Xylitol is Highly Toxic to Dogs
Xylitol is a common ingredient in low calorie and sugar free, cakes, biscuits, chewing gums, sweets, mints, diabetes friendly foods and oral care products. Xylitol looks and tastes like sugar, but has fewer calories.
Xylitol is found in small amounts in many fruits and vegetables and is therefore considered natural. Humans even produce small amounts of it via normal metabolism.
In humans, Xylitol is absorbed slowly and has no measurable effect on insulin production. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about dogs.
When dogs eat Xylitol, their bodies mistakenly think that they've ingested glucose and start producing large amounts of insulin.
When this happen, the dog's cells start taking up glucose from the bloodstream. This can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) and be fatal.
Xylitol may also have detrimental effects on liver function in dogs, with high doses causing liver failure.
Keep in mind that it only takes about 0.1 g/kg for a dog to be affected, so a 3 kg (6-7 lbs) Chihuahua will get sick from eating only 0.3 grams of Xylitol. This is less than the amount contained in a single piece of chewing gum.
So if you own a dog, then keep Xylitol out of reach (or out of your house altogether). If you believe your dog accidentally ate Xylitol, take it to the vet immediately.
[url=Article Ref: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/xylitol-101]Article Ref: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/xylitol-101
Xylitol is found in small amounts in many fruits and vegetables and is therefore considered natural. Humans even produce small amounts of it via normal metabolism.
In humans, Xylitol is absorbed slowly and has no measurable effect on insulin production. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about dogs.
When dogs eat Xylitol, their bodies mistakenly think that they've ingested glucose and start producing large amounts of insulin.
When this happen, the dog's cells start taking up glucose from the bloodstream. This can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) and be fatal.
Xylitol may also have detrimental effects on liver function in dogs, with high doses causing liver failure.
Keep in mind that it only takes about 0.1 g/kg for a dog to be affected, so a 3 kg (6-7 lbs) Chihuahua will get sick from eating only 0.3 grams of Xylitol. This is less than the amount contained in a single piece of chewing gum.
So if you own a dog, then keep Xylitol out of reach (or out of your house altogether). If you believe your dog accidentally ate Xylitol, take it to the vet immediately.
[url=Article Ref: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/xylitol-101]Article Ref: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/xylitol-101