Subject: [gr] sugar in beet pulp and
laminitis issues
Hi all,
When I first started goofing around with
beet pulp years ago, I had a number of samples analyzed for simple sugars, all
of which came back very low. However, I was recently forwarded a copy of
an analysis of some beet pulp (admittedly, only one sample) in which simple
sugars ran incredibly high, over 30%---which for a seriously insulin resistant
and/or Cushinoid horse with laminitis issues, could potentially be
catastrophic.
In addition, it might also be an explanation for the
occasional rider who reports they can't feed their horse beet pulp because
they get whacked out on even the molasses-free stuff---which never made sense
to me, given that there aren't supposed to be simple sugars in beet pulp (and
weren't, given the lab reports I had).
Whether this one sample was a
random event, or possibly a current trend towards sloppier refining practices,
I don't know. I guess the important issue is that there seems to
possibly be wide variation in the residual sugar content in commodity beet
pulp (as versus the commercially processed beet pulp in proprietary brands
such as Unbeetable or Complete Advantage).
In any event, and strictly
FWIW, I'm changing my recommendations regarding feeding beet pulp to horses
with even a hint of insulin or laminitis issues. I still think beet pulp
is a very valuable feed, but I now strongly recommend that it be fed only
after soaking in wildly generous amounts of water **and** then pouring off the
water and rinsing the beet pulp with fresh water to remove the water soluble
simple sugars. It won't remove the pectins and soluble fibers that make
beet pulp such a useful feed, but will just remove any excess sugars---and if
there are no excess sugars there, then no harm done.
In the
meantime, I'm rounding up some more samples of beet pulp from sources around
the country for analysis and will see how they come back. Stay
tuned. :-))
Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS SUSAN E. GARLINGHOUSE,
DVM, MS Michael S. Peralez, DVM & Associates 1005 North Santa Anita
Drive Arcadia, California 91006 (626) 446-8911 http://www.shady-acres.com/susan
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