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[RC] Mammal Bodies and Fuel - k s swigartCheryl Winter said: Mammal bodies and fuel are probably all about the same. This statement is actually not entirely true. While it is true that the metabolic pathways for using glucose and VFA and protien for fuelling effort are pretty much the same in all mammals (and possibly even non-mammals, I don't know), it is not true that all mammals' digestive tracts are the same with respect to how they convert the stuff they eat into glucose, VFAs and protien that can be then used for fuel. Humans have very little capacity to process structural carbohydrates into a fuel source, so it passes out undigested. Horse do have this capacity, but no where near as good as that of a cow (or any other rumen). Almost all of the stored energy in hay is unavailable to humans, some of it is avaiable to horses, most of it is available to cows. As strict carnivores, it is completely unavailable to cats. Note that cats, humans, horses, and cows are all mammals. Yet how they fuel themselves (i.e. how they get energy from what they eat) is quite different. Since beet pulp is almost entirely made up of soluable structural carbohydrates, it is of little use to a human for fuel but a great source of fuel for horses. This is why marathon runners have no reason to eat it, but horses do. kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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