Diet and blood lipids in normal and diabetic rats

Abstract

Six kinds of test diet were given to normal and diabetic rats for 35–40 days and the effects of the diets on blood lipid levels were observed. The following results were obtained: High saturated fat diet produced an elevation of the plasma total cholesterol both in normal and diabetic rats. The high cholesterol diet did not produce an increase of plasma total cholesterol in normal rats, but it did in diabetic rats. The high unsaturated fat diet caused a fall of the plasma total cholesterol level either in normal or diabetic rats. The diet rich in both unsaturated fat and cholesterol produced a rise in the plasma total cholesterol level in the normal rats and a fall in the diabetic rats. The high carbohydrate diet produced an elevation of the plasma triglyceride level both in normal and diabetic rats. The high unsaturated fat diet lowered the plasma triglyceride level slightly in normal rats, but raised it in diabetic rats. The cholesterol rich diet did not affect the plasma triglyceride level either in normal or diabetic rats. The diet rich in both unsaturated fat and cholesterol produced a different effect on plasma triglyceride between normal and diabetic rats, i.e., it produced a fall in normal rats, but it caused a rise of the plasma triglyceride level in diabetic rats. The rate of gain in body weight was the greatest in the standard diet fed rats and the less in the high carbohydrate diet fed rats, and the glucose tolerance in the diabetic rats was most aggravated in the rats fed on high carbohydrate diet.