Beans Benefits Pet Diabetes. A recent study found that supplementing your pet diabetics diet with a variety of legumes including beans, chickpeas and lentils not only helps to stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels, they also boost good cholesterol or “healthy fat”, normalize blood pressure and promote healthy heart function. Whether your pet is a vegan or eats commercial dog food, adding a nice variety of beans to your pets diet is a healthy choice.
For pet diabetics, beans also have what’s called a low glycemic index. The glycemic index is a reference range foods are given that reflects their effect on blood sugar. Pet diabetics are best fed foods with a low glycemic index so the insulin requirement and therefore daily dosage remains stable and blood sugar fluctuations are avoided.
Cholesterol and blood pressure are affected adversely in many diabetic pets and once again because beans benefit both, chances are your vet bills will be lower and your pet will enjoy a better daily quality of life as well.
How much should pets be fed?
Basically consider making up to 1/3 of your pet’s diet beans. Legumes may be added to commercial diets as well as homemade. Beans also make great snacks assuming your pet enjoys them which you will only find out by trying it for yourself!
Researchers noted the fact that low glycemic diets have been controversial with respect to their benefits on health.
Scientists concluded that legumes are part of a healthy pet diabetic diet but whether the high content of soluble fiber in the bean or the beans themselves
are responsible for these benefits remains to be seen.
Certainly nutritional therapy for pet diabetes is effective.
Understanding that there is no single medication or insulin regime appropriate for all pets it makes sense that there is also no single nutritional intervention appropriate for all diabetic pets.
