At least in humans, insulin is released when tasting something sweet.
That is why things like diet drinks can work against you, the drop in
blood sugar makes you really hungry, so you end up eating the calories
anyway. However further research has indicated that the insulin release
in dogs is NOT from the sweet taste, and I assumed that was the case in
dogs because it can be in humans. Also there appears to be kidney
damage in dogs as well.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
Weird, I tried to copy the appropriate section to the clipboard, but it
won't copy, tried on two different computers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Dogs
Dogs <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog> that have ingested foods
containing high levels of xylitol (greater than 100 milligrams of
xylitol consumed per kilogram of bodyweight) have presented with low
blood sugar (hypoglycemia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia>),
which can be life-threatening.^
The paper:
**
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#cite_note-Dunayer_2006_acute-35>*^
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#cite_ref-Dunayer_2004_37-0>*
Dunayer, E.K (2004) Hypoglycemia following canine ingestion of
xylitol-containing gum, /Veterinary and Human Toxicology/ 46(2):87-88
http://www2.aspca.org/site/DocServer/vetm0207f_095-100_.pdf?docID=10462
http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/hypoglycemia.aspx
Puppies and dogs
<http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/hypoglycemia.aspx#> can develop
severe hypoglycemia after consuming sugar-free gum sweetened with the
sugar-alcohol xylitol. In humans, xylitol has little to no effect on
plasma insulin
<http://www.gopetsamerica.com/medical-terms/hormones_pancreas.aspx> or
glucose levels, but in dogs xylitol is a strong promoter of insulin
release and can cause severe hypoglycemia with collapse and seizures.
With the increased appearance of xylitol-sweetened products in the US,
xylitol toxicosis in dogs may become more common. Sometimes, a dog
<http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/hypoglycemia.aspx#> will
outgrow this condition.
On 2/3/2011 10:53 AM, Frank wrote:
Hi Marshall, I thought the release of insulin happens due to the
presence of glucose and other similar carbohydrates. I didn’t know
that insulin was released based on taste. Do you remember where you
learned that? I am really curious about the news. That would mean that
stevia, a sweet but non-glucose-releasing compound, triggers insulin?
Cheers
Frank
*From:* Marshall Dudley <mailto:mdud...@king-cart.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:41 AM
*To:* silver-list@eskimo.com <mailto:silver-list@eskimo.com>
*Subject:* Re: CS>Question abou Xylito and dogs!
The mechanism is interesting. From what I understand when they taste
the sweetness, the automatic nervous system immediately starts pumping
insulin into their system to handle the sugar, but no sugar arrives,
and their blood sugar plummetsm sometimes to the point of death.
Marshall
On 2/2/2011 11:46 PM, Lin wrote:
In case this hasn't been brought up. Please know that xylitol can be
deadly for dogs.
They are attracted to the sweetness and seem to be able to sniff it
out from places it's stored easily.
----- Original Message -----
