Big Technology: Low Glycemic Index (Basso Indice Glicemico) Feeds

Linea Unika has been an important player in the equine market for 10 years and, since the beginning, has experimented innovative formulations for its feeds in order to meet the needs of sporthorses. On the basis of several scientific researches, nutritionists’ counsels and of its team’s on-site experience, Linea Unika conceived its feeds according to the BIG technology (BIG stands for Basso Indice Glicemico, which means low glycemic index).

Why is it important to give horses low glycemic index feeds?

Nowadays, men mainly feed horses with forages and cereal concentrates, but this is not how horses would naturally feed. Therefore, during evolution, the equine digestive system and metabolism had to adapt to a fibrous and moist foods- based diet. On the contrary, horses would naturally feed on fresh grass and, exceptionally, on leaves, stems, barks, roots and wild plants. A diet based on green forages provides more than 90% of the fibres needed and a small amount of unstructured carbohydrates (starch + sugars + pentosans) that do not significantly influence the glycemic index. Moreover, the amount of simple sugars contained in green forages is quite small.

The complex cellulose and hemicellulose molecules contained in hays and forages are digested by the intestinal bacterial flora through fermentation. This process results in the production of volatile fatty acids, or VFAs (propionic acid, butyric acid and acetic acid) that are absorbed into the bloodstream. The fatty acid absorption into the bloodstream does not cause an increase in the glycemic level, for butyric and acetic acids take part in fats metabolism, while propionic acid is converted into glucose by the liver without increasing blood sugar concentration.

On the contrary, food provided by men completely breaks the schemes of horses’ natural diet. In fact, horses’ diet has changed according to man’s needs and is now mainly based on cereals and dry food. The available energy for horses enduring intense physical efforts had to be increased and this resulted in the administration of greater amounts of cereals and, therefore, of sugars. A diet based on big amounts of carbohydrates and sugars (the most common of which is molasses) causes continuous variations in the glycemic levels.

This could result in a reduced insulin sensitivity, a severe condition analogous to human diabetes. It is important to bear in mind that cereals chemically differ from one another. The table below shows the inverse proportion between starch and crude fibres.

It is essential for all horses and, in particular, for sporthorses to avoid diets causing sudden rises in blood sugar levels and, consequently, in glycemic ones, which can significantly compromise their health.

The BIG Technology (Basso Indice Glicemico, which means low glycemic index) aims at formulating balanced diets avoiding peaks in blood sugar levels as much as possible.

WHAT DOES UNIKA SUGGESTS?

Our feeds achieve the BIG technology goal for they are formulated as follows:

1. Small amount of cereals.
2. No corn and corn by-products.
3. No molasses.
4. No added sugars (glucose syrups, fruit pulps).
5. With easy-to-digest fibres (lignified fibres, such as grape seeds, grape skins and sunflower seeds hulls are avoided).
6. With crude, unfiltered vegetable oils containing a high concentration of lecithins.
7. With first class proteins (meaning that they come from soy and soybean seeds derivatives).

Therefore, Linea Unika’s feeds, which are formulated according to the BIG technology, can:

1. Provide sporthorses with a great amount of fatty substances, which naturally provide a huge amount of easy-to-digest energy (especially in comparison with cereals’).
2. Provide easy-to-digest fibres, which are a source of ready-to-use available energy, thanks to food, such as beet pulp, soybean hulls, citrus pulp and beer draffs, containing a very small concentration of lignified fibres. The digestion and fermentation of these foods provide horses with a great amount of energy. Thanks to the great amount of easy-to-digest fibres they provides, several scientific studies published by the Kentucky Equine Research (KER) referred to these foods as “super fibres”. In other words, in a horse’s diet, they can be considered as energizing foods. On the contrary, feeding a sporthorse with foods containing a high concentration of highly lignified fibres (straw, over mature alfalfa hay, grape skins, grape seeds and sunflower seeds hulls) would only make its digestion process difficult and would not provide the amount of energy it needs.