Dietary Fats and Effects of Internal Radiation by P 32 . ∗

Summary

Mice were maintained on various experimental diets and injected with single dose of radioactive phosphate (4-5 μc/g). Higher % of survivors and longer survival time were observed in animals on fat-free diet as compared with those fed diets containing 30% corn oil, or 30% hydrogenated coconut oil. However, with these high-fat diets, as well as with diets containing only minimal amounts of fats, a better survival was demonstrable when highly unsaturated fatty acids were present. It appears that, provided that definite amounts of these fatty acids are included, a low-fat diet should be beneficial in alleviating effects of internal radiation by P³².