Xylitol and Stevia toxic for pets?

[happyliza]

I have just received this message on my Facebook. Is this true?


ATTENTION ALL DOG OWNERS
To all dog owners. A friend of mine recently did what most of us have done at some time or other and put a cup of tea down on the floor, only for her dog to help herself to half!!! Within minutes her dog started foaming at the mouth and became very ill indeed. Rushed for emergency veterinary treatment, the dog had to stay in over night and have blood test every 30 minutes, it was touch and go whether she would pull through. All this because the cup of tea contained natural sweeteners known as XYLOTIL or STEVIA - although healthy for humans its is highly toxic for dogs. The vet had treated and been unable to save a large number of dogs over the previous 12 months, who all suffered the same fate. Please share this to alert all dog owners, especially those who are diabetic and use natural sweeteners and may not be aware of the danger in sharing any food or drinks with their much loved pooch.

 

[davey72]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

I had never heard of this, but a search seems to insist it to be true.

-www.healthypet.com/PetCare/DogCareArticle.aspx?title=

www.ehow.com/about_5159158_dangers-xylitol.html

 

[Laura]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?


Yes, xylitol should not be consumed by dogs. It drops their blood sugar so low they can die. I never heard about stevia in this respect, though, so that may not be true.

 

[Jacques]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Yes, xylitol should not be consumed by dogs. It drops their blood sugar so low they can die. I never heard about stevia in this respect, though, so that may not be true.

I can confirm that it is not true for stevia because my little dog has eaten a bit of stevia accidentally.

 

[Z...]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

I found this study _http://www.stevia.net/safety.htm

However rodents have entirely different metabolism then dogs. I would play it safe and keep all the sweeteners safely out of their reach.

Can dogs enjoy sweet taste?

The sweet taste buds in dogs respond to a chemical called furaneol. This chemical is found in many fruits and in tomatoes. Cats are virtually "taste blind" for this substance. It appears that dog's do like this flavor, and it probably evolved because in a natural environment dogs frequently supplement their diet of small animals with whatever fruits happen to be available.

 

[Laura]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

I can confirm that my dogs like tomatoes and oranges and some other fruits. It really is funny to see them eating such things with enjoyment!

 

[davey72]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Speaking of dogs, and carbs it mystifies me how much grass, and other things my dog eats. It doesn't matter how much meat, and bones he gets he will steal the bread for the pigs all the time. (he also teases them with it). In the summer he eats grass non stop, and he loves grain. I figured this out once while trying to wash his poop away in the yard. Most of it was almost entirely oats. I also remember my childhood dog used to eat a lot of things out of the garden. I remember peas, and rasberries in particular. He would pick them himself, and was so gentle. I thought dogs were carnivores? I wonder if wolves are like this, or if it is a result of selective breeding?

 

[Z...]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

I thought dogs were carnivores? I wonder if wolves are like this, or if it is a result of selective breeding?

Dogs ARE carnivores - you need not to look further then their physiology and anatomy, they are simply not equipped to digest grains while they can cope with simple carbohydrates such as those e found in fruits and vegetables. 70% of their nutrition should come from meat - i.e animal protein and fat the rest from vegetables and fruits.

Dogs eat grass to mechanically scrape their intestinal wall and it passes through their system mostly intact, so is the case with grains.

Having said all this, humans are considered OMNIVORES yet they do much better on meat and little vegetables with no grains- today i was watching some animal welfare documentary and they said that British prevailed as colonizers because they were beef eaters - there was also this quote: "The rice eating Hindu and Chinese and potato eating Irish peasant are kept in submission by well fed English. Of the various causes that contributed to the defeat of napoleon at Waterloo was that for the first time he was brought face to face with the nation of beef eaters who stood still until they were killed." Dr George Beard - English Physician 1898.

Not really sure if this is the best illustration on benefits of meat on humans as I am under the impression that Roman soldiers were mostly fed barley - yet they prevailed in ancient world, but I am sure people who eat meat have superior health in comparison to vegetarians.

 

[davey72]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

I thought dogs were carnivores? I wonder if wolves are like this, or if it is a result of selective breeding?

Dogs ARE carnivores - you need not to look further then their physiology and anatomy, they are simply not equipped to digest grains while they can cope with simple carbohydrates such as those e found in fruits and vegetables. 70% of their nutrition should come from meat - i.e animal protein and fat the rest from vegetables and fruits.

Dogs eat grass to mechanically scrape their intestinal wall and it passes through their system mostly intact, so is the case with grains.

This is basically the same ideal diet for humans as well then? Is it the definition of an omnivore to be able to digest complex carbs? Perhaps i should look up the definitions, but if 30% of your diet consists of vegetables, and fruits then are you a true carnivore? What about the grains that are put into dog food?
As for grass, and grains to scrape the intestinal wall, this makes sense. I also wonder if this is a natural function of canines to resead? Would these grains be viable after digestion? I just prefer him to eat meat, and worry about him eating rolled, or chopped grains, and also the amount of bread, and potatoes he seems to eat. In Edmonton you can get as much free potatoes, and bread as you want from the PGOA, and Mcgavins. It is all the stuff they cannot sell, and due to financial restrictions this is what i have been feeding my pigs to get them through the winter, along with hay.

 

[SovereignDove]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Dogs ARE carnivores - you need not to look further then their physiology and anatomy, they are simply not equipped to digest grains while they can cope with simple carbohydrates such as those e found in fruits and vegetables. 70% of their nutrition should come from meat - i.e animal protein and fat the rest from vegetables and fruits.

Dogs eat grass to mechanically scrape their intestinal wall and it passes through their system mostly intact, so is the case with grains.

Like davey72, I also worry about my dog consuming grains. Although she is fed grain free foods, she eats the seeds my bird throws out of his cage. So my question is whether this is harmful to her health, or just will pass through her system like grass does?

 

[Z...]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Like davey72, I also worry about my dog consuming grains. Although she is fed grain free foods, she eats the seeds my bird throws out of his cage. So my question is whether this is harmful to her health, or just will pass through her system like grass does?

When the grain is grinded to flour then its harmful, whole seeds will pas through the system undigested.

This is basically the same ideal diet for humans as well then? Is it the definition of an omnivore to be able to digest complex carbs? Perhaps i should look up the definitions, but if 30% of your diet consists of vegetables, and fruits then are you a true carnivore? What about the grains that are put into dog food?
As for grass, and grains to scrape the intestinal wall, this makes sense. I also wonder if this is a natural function of canines to resead? Would these grains be viable after digestion? I just prefer him to eat meat, and worry about him eating rolled, or chopped grains, and also the amount of bread, and potatoes he seems to eat. In Edmonton you can get as much free potatoes, and bread as you want from the PGOA, and Mcgavins. It is all the stuff they cannot sell, and due to financial restrictions this is what i have been feeding my pigs to get them through the winter, along with hay.

well dogs are not obligate carnivores or strict meat eaters like cats for example

All felids, including domestic cats, are obligate carnivores. But, the cat is not alone in being a strict meat-eater. Other mammals that are classed as obligate carnivores include mink, tarsiers, dolphins, seals, sea lions and walruses, to name a few.² Non-mammal obligate carnivores include rainbow trout, salmon, hawks, eagles, crocodilians, many snakes and lizards and most amphibians.³

All of these animals became obligate carnivores as a result of their ancestral diets. Because eating a meat-only diet provides some vitamins and fatty acids in their pre-formed state, cats and many other obligate carnivores have lost the ability to make these amino acids and vitamins in their own bodies the way herbivores or omnivores do. They don’t need to since the animals they are eating have already done it for them.
For example, cats require vitamin A in its pre-formed state, they can’t make it from beta-carotene the way humans or dogs or rabbits can. They have little ability to form niacin from tryptophan.⁴ They have a high requirement for taurine, which is found almost exclusively in animal flesh.⁵ Arginine, also found in animal flesh, is so critical to the cat that a meal without it can lead to death.⁶ Fortunately, all meat sources have plenty. Simply put, cats must eat meat to live.

The digestive systems of cats have also become specifically adapted to eating raw flesh. They have the shortest digestive tract compared to body size of almost any mammal.⁷ Raw prey is highly digestible and there is no need for a long gut and the fermenting bacteria that animals that eat plants need. Cats have lost some metabolic abilities simply because they don’t need them anymore. You don’t need to be efficient at breaking down carbohydrates when your diet contains practically none.

One of the defining characteristics of an obligate carnivore is a requirement for a high amount of protein in the diet. Cats meet their blood glucose requirements from gluconeogenesis, using protein, rather than from the breakdown of carbohydrates in their diet. They are so dependent on protein that if their diet is lacking an adequate amount to supply their energy needs, they will break down their own body muscle and organs.⁸

Now you present interesting question. I think both humans and dogs evolved to be hunter gatherers. The only difference is is that primates allegedly ( according to the official science- but we have many blanks here) evolved from herbivores to omnivores while Canids probably evolved from strict carnivores to gatherers i.e. facilitative carnivores. Baboons for example have teeth similar to carnivores and some argue that their long fangs are there not because they are carnivores but only for male to male competition - I am not
convinced, especially after watching this video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcnH_TOqi3I
WARNING!!! - its pretty gruesome and heartbreaking as it shows baboon eating gazelle while its still alive so I wouldn't really recommend watching it.

Strictly speaking I think dogs can safely be classified as facultative carnivores:

Dogs actually belong to a category of meat eaters called “facultative carnivores”, which is so close in functional behavior to the omnivore category as to be hardly distinguishable. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the term:

“Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are considered obligate carnivores while those that also consume non-animal food are considered facultative carnivores. Omnivores also consume both animal and non-animal food, and apart from the more general definition, there is no clearly defined ratio of plant to animal material that would distinguish a facultative carnivore from an omnivore, or an omnivore from a facultative herbivore, for that matter.”

Facultative” means contingent, optional, or not required. In other words, their primary food is meat or prey but they are capable of surviving without them, perhaps not indefinitely but for long periods.

 

[Z...]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

also there is more info on "Dogs are omnivores " myth here

_http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html

 

[davey72]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Do you know then if a dog can survive stricly on meat, without any type of carbs at all?

 

[Z...]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Well IMO for optimum health and well being in addition to meat ( including raw bones and organs) they need some vegetables and fruits.

 

[davey72]

Re: Xylotol and Stevia toxic for pets?

Facultative” means contingent, optional, or not required. In other words, their primary food is meat or prey but they are capable of surviving without them, perhaps not indefinitely but for long periods.

By this definition i suppose humans are also Facultative carnivores, no?