Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 May 2009
1. The fat metabolism of three healthy European adult males has been followed for periods lasting from 7 to 22 consecutive weeks; a fourth subject was observed for a much shorter period. During this time the subjects consumed: A, their usual diet; B, a diet including 1 lb. of standard bread, made from 95 to 100% extraction flour; C, a diet including 1 lb. white bread, made from 70% extraction flour; and D, their usual diet. During the usual diet periods A and D, standard bread was also eaten. While each subject consumed the type and amount of fat he was accustomed to, his variations in intake, especially during the experimental diet periods B and C, were small. The intakes of the four subjects ranged from 55 to 115 g. daily.
2. The average absorption of fat during the usual diet periods was 94·0%; during the standard bread diet, it also averaged 94·0%; during the white bread diet, it averaged 94·9%.
3. It is concluded that with daily fat intakes of the order used in this investigation, a diet rich in whole-grain bread when compared with one rich in white bread does not lead to any appreciable diminution in the amount of fat absorbed.