ridecamp@endurance.net: Last comment on Carbos, etc from me-

Last comment on Carbos, etc from me-

RALSTON@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU
Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:16:25 -0400 (EDT)

Well said Wendy-I'm going to hire you as a ghost
writer! Susan, Beth and Truman, you are right on
in my opinion (yes, Tom, I know you feel we are all dead wrong).
Re: Tom's last insistance on the effects of hat on blood glucose:
no, blood glucose is not significantly elevated by
a meal of hay, it stays relatively steady-EVEN IF
THE HORSE IS EXERCISED based on well
controlled studies done by Laurie Lawrence and colleagues on horses doing
prolonged exercise. The complex carbohydrates in hay generate
fatty acids and some sugars that are
absorbed at a steadier rate into the system and do
not cause the dramatic spikes in glucose/insulin
seen with the more rapidly absorbed simple carbs in
grain and sweet feed. See all the previous concerns
relative to insulin effects on fat utilization. Fatty acids
ARE an efficient source of energy during aerobic (LSD) exercise-
less of the energy is lost as heat (know as hn as heat increment-and heat
accumulation is a major concern in our endurance horses,
not a problem in race horses) and yes, it is
a slowea slower rate of energy generation but our horses rarely, needing rapid
ebergy generation, and when they
do, they still have their glycogen stores, spared by the use of fats
during their prolonged efforts, to carry them across the finish line.
There was at least one study I remember in which the investigators
were surprised at how much glycogen endurance horses still had at the end of a race.

BTW-forgive my sometimes garbled posts-I have a problem with my E-mail program-
it deletes and adds, seemingly at will!

Sarah Ralston, VMD, PhD
diplomate American College of Veterinary Nutrition
Ralston@aesop.rutgers.edu

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