Dietary fibre and post prandial hyperglycaemia in normal and diabetic dogs

Blood glucose responses to three different diets were measured in six normal dogs and in five diabetic dogs stabilised on insulin replacement therapy. In all animals a control canned diet was compared with the same diet containing 20 g wheat bran, and with the same diet containing 20 g guar granules. Reductions in hyper-glycaemia were demonstrated for 240 minutes following the test meal containing guar in comparison with the control diet in all but one dog, and moderate reductions were demonstrated following the test meal containing bran. These findings suggest that, as in man, feeding restricted carbohydrate diets to diabetics is an outdated concept. As in human medicine, high fibre diets or dietary supplementation with soluble fibre, such as guar, reduces post prandial hypergly-caemia and may help to improve gylcaemic control in diabetes mellitus.