Learning from the dogs

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I was just doing my usual searches for news about canine diabetes, and I came across something I missed before.  It was discussed on the terrific dog-blog, Doggyblurb.blogspot.com last April, but it's still worth talking about, especially if, like me, you have loved ones who are diabetic (my mother and my sister).  According to Diabeteshealth.com, "Michael Davis, a professor at Oklahoma State University who has studied sled dogs for 10 years, says their incredible endurance may be the key to treating obesity in people who have either type 2 or pre-diabetes."  Now, I know I usually talk about dogs with diabetes, but this news item points up the intertwining nature of our relationships with our dogs.  It appears that what the sled dogs can teach us has to do with insulin sensitivity, which is key to both diabetes and burning fat:  these dogs have metabolisms that are simply amazing.  If Davis can figure out how this whole system works (it's a mystery so far), we may see something that really works and can help everyone, human or other, who has or is at risk for diabetes.  As long as we don't have to run an Iditarod . . . It's also worth noting that Davis was/is not generously funded, so if you've got the bucks to be providing research grants, you might do a lot worse than throwing one his way.

And here are a few articles that you may find interesting:

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