Shanna, this has the info you seek:
http://www.unc.edu/%7Epjdutche/bloodsugar/
 
LIke a great many other wonderful resources it can be found in lists of
links such as the Critical Refs or Links Sections at
http://www.ferretcongress.org, http://www.trifl.org/medical.html,
http://www.ferretcentral.org,
http://www.fothferrets.com/ferretinfo.html,
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth, etc.
---
 
If you have a ferret with repeated urinary tract infections (as in one
who is not a surgical candidate but adrenal affects on the urinary tract
can't be controlled despite meds so infections keep arriving -- something
we encountered in pre-Lupron days) then we've found that some dietary
cranberry or blueberry has the same beneficial results we humans have
received so the tannins in those likely act the same way.  The infection
goes way down and comfort goes way up for the ferret.
 
Interestingly, when studies are done of antioxidants and some other
compounds there are entire classes of them (beneficial to humans but I
doubt anyone has seen if they might be to ferrets) which are rare in
vegetables but seen in a number of fruits (and visa versa for other
classes of beneficial compounds).  In fact, one such helpful dietary
compound is produced in grapes in response to exposure to fungal
infections.  There are surprising good things in many unexpected places
(even iceberg lettuce has some surprisingly good points nutritionally and
you know how much bad foodie press that has had).  Now, how many or which
of those may help ferrets and to what degree or under what circumstances
is one huge unknown.  Just have to be careful to remember that there WILL
be surprises none of us will expect, that's all, and a little bit of some
of these plant products when they are broken down to be accessible may
not be a bad thing when in moderation.  We really don't know how many of
such plant compounds which we are still learning about may be gotten "on
the sly" with off-diet snacks now or then, or may be gotten in the
contents of prey GI tracts, or may even be gotten from insects in the
diet of wild relatives.  There simply is much more we humans don't know
than what we do know, so we all make our best educated guesses based on
what is known at any given time.
 
There is some new work on fat tissue, macrophages, and inflammatory
responses.  Basically, at over a certain level of body fat a lot of
things go haywire as a result of similar (very possibly common origin)
negative responses to inflammation.  The progress is not linear.  It
seems to maybe be a point at which the fat cells simply are so large
that cellular rupture occurs.  Interestingly, it appears that lower
levels of fat might be useful in fighting infection.  Those who are
Science News subscribers will find an interesting article at
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040228/bob9.asp .
Those who aren't can look for the hard copy in their libraries: Feb 28,
vol 165, # 9, "Inflammatory Fat".  Be careful because a lot of people
like a rolly-poley look but it isn't healthy for our ferrets and this
may add more info on some basic reasons for it to be even more unhealthy
than previously known.
 
Sherman has too much fat, still, but not quite as much and his muscle
levels are improving.  He needs to have his R adrenal out but the only
thing which was controlling his severe IBD was steroid shots and those
really massed on the fat.  So, now he is off his steroids (not comfy
for him) while we try to reduce his fat levels well enough that they
have less chance of causing him surgical or post-surgical problems.
Meanwhile, he is on Lupron.  This is a little rescue boy who had enough
wrong that he has never been a healthy as most ferrets his age.  He also
has the worst breath of any ferret here and that is because he had to
have his tail amputated.  (If you don't follow: he also is incredibly
spiffy clean in a place ferrets usually try to keep clean but which is
hard enough to reach that it's not usually as clean as his always is.)
With Sherman it is a sniff before you agree to kiss situation.  He
doesn't wind up getting many kisses form anyone, I'm afraid.
[Posted in FML issue 4443]