Effects of diets on cold tolerance and metabolic responses to cold in fasted rats

Effects of high-fat and high-protein diets on cold tolerance in fasted rats were investigated. High-fat diets caused significant increases in body weight, blood-free fatty acids (FFA), ketone bodies and glucose, while high-protein diet did not modify any of these parameters. Rats on high-fat diets that were exposed to cold after clipping exhibited an intermediate cold tolerance as assessed by the rate of fall in colonic temperature between control rats on a standard diet and cold-acclimated rats. The extent of increase of blood FFA and decrease of blood glucose due to cold exposure was less in the high-fat diet group than in control group, but greater than in cold-acclimated group. The lower fall in colonic temperature due to cold exposure was signifcantly associated with less increase in blood FFA and less decrease in blood glucose. In this relation the high-fat diet group was also intermediate between the control and cold-acclimated groups. The high-protein diet did not make any difference in cold tolerance and cold-induced changes in blood metabolites as compared with those in control standard diet, although it resulted in a marked increase in urinary nitrogen excretion. These results indicate that a high-fat diet could exert a significant favorable effect on cold tolerance in fasted rats, but the effect would not be as much as as in cold acclimated rats.