they process insulin and any particular diet. It's just important to note that a lot of dogs actually need some fairly quickly digested carbohydrates in order to balance the action of the insulin.

There tends to be a lot of confusion, also, about the difference in feline diabetes (similar to Type 2 in people) and canine diabetes (akin to Type 1 in people). Since cats generally still produce insulin but are not very sensitive to it, low glycemic foods and supplements that increase sensitivity to insulin make some sense. With dogs, there can actually be some benefit, in terms of more level blood sugar and thus better regulation, to not being intensely sensitive to insulin.

Natalie