Fructose and corn syrup are widely used in commercial horse feeds, and although barefoot practitioners knew that they caused problems, we weren't aware of this research.
Of course, the caveat is that this is research into the effect on humans, not equines. However, if high fructose consumption in horses also leads to rise in insulin and cortisol, it may explain why insulin resistance and equine metabolic syndrome appear to be more common. There are other factors too:
"There's one more significant side effect of fructose. It cross links - that is, ties up - proteins in what biochemists call the Maillard reaction. This cross linking occurs during the cooking of food, affecting both the taste and the nutritional value of food.
But the Maillard reaction also occurs in the human body, and it's suspected as a factor in diabetes and aging"
WOW! Raised cortisol in humans!! Why don't vets like to do insulin resistance tests in horses? Because they have to use steroidsto do it (cortisol is a steroid of course) and steroids cause laminitis, a link which is already well proven.
ReplyDeleteWhy aren't the Laminitis Trust onto this one!?!?!?!?!