We’ve heard it a thousand times over, “read the ingredients !” But this is ESPECIALLY important when we are feeding a very strict Raw Ketogenic diet as a form of metabolic therapy for diseases such as cancer or epilepsy. With these diets when we are scrutinizing everything down to the gram, paying so much attention to not be feeding carbs or sugars, trying so hard to get glucose levels down low, increase ketones and get the dog in ketosis, the LAST thing we want to find out is that we’ve unknowingly been giving the dog sugar or carbs that may be lurking in unsuspecting places such as additional supplements that many pet owners may be giving their dogs. And this is another lesson on why it’s important to be checking blood glucose levels so we can validate if in fact the diet is working, and if the blood readings are not where they should be, now we take a step back and do some investigative work to try and figure out WHY.
This issue has come up multiple times these past few weeks working with clients through my meal plan service , so I figured it warrants a friendly reminder here in a blog post.
If your dog is on a STRICT keto diet. it is absolutely crucial that any and all supplements that are being given in addition to the main diet are closely inspected in order to determine if they are acceptable or not acceptable to be given. MANY popular dog “branded” supplements may FAIL THIS TEST. The two particular items being used were dog branded probiotics and dog branded joint supplements.
Now, I want to emphasize the part about “If your dog is on a STRICT keto diet” , this would apply to a dog that is being fed a Raw Ketogenic Diet as a form of metabolic therapy for disease. Cancer, Epilepsy, Diabetes etc. Issues where we want to be absolutely sure the dog is getting into ketosis. If a “healthy” dog is being fed Keto just as a general maintenance diet, then these steps are not as critical nor required to be testing blood glucose/ketone levels.
Both of these items were in a Chewable form. That’s the first red flag. Any dog “branded” supplement thats in a Chewable form is pretty safe to assume it will not be acceptable to be used in addition to a strict ketogenic diet, as they will contain by default, carbs and starch that make up the composition of the supplement being a soft chewable form. On top of the carb and starch concern, these two particular supplements also included ingredients we would want to steer clear of. such as honey ,yeast, whey, molasses, pumpkin powder,tapioca starch,brewers yeast, dextrose (sugar), artificial flavors, maltodextrin, hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Always inspect ingredients of everything and anything your dog is eating if you are following a STRICT KETO diet.
Certain types or brands of CBD oils have also been offenders of keeping glucose levels higher than what we would typically be seeing in dogs on a high fat ketogenic diet. It’s important to point out that this does not happen with ALL oils in ALL dogs. But we’ve seen it time and time again. So again, it’s crucial to be testing glucose levels in order to spot any abnormalities so the issue can be addressed.
And going back to what I mentioned in the beginning, this is also an example of why it can be so important to be checking glucose levels regularly. Because if the one pet owner wasn’t checking glucose levels then it would have never come to my attention that there was a problem which led me to further poke around to find out what additional items may have been given to the dog. And once the owner sent me pictures of the products and ingredient lists of said products, it quickly came to light that some of the products being used were not conducive of a Ketogenic diet and may actually be impeding our end goal.
So, this is just a little reminder that EVERYTHING that is being given to the dog really needs to be carefully scrutinized down to every little last ingredient used in the products. because there can be things lurking in the most unsuspecting places that can be working against our end goal of getting a dog in ketosis.
And if you need to learn all about testing glucose and ketone levels and what meter to use, make sure to visit the Keto Tips! section on the website located here
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