This is a brief summary of what I studied this morning:

Some quote from studies that might help: (I made some notes in [brackets] following specific quote.

“Interestingly, fiber from fruits and vegetables had no effect on the risk of developing type two diabetes. Earlier studies have agreed with these findings. A large epidemiological study of 42,000 men found that dietary fiber from fruits or vegetables had no effect on the risk of diabetes. However, dietary fiber from whole cereal grains showed a significant decrease in diabetes occurrence [46].” [IOW – diet of fresh foods and WHOLE grains – (WHOLE OATS has been found to reduce blood sugar – I’d stay away from anything with wheat as wheat has been so genetically altered that there’s no telling at this point what damage it does to the body, horse or human) – fresh foods and whole grains are preventative of IR – Diabetes Type 2 I’ve found it to help cure IR.]

“Although not as yet adopted by the FDA, dietary fiber is suggested to play a role in other conditions such as obesity and diabetes. Although some data are contradictory, a majority of studies regarding dietary fiber report a decrease of these two conditions with increased consumption of fiber.”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257631/ [Horses are ‘created’ to eat FIBER … forage — therefore it stands to reason that feeding a horse nothing but processed will not provide the essential FIBER that the gut needs for maximum health. Fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds ARE mostly FIBER]

“A diet high in rapidly absorbed carbohydrates and low in cereal fiber is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15277155/ [self-explanatory — feed nothing but processed feeds that are low in cereal fiber and one is not doing the horse any favors.]

“Our results support the hypothesis that diets with a high glycemic load and a low cereal fiber content increase risk of diabetes in women. Further, they suggest that grains should be consumed in a minimally refined form to reduce the incidence of diabetes.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9020271 [note the MINIMALLY REFINED FORM … that means little to no processing. WHOLE FOODS.]

“xylose showed an acute suppressive effect on the postprandial glucose and insulin surges.” (Coconut-derived D-xylose used in test studies.)[coconut is one of the ‘main ingredients’ in the ‘raw salads’ for horses.]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22259678 [Xylose is found in most fruits, veggies, etc. It is also one of the ESSENTIAL glyconutrients needed by the body for maximum health.]

Alfalfa CUBES of precut fiber length is better than the pellets which have no fiber length to them. Equine gut motility functions at peak with fiber that is masticated(chewed)/cut to 1/4 to 1/2″ in length.

Just a side note — along with diet change, EXERCISE is essential to preventing or curing IR.

Good for the horses – good for their humans. 🙂