As November is pet diabetes week it’s worth asking why is there a rise in canine diabetes. One thing that crossed my mind is how much sugar is there in dog food and how would a dog owner know. Adding Potatoes to dog food has been popular for some years however Potatoes comes out high in the glycemic index and this is just one ingredient. Buying dog food with diabetes prevention in mind seems most challenging. I don’t think there is a glycemic index specifically for dogs and the human index is used. Some believe vaccinations play their part in the cause of canine diabetes. One thing for sure is that canine diabetes is on the increase. I don’t know if David has a view on sugar in dog food and the rise of canine diabetes.
www.doctorsfinest.com/category_s/63.htm
Moving a way from sugar in 2013 a clinical trial using single session gene therapy was conducted www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130207114422.htm
The full text can be found here www.researchgate.net/publication/235398788_Treatment_of_Diabetes_and_Long-Term_Survival_After_Insulin_and_Glucokinase_Gene_Therapy
I suppose the very simplistic answer, is that dogs along with their owners, are getting fatter. I am not sure about sugars in dog food but from observations, I would say that many dogs habitually have processed human food. As our diets have become increasing likely to lead to diseases such a diabetes it seem likely that if fed to the dog, the consequences will be the same.
from what I have read RE the effects of sugar on humans, fructose is a major contributing factor and as corn syrup has become a popular sweetener, consumption of fructose has increased.
Very interesting findings with the gene therapy Seaweed, A cure for type 1 diabetes would be amazing.
I don’t know why it is on the increase but I agree with Tinyplanets in that there is probably a link with obesity. You only have to look around and there are an awful lot of obese pets. Personally I now don’t worry too much about the kibble/filler argument because every type of food has some problem with it. I prefer grain free so one of mine is on a food with sweet potato as the carb source and the other two have a product with potato. I top up with extra protein (chicken/fish etc) and find that they are all doing very well. I am glad that you told us about diabetic month as it prompted me to have the urine of my eldest dog tested at the vets today. It was fine so I am really happy with that. Thank you.
Just to add that, from what I have read, scientists believe that fructose, when consumed in fruit is metabolised in a different way because of the fibre therefore it is less likely to cause a problem. Although I would think that eating fruit to excess may be an issue. I would be less inclined to think potato in itself is an issue. I suppose it would depend how it is processed. It seems to me that heavy refining and removing the fibre is a strong suspect for causing a chain reaction within the endocrine system which may eventually lead to diabetes.
I think it is definitely something we should be concerned about.