The effect of carbohydrate intake on postprandial plasma glucose concentrations and insulin requirements in dogs with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Foods that contain carbohydrate have the greatest effect on blood glucose concentrations compared to foods that contain protein and fat. The method of carbohydrate counting that estimating the carbohydrate content of a meal and optimizing the insulin dose controls postprandial hyperglycemia in human diabetes patients. The purpose of this study was to the effects of carbohydrate quantity on postprandial plasma glucose and insulin requirement in dogs with diabetes mellitus（DM）. DM dogs were fed on a diet with the control diet（moderate carbohydrate）and the high-carbohydrate diet（control diet＋corn starch）, and then maintained normoglycemic status by connecting to an artificial pancreas apparatus. Insulin requirements of the high-carbohydrate diet were higher than that control diet in DM dogs. DM dogs require the rapid-acting insulin dosage of 1.0 unit per 12.7 g of carbohydrate intake. This count is dependent on insulin sensitivity of each dog. In conclusion, these results indicate that the total amount of carbohydrate in a diet was considered as an important factor for determining insulin requirement in DM dogs.