Intermittent Fasting for Dogs

 Your dog may be struggling with digestive or weight issues.  If so, intermittent fasting may help.  Intermittent fasting is a type of fast where a person will eat for 8 hours and then fast (not eat) for 16 hours.  Although intermittent fasting is popular, it is always best to speak with your veterinarian to ensure that it is the right plan for your four-legged friend.  Senior dogs, smaller breeds, and puppies should not fast as they may develop diabetes due to the reduced amount of insulin that intermittent fasting produces.

According to veterinarians around the globe, dogs should technically only eat about once a day.  This is because before they were domesticated, dogs would usually only have about one meal a day out in the wild.  The most important thing is to make sure that your dog is getting all the nutrition that they need regardless of how many times they are eating per day.  A dog’s nutritional needs differ from humans.

Intermittent fasting has many benefits for dogs.  Fasting has a way of reducing insulin levels.  This means that systematic inflammation will decrease, and weight will be reduced.  When insulin levels are reduced, sugar will begin to be burned for energy which means that your dog will lose weight.  Another thing that intermittent fasting does is kills off damaged cells for energy.  One of the most interesting things is that stem cells function better on a diet of fat than carbs or stored glycogen which the body will burn first during the fasting.

Overall, intermittent fasting will develop a stronger regenerative process in your dog and allow it to shed off excess weight.  You must speak to your veterinarian first if you are wanting to start your dog on the process.  It may be a process which requires consistency and patience, but as you can see, there are many benefits involved for the long run!