Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1973

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Animal Science

Abstract

During the past decade there has been a large increase of interest in what causes heart attacks. Heart attacks are claiming the lives of more and more people each year, but the exact cause(s) for this increase have not been found. Some research, however, has shown that high serum cholesterol levels are correlated with arterial plaque formation. Plaque formation has, in turn, been implicated in causing myocardial infarction and reduced blood flow to areas or the heart muscle. This results in ischemia or oxygen deprivation to that area. This condition often results in death of the individual if not treated immediately. A search for causes of increased serum cholesterol has resulted in some researchers claiming that saturated fats play a major role. Because of their high content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, animal products have become involved in the controversy. They have been implicated with a role in the atherogenic process and, therefore, many doctors have instructed their patients to eat less of these foods. The stand of the American Heart Association (AHA) has been to advise limitations on the amount of saturated fat consumed. As a result, advertisers for many of the foods containing unsaturated ratty acids have used the AHA stand to infer that their products are better than animal products that contain more saturated fatty acids. If' the AHA turns out to be right, what happens to the 25 billion dollar livestock and meat industry? One solution to the problem would be to change the product to meet the consumer demand. With this in mind, three turkey experiments and two rat experiments have been conducted to see if rat type could be altered by the diet fed. The three turkey experiments were conducted to determine the effect of' copper and fat additions and protein levels on fat type and growth. The two rat experiments examined the effects. of several fat sources on tat type, cholesterol parameters and growth.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Nutrition -- Research

Cholesterol

Fat

South Dakota State University Theses

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

83

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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