Arthur the Diabetic Labrador thrives on his plant-based diet

“Arthur is such a gentle, quiet & sweet natured dog. I just hope he understands I’m helping him by jabbing him with a needle night & morning. Thank you so much for all your advice and these wonderful foods and supplement that you sell 🤗”

Why will a plant-based diet really benefit Arthur with his diabetes?

Just as in humans, the best diet when suffering from diabetes, is a balanced fibre rich, plant-based diet. This will naturally feed the gut microbiome and prevent a peak in sugar levels with fibre-rich wholefoods. By supplying the right level of nutrients and protein without excess calories, the body is able to make the hormone insulin safely from these proteins, and the pancreas does not end up with fat around its cells so it can function correctly.

A diet high in animal fats results in insulin resistance where the sugar cannot go to where it is needed in the cells and a wholefood plant-based diet fixes that perfectly and naturally.

Being a Labrador with a healthy appetite will certainly help as Arthur will love everything that he is fed:)

What other advice can you give for dogs with diabetes?

I gave this advice to Arthur’s Mum as she had not been told this by her vet.
Always keep the insulin vial in the back of the fridge and not in the door of the fridge as she was doing. This is due to temperature fluctuations affecting the insulin everytime the fridge door is opened, so it can work more effectively.
Gently rotate the vial before drawing out the insulin with the syringe – do not shake it.
Arthur’s Mum felt particularly bad that she had to inject him twice a day, but I explained that you make a small tent with the skin and as the needle is so fine, it would not be painful in any way for Arthur.
The skin over a dog’s neck is thick and dogs do actually have something called ‘skin hunger’ where they are more than happy having finger nails (if you have any – mine are always a bit short!) prodded into the skin…a bit like nips from another dog’s teeth. This is shown to release dopamine in your dog – the happy hormone.

I explained this to Arthur’s Mum, that if she imagined the needle to be a form of therapeutic ‘acupuncture’ that Arthur may actually enjoy, then it made it so much easier to do twice a day!

I advised that instead of the Markies high fat and meat-based/sugar filled treats that she was giving him after his injections as she felt guilty about injecting him; she gives him some smoked tofu instead in small pieces. He loves this and she does too as it is a food that she eats herself, and it provides Arthur with extra protein and nutrients, as well as being really tasty (especially if baked in air fryer to make it crunchy, or in an oven coated with a little cornflour – delicious!)