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]