Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

[razal337]

Hi..new here. My 5 yr old lab was recently diagnosed as being diabetic and we have started insulin injections. They are still trying to regulate his dosage. He is currently on 20 units 2 x a day. We just started this week and the vet wants to see how he does for the next week or so to see if his body adjust to this dosage. He was in for curves 2 days before deciding on this starting dosage. The curve was not optimum but they wanted to try this to see if he adjusts before uping his dosage again. A few questions.....

1). What is a typical dosage for a lab (about 75lbs)?

2). Have read that Vitamin E helps reduce the need for insulin in the body. Does anyone use this as an additional supplemnet to the Insulin therapy?

3). Brewers Yeast - Read that this assists the body in using the blood sugar more efficiently..again...anyone use this?

This is all pretty overwhelming...I know it can be regulated and he will live a normal life. I just want to do all I can to make it better for him. He is a very good boy regarding his injections. I tell him after he eats that it is time for his puppy medicine. He goes to his bed and lies down and I give him his injection and then his treat. Glad I found this forum!

[Patty]

Re: Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

Hi and welcome! This site has been so helpful to me as well.

My golden was diagnosed last May. She was 50lbs and started out on 10u of Humulin N twice a day. This is actually where she settled in at for quite a while until I switched foods. What type of insulin is your dog on? What type of food does he eat?

I give Ali 400IU vitamin E, but the reason is to help her allergies/skin more than anything. I think it's a great supplement but I didn't noticed a decrease in her insulin needs after starting it.

I think it's great your vet does curves. It's not always easy to find a vet that does. Sounds like you're off to a good start!

Patty

[We Hope]

Re: Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

What's seen regarding brewer's yeast is coupled with chromium. It was thought that chromium might help with non-insulin dependent, or Type 2 diabetes:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/b...ast-000288.htm

University of Maryland Medical Center

Diabetes

"Some studies, but not all, suggest that chromium supplements may help people with diabetes control blood sugar levels. People with diabetes either do not produce enough insulin -- a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life -- or cannot use the insulin that their bodies produce. Chromium may reduce blood sugar levels as well improving glucose tolerance (reducing the amount of insulin needed). Because brewer's yeast is a rich source of chromium, it is thought to be effective in treating high blood sugar."

Anderson RA. Elevated intake of supplemental chromium improved glucose and insulin variables in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes. 1997;46:1786-1791.

http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org...ract/29/11/919

Beneficial effect of chromium-rich yeast on glucose tolerance and blood lipids in elderly subjects
Diabetes, 1980

"In the control group, no significant change in glucose tolerance, insulin, triglycerides, or total lipids was found. Cholesterol was significantly lowered in the nondiabetic but not in the diabetic group."

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1606018

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pag...18&pageindex=1

Brewer's yeast and diabetes Br Med J. 1977 April 2; 1(6065): 905

They indicate that brewer's yeast doesn't treat "juvenile" diabetes (an older term for needing insulin to survive).

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/1...amin-e-kicks-/

Diabetes Health 1997

"Later, a study in the November of 1993 issue of Diabetes Care showed that, after a three month test period, vitamin E reduced plasma glucose, triglycerides, fatty acids and total cholesterol in test subjects with type 2 diabetes. HbA1c levels were significantly lower after vitamin E therapy as well.

"This study, as well as one published in the May 1993 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and another conducted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, showed that large daily doses of vitamin E improved glucose utilization and insulin action in control subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetes."

With Vitamin E, we're back to the same story--of possible benefit to those with Type 2 (not needing insulin to survive) diabetes.

Most people with diabetes have Type 2--they don't need to take insulin shots to live. While some of them are using some insulin to help manage their diabetes, they don't require it. Many with Type 2 can manage their diabetes with diet alone while others do it with diet and oral meds. There are still others who will use all three--diet, oral meds, and some fast or rapid acting insulin at meal times.

Dogs with diabetes have Type 1--their pancreatic beta cells can't be induced to either produce insulin again or to produce enough of it by using oral drugs. They need insulin shots to manage their diabetes.

The starting dose of insulin is calculated according to body weight measured in kilograms (2.2lb). The usual beginning dose of insulin is 0.25 - 0.50 IU of insulin per kilogram of weight, so your lab has just passed the starting dose range for his size. We have dogs here who are using a lot of insulin for their size, and dogs who are using little for it--a lot depends on the dog and the diet.

Kathy

[razal337]

Re: Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

Thanks for the info. Brady is using Humulin for his insulin treatment. The vet currently has him on Hill's Diet W/D. Brady is not fat by any means and this food makes him poop alot because it is high in fiber. Previously I had him on Wellness Simply Solutions Venison. I was researching and found Origen dog food. Received Glycemic Research Institute award for low glycemic dog food of the year. Food looks good. Anyways, I asked my vet about it and he said he had never heard of this food nor the Glycemic Research Institute. I was surprised by that. He told me he would refer me to a nutrition specialist at Tufts or Angel Memorial if I wanted.....ka-ching! Wonder if anyone on this board is feeding their dogs this food. I will enter a separate post for this question.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

Welcome to you two!

I usually look 1/4 to 1/2 unit per pound so your labrador is in that general range.

There are some dogs, especially terriers it seems, who need a lot of insulin for their size. Like 21 units in a 24 pound dog. And they got perfect regulation with that. So you give however much is needed to get the desired result.

Once a dog passes 1 unit per pound and still is not getting any significant response to the insulin, they are then considered "insulin resistant."

My dog eats Orijen chicken flavor - he's not diabetic. Chris, our diabetic, who passed away in August, started out on WD but then we eventually switched him to California Natural and Canidae canned mixed half and half with cottage cheese, which slowed down the metabolism of his food. He did well on a lot of different diets. Changing diets would change the character of his curves, like where the highest and lowest blood sugar occurred.

If the supplements accomplish anything, it would be to reduce the amount of insulin needed. I think Kathy probably mentioned this... dogs are basically Type 1 diabetics. Their pancreas loses the ability to make insulin. So there is no way for "fix" the diabetes with diet. What you feed and what supplements you give could affect how much insulin they need the shape of the curve of their food and insulin interaction though.

It's great that you are being so proactive to guide his diabetes care as he will be living with this condition for a long time. The more you learn, the better he will do and it looks like you're doing great so far!

Natalie

[eyelostit]

Re: Brewers Yeast & Vitamin E

I think brewers yeast is in some of the dogfoods, over the years I have tried many foods mid priced to expensive, I bought a few of the expensive brands but some of those made bg go up, so I tried a variety of brands over the years and now use Orijen and Nutro mix with turkey and veg's.