The Effect of Diet on the Blood Pressure and Heart Rate of Normal Dogs

Protein and Carbohydrate

¹ Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology and Surgery, Creighton University School of Medicine Omaha, Neb

Trained standardized dogs were fasted until the blood pressure declined to the stable fasting level and were realimented with isocaloric diets high in protein (horse meat) or in carbohydrate (rice or cracker meal). Realimentation was at low maintenance or luxus consumption levels of caloric intake. At the former level, there was no difference between the diets, but at the latter level, the systolic blood pressure and pulse rate were higher on the carbohydrate diet, while the diastolic pressure was normal or low. Preliminary fasting was necessary to obtain a prolonged effect of the carbohydrate diet. Meat appears to antagonize carbohydrate.