While searching the FHL archieves, I found this post from a few months
ago from Dr. Murray regarding insulinoma and diet:
 
Hi everybody,
Since there were some insulinoma questions, I will give you my thoughts
on insulinoma.  I do think they are a result of the diet.  Most ferret
and kitten foods have a high carbohydrate level (22-30%).  A rat diet
only has 1.2% carbohydrate and a mouse diet only has 4% carbohydrate.
Thus we are feeding way too much carbs (22-30% instead of only 1-5%)!
This does not even include the high carbohydrate treats (raisins, etc)
that a lot of owners feed there ferrets.  I believe this high
carbohydrate diet stimulates the pancreas after every meal to make
insulin to handle all of the carbohydrates.  With this chronic
overstimulation the beta cells of the pancreas become insulinomas.
Thus most ferrets are at risk for this cancer and may eventually develop
it.  There is a new diet that is coming out soon from Pretty Bird that
contains 50% protein and less than 10% carbohydrate (roughly 5%).  It is
called Natural Gold for Ferrets.  This may become the diet of choice for
ferrets with insulinoma and the diet of choice to prevent insulinomas!
 
Will surgery "cure" insulinoma?  That depends on how much of the pancreas
is removed, if there is any cancerous cells still remaining in the
pancreas, and will the underlining problem (in my opinion that is the
diet) cause more insulinomas to form.  So it varies a lot based on each
ferret, but I think 40% being cured by surgery is too high of an
estimate.
 
Hope that helps,
Jerry Murray, DVM
 
Here is the link to the post:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG6224
 
My 8 kids have now been on the diet for two months.  The change I've seen
in them has been remarkable.  While I don't have any with insulinoma, I
hope the diet will help to prevent it in the future.
 
Connie
To order Natural Gold, visit
http://www.fuzies.com/natural_gold_ferret_food1.htm
[Posted in FML issue 4426]