Your body signals
before it breaks.
Sometimes your dog notices first.
For decades, diabetic alert dogs have demonstrated something remarkable: the body often sends signals long before symptoms appear. In Blood Sugar Dogs, Karin Collinsworth shares the story of living with Type 1 diabetes for more than forty years, the extraordinary abilities of diabetic alert dogs, and the deeper lessons they reveal about health, resilience, and vitality.
Foreword by Raymond Aaron · 40+ Years Living Well with Type 1 Diabetes · Public Health Professional · Systems Thinker · Author & Speaker
Blood Sugar Dogs
For more than forty years, I've lived with Type 1 diabetes while pursuing a lifelong fascination with health, human performance, and resilience. Along the way, I studied public health, systems thinking, nutrition, stress management, yoga, behavior change, and the emerging science of healthy aging.
One lesson appeared again and again: stability changes everything. When the body's systems become more stable, energy improves, thinking becomes clearer, recovery happens more efficiently, and long-term health becomes easier to maintain.
Whether we're talking about blood sugar, stress, sleep, inflammation, or daily habits, instability creates noise. Stability creates options. The same principle applies in biology, organizations, and life itself.
Blood Sugar Dogs begins with the fascinating world of diabetic alert dogs and the unique partnership between people and animals living with diabetes. Interested in what a blood sugar is and does - and how your dog could help with your health? See What is a Blood Sugar Dog?
Part memoir, part science, and part practical guide, the book explores how dogs detect subtle changes before many devices do, what those signals can teach us, and why paying attention to early warnings matters.
My own dog, Cocoa, became more than a companion. She became a teacher. Again and again, she demonstrated that the body communicates long before it reaches crisis. The challenge is learning how to recognize those messages and respond before small problems become larger ones.
Blood Sugar Is About More Than Diabetes
Most people think blood sugar only matters if they have diabetes. In reality, glucose regulation influences energy, hunger, inflammation, mood, focus, recovery, and healthy aging.
Blood Sugar Dogs begins with a story about dogs and diabetes, but it ultimately explores a much larger question: how do we create greater resilience in every area of life?
The answer requires more than managing symptoms. It requires looking at the entire system, understanding the connections, and making small changes that compound over time.
Work With Karin
Blood Sugar Dogs is the first book in the Holistic Vitality Series, a collection of resources focused on helping people build health, resilience, and vitality from the inside out.
Karin Collinsworth combines decades of lived experience with expertise in public health, systems thinking, business consulting, behavior change, and holistic wellness.
Consulting, coaching, speaking, and educational programs are available for individuals, organizations, and communities seeking a practical and sustainable approach to long-term wellbeing.
Learn More About KarinWhat people say about
working with Karin
Working with Karin made me feel like I had a map and a true understanding of practices I could use to manage my metabolism and stabilize blood sugars for better mood and memory. I'm truly grateful.
Karin's unique blend of blood sugar control, nutrition, and yoga-inspired methods is effective and life-changing. As a mentor, she's one of a kind and worth every penny. She's a joy to work with and super generous with the support and information she provides through the journey.
Karin's expert guidance for flexibility and restoring youthfulness has been invaluable. Her insights helped me on multiple levels.
Karin is an extraordinary, profoundly energetic coach. She brings expertise in championing change — using her passion to support people in shifting the trajectory of their lives.