I don't have access to yesterday's FML here but I believe Trish mentioned
that she thought that all concentrated sources of sugar were bad and
predisposed ferrets to pancreatic problems.
 
There's no evidence of that in mammals as far as I know.  Sugar in
concentrated form, whether it's rock candy or raisins, *is* bad for teeth,
but no one has ever shown that it predisposes to diabetes or other metabolic
problems as is sometimes heard.  If anything, quite the opposite occurs in
ferrets.  Diabetes is quite rare in ferrets.  Insulinomas, which is one of
the more frequent cancers reported in North American ferrets, is about as
much of a polar opposite to diabetes as you could find.  The only other
thing that concentrated sources of sugar can cause is a rebound effect that
takes the wind out of your sails about an hour or so after consuming the
sugar.  Anyone who has ever eaten a candy bar or downed a can of Jolt cola
has probably experienced a "sugar rush" about 20-30 minutes after eating all
that sugar (and caffeine, in the case of Jolt).  The sugard gets into the
blood, insulin levels rise and your cells use the sugar for energy or to
store for a later day (as fat).  But when you eat a lot of refined sugar,
the pancreas pumps out the insulin like gangbusters, but when the sugar from
your gut is gone, there can still be all this insulin left in the
bloodstream, which moves most of the remaining blood sugar into the cells.
The result is a temporary spell of hypoglycemia (too little sugar) that
leaves you more tired than before you had that snack.  This isn't horribly
unhealthy.  It's just your body's natural cycles playing catch up with a big
dose of sugar.
 
BTW, sugar *is* a natural substance.  I know friends who pooh-pooh "refined"
sugar as something almost evil, but there is sugar in many foods, and in
nature, animals do have access to concentrated sources of it.  Just set some
dried fruit out for the birds and they'll be happy to demonstrate that they
know what to do with it.  It may not have much nutritional value other than
calories, but it's a concentrated source of energy and essential for life.
(The brain subsists on almost nothing but glucose.)
 
Actually, I just went through a glucose tolerance test at the University
here.  I was a control subject (got paid, too).  Although my folks were
sugar-holics and I was weaned on Pepsi as a kid, my blood sugar is A-OK.  My
teeth aren't, however.  I have the fillings to prove it.
 
Sugar isn't the enemy, but certainly never overdo it.
--Jeff Johnston  ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1651]