Sugar-Free Gum and Snacks Can be Deadly for Pets
by Kirsten Taylor (Subscribe to Kirsten Taylor's posts)
Sep 8th 2009 11:00AM

Categories: Pet Health

Most pet owners know that chocolate is a big no-no for dogs. But here's something to chew on: a common ingredient in sugarless gum and snacks can cause a canine catastrophe.

The culprit is a sweetener called xylitol. While you may never have heard of it, there's a good chance you have it in your house. Xylitol is common in sugarless gum and in sugar-free snacks, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Cases of xylitol poisoning in dogs have increased in recent years as the sweetener has been added to lots of new foods, Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, vice president of the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center, told Paw Nation. "There definitely has been an increase in the exposures of dogs to xylitol over the last several years, simply because there's more xylitol out there."

See the rest here. http://www.pawnation.com/2009/09/08/sugar-free-gum-and-snacks-can-be-deadly-for-pets/?icid=main|main|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pawnation.com%2F2009%2F09%2F08%2Fsugar-free-gum-and-snacks-can-be-deadly-for-pets%2F

It also has a laxative effect on humans.

The chocolate thing is somewhat of a myth. I've known personally of two dogs and have from friends about other dogs that have eatin quite a bit of chocolate and been nothing more than happily satisfied. One dog that I know of ate a one pound bag of mini candy bars.

I think that it affects different dogs differently. My Aunt had a dog that got hold of some chocolate. The dog got very ill. The dog also had severe diarrhea. That throws the electrolytes out of balance and affects the kidneys. The dog spent the night at the animal hospital. It almost didn't make it.

Chocolate cannot be metabolized in their liver correctly so it can be eaten sometimes with no effect to them but will eventually shut down their liver once it reaches it breaking point.

So yea you will see dogs eat it and nothing happens to them that doesn't mean it doesn't harm them.

Thanks for the info about sugar-free gum, Dragoness. I have a dog and I chew sugar free gum. I'll be taking more care about it now.

Actually chocolate contains theobromine a stimulant that causes heart problems and a diruretic affect on dogs. Some types of chocolate have more than others. It has killed dogs and caused problems for other dogs. My buddy does not believe this but when he gives his dog chocolate we see some symptoms.

I'd never take that chance with my animals. Anway I knew about the Xylitol but never buy anything with that in it.

I try only to give my dogs what is meant for dogs, and if I give them people food it might be a piece of chicken now and then but no sweets ... oh except for bannanas prunes, dried apples with they love.

The dog that ate the pound of mini bars was a dachshund? I don't know maybe they're like tiger sharks and can eat anything

My darn neighbor has one of those. I assume its name is Wiener,because just about everyday this 10yo kid stands outside yellin' WIENER!!!WIENER!!!WIENER!!! or maybe the kid has Tourettes syndrome. Either way enough with the WIENER!!!

most of that sugar free crap is deadly anyway, for the simple fact that you'll find asparteme in it.

You are correct sir...

I would like to add:

Anything with refined sugar is just as deadly. Sucrose (table sugar), high fructose corn syrup, etc., are all toxic when refined. Our bodies are designed to absorb these nutrients along with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals.

In the 1930's the average person consumed 30 LBS of sugar a year. Now, the average person consumes nearly 130 lbs annually.

And we wonder why we have such an increase in cases like cancer, and diabetes.

Gluttony or by design?

Perhaps both?

And this is EXACTLY why SUGAR is always the best sweetener.

It's not nearly as fattening as the lab made sweetener industry has made it out to be. And sugar is 100% natural.

Not so fast there. Most sugar that we know of is sucrose (table sugar). It's a refined form of natural sugar, and is just as toxic to our systems.

But sugar naturally found in fruit, is natural and not harmful.

Don't get me wrong ladies and gents. Our nervous system does in fact get the majority of it's energy from glucose, which is sugar in it's simplest, molecular form. However, in order for this sugar to be nontoxic when our body breaks it down, it must be accompanied by a specific ballance of nutrients.

But, to give credit where credit is due, i don't see table sugar as being any less healthy than artificial substitutes.

I'm not sure about it being " toxic ". It may take longer to break down from sucrose, but it isn't toxic.

This is what i used to think as well. Been reading up a bit on nutrition and Orthomolecular medicine.

REFINED sugar is in fact toxic, something to do with what your body needs to absorb it. After years of ingesting as much as the average person does, it leads to what is called Sugar Metabolic Syndrome. This is said to be a major cause of diabetes, cancer, depression, and just about anything else you can think of.

I am starting to abopt the general philosophy that up to 85% of the health problems in this country stem from malnutrition.

Granted, Orthomolecular medicine is a fairly new practice, so there is always possibility that 10 years from now they will say it isn't true...

Define " refined " as stated here.

I ask for that because all sugar is " refined ". It's the only way to get it from the plant that produces it ( in our case sugar beets, in southern areas it will be from cane ) into the finished product.

We add nothing to the sugar. All that comes out of our process is 100% pure natural sugar.

And yeah....as you may have guessed...I work in the sugar industry. lol

Refined, taken out of nature and broken down. It's not a matter of adding anything to it...

I think the point is that our bodies have evolved to absorb sugar in small quantities like those found in fruit. It originally would have taken us a while to consume the amount of sugar found in 10 apples. Now, we consume that amount in a matter of seconds in some of our beverages, or eat that amount in a few bites.

So metabolizing sugar like that over large periods of time are said to give us metabolic problems, which are said to lead to major health issues.

As i said before, personally, i would rather consume sucrose than aspartame. But both are equally as damaging, according to many studies.