Published on August 7, 2024

Welcome to this crucial podcast, where I introduce a concept that is not just limited to humans but also affects animals: the ability to convert glucose into fructose within the body. This process is significant as it can have detrimental effects on cells, leading to a range of health and behavioral issues in animals, including horses.

While the chronic metabolic effects of fructose may seem negative (obesity, cognitive decline, inflammation, decreased cell metabolism, and cell death), they serve a survival purpose for animals during times of food scarcity, such as winter. However, in today’s world, where sweet-tasting foods rich in fructose are readily available to horses year-round, these effects can lead to serious health issues, including obesity, behavioral problems, illness, and lameness.

The goal of upcoming podcasts is to break up the information on fructose production and metabolism into small, digestible chunks so that all of you listening will quickly understand why fructose, fed or made year-round, causes many problems in our horses. Part 1 introduces the novel thought that horses can make fructose. In the upcoming episodes, I will delve deeper into how glucose becomes fructose, the triggers causing it, and how fructose metabolism lowers energy and drives the degradation of the body.

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