Can post-prandial BG spikes be controlled by adding fibre to meals?

[Astra&Purrfect]

Hello!

After introducing myself yesterday, this will be my first post! (By the way, as I'm British I use English Spelling which does differ a bit from U.S. Spelling! )

I'm sure this topic is something owners ask themselves when adjusting diet for a newly diabetic cat. This is where I'd really appreciate forum members' opinions about whether post-prandial blood glucose spikes can be realistically controlled by added some fibre to the meat, for example some shredded Brussels sprouts or French green beans?

We have always fed our cats on a wet and dry diet. However, on finding out how damaging and unsuitable cat kibble/biscuits are, we've decided to reduce quantity drastically for all our cats and not to give any at all to Purrfect who is newly diabetic. We don't even feed him Friskies or Felix from the supermarket (like we do with all our other cats) because these have added sugars.

Purrfect is not yet regulated and at the time of his meal and shot, the previous shot of Prozinc insulin is no longer active and his levels are already high (400mg/dl). Prozinc doesn't even start to work for 2-3 hours, so controlling/slowing the release of glucose sounds like a good idea.

We've discovered some good pure meat varieties with no cereals or added sugars, such as Animonda Carny, Smilla and Catessy. However, these have no added fibre. Cats don't really naturally eat fibre apart from some grass and what is in the intestines of their prey but what about a diabetic pet?

What is your real-life experience? Does added fibre make for a smoother BG curve? Thanks very much!

 

[Pati]

Hi Astra.

This is what was explained to me by a friend (who has a Phd in nutrition, teaches nutrition at a veterinary school, and formulates the diets for a large zoo) when I asked about the addition of vegetables to a home prepared, raw diet.

"In their raw form, the starch is not nearly as available and is more resistant acting more like a fiber than a digestible carb. We want some fiber in the digestive tract as that actually will help reduce the blood glucose."

And further referring to using feeder mice:
"If you think about that whole prey example, much of the carcass is actually not digested (some of the bone, hide, connective tissue) and while we don't typically consider it fiber, that does the same in a carnivore as a high fiber salad does for us...moves things out of the gut and aids in digestive health. Raw vegetables for a cat are going to act in a similar manner...not quite the same but that's what we're going for."

Morris' diet is formulated for 3oz of raw vegetables per 5-6 days. It can certainly be coincidence but his BG was higher during that time. He is not regulated yet and has had diet changes so too many variables have been involved so that I can't say absolutely that was the cause. I am currently using 2 oz raw kale only and won't make any further diet changes while the Prozinc forum gurus help me get him figured out. Sometime in the (far)future I would like to test again with adding pumpkin for example or adding no veggies. I should add that I have learned from this group that not all cats are as sensitive to carbs as Morris appears to be.

 

[Astra&Purrfect]

Hello, Pati. Thank you very much for your detailed post. Very interesting. I must say that I hadn't thought of adding raw vegetables to the food. What would be best - I see you use kale. I have tried adding some cooked green beans in the last two days but since then Purrfect's been drinking quantities of water in the morning after his injection, although as with you, there have been other variables too.
Pati, how do you manage with high starting numbers, such as 400mg/dl and Morris's meal, knowing that the ProZinc won't be active for 2-3 hours?
Thanks very much again for your response.

 

[Pati]

I'm using kale because it is lower carb. Green beans are higher. I use the USDA food composition database.
Kale 1 cup = 1.4g carbs, .6g fiber, .36g sugar
Green beans = 6.97g carbs, 2.7g fiber, 3.26g sugar

So we aren't giving 1 cup but you can see the difference. While green beans have more fiber, they also have more carbs and sugar which we are trying to avoid. I chose kale because I grow it in my garden and Morris likes it. It's my understanding you don't want to make it digestible by cooking it, thus the reason for raw. I use a food processor and add other ingredients of his diet so it is thoroughly mixed in.

Yes the ProZinc doesn't take effect right away. I can't answer the science behind why we feed and give the insulin immediately after. Someone else will chime in and answer that. Kris and Sue on the Prozinc forum are recommending that you look at the food you are feeding. If you are feeding a diet high in carbs it is contributing to the high numbers. Then you have to give a higher dose of insulin. As the forum says when you change diets to a low carb one, you have to be home testing because that alone can bring the numbers down. You then have to lower the insulin dose.

I now have Morris on a consistent very low carb diet. I don't routinely check his numbers at +2 and 3 but when I have he is lower than his AMPS number. Once you start home testing regularly you can see what Purrfect does.

 

[Astra&Purrfect]

Thanks for that info, Pati. Yes, I've stopped giving him greens beans as a result, seeing the higher sugar content! The food I'm feeding is absolutely pure meat and organs with added taurine, calcium and vitamins: Animonda Carny, Catessy paté in trays (which does use some animal by-products), and Smilla, with no cereals, no fruits, no veggies and no added sugar. (They're made in Germany.) This would, I hope, replicate a natural feline pure meat diet. I found a calorie and carbo calculator here although the carbo calculation leaves somewhat to be desired. At 107 calories per 100g, Carny turns out to be 20 calories more than Catessy.
On the two occasions I have checked his +2 hour levels, he's the same level if not a bit higher than his pre-shot levels.
May you and Morris have a lovely evening!