CHEMICAL COMPOSLTLON OF THE RONGELAPESE DIET
-4-lr rations of the Rongelapese appear to
be generally below the level recommended
for protein,
Since fat allowances are fused
Were dee TU dts tam an phy sioluvieal
requirements, no definite conclusion can be
drawn about the apparent lowfat content of
these Gets.
Phe Oahitar of tive Reneslipe se
day to keep an adult male in manganese
balance. Onthis basis, rhe Rongelapese food
appears to he low ft ivanginess, Vlee iy ers
age adult diet of good quality supplies 0.0030.008 mg of cobalt daily (Harp and Scoular,
1952); in comparison the Rongelarese food
eobears te Se fabrhy Gogh om edit eile *
ped does net demand a figh-energy
dict, which vias partially justify the lower
fat intake.
The calcium content of the 24-br ration
seems to be much lower than the suygested
NOM eet erect ¢ Nueriqonal Lata.
Tomsett’s (1934) balance experiments with
adult humans indicate a minimum copper
requirement as low as 0.6 mg daily. The
estimate of Chou and Adolph (1935) is 1-2
sary to maintain a proper calcitm-phos-
tional Research Council. Eggleton (1939)
has given normal daily food intake of zinc
as 12 mg. The Rongelapese food appears to
1938), On the same basis, the magnesium
levels seem to be adequate but the phosphorus levels are far below what is neces-
phorus balance ma good diet. The sodium
levely appear to be slightly below the normal
suggested intake levels, although no information is available as to the minimum daily
requirement of sodium. The potassium level
is lower than the sodium content, which is
generally the case in most diets.
Kent and MeCance (1941) have suggested
that an ordinary adult diet will supply 0.3Q.3 mg of nickel daily, On the basis of these
values, the Lickel content ur the 24-hr Run-
gelapese rations appears to be higher than
usual in some cases. Nickel salts frequently
gain access to food from corrosion of nickel
vessels, and small quantities of nickel may
also be foundin various manufactured foods.
It also may be that some of the native food
components are high in nickel content.
Basu and Malakar (1940) have suggested
that +.6 ing of manganese are required per
mg daily. The Rongelapose diet ts desinitely
above the experimental minunum require-
ments given. The iron in the diet appears
to compare favorably with the minimum
daily requirement as suggested by the Na-
have large variation in zinc content, and on
the average is less than 8 mg daily.
The higher levels of cobalt-60 and zinc-45
are associated with each other and with
rations containing local fish. This is to be
expected since these isotopes are foundpri-
marily
195873.
in
marine
organisms
(Dunning,
The higher levels of strontinm-90
and cesium-137 are found where local fruit
was consumed. [n general, higher levels of
strontium-90 are coincident with higher
levels of cesium-137. Coconut contributes
little strontium-90, and pandanus the most.
The average value for the daily intake of
strontium-90 is 83 pyc. and for calcium
0.28 g. The average daily intake in terms
of “strontium units” (pac Sr’? g¢ Ca) is
then nearly 300. This value is about three
Table 3. Radiotsotopes in 24-hr cations from Rongelap T-lanu.'
uae J+ hr
sample
no.
Co
Zn*
j
2
3
4
5
6
7
59 + 20°
42 + 20
67 + 49
33
39
200
79
& 19
+ 20
+8
#20
x
240 + 30
9
39+ 19
C387
“See
370 + 63
120 + 50
10000 +
100+
B30 +
2600 +
330 +
3300 =
2800 +
100
40
34
35
26
63
F4
200 = 82
590 +
34
310+ 25
142 +118
120 +4127
9 + 98
62 + 87
192+ 82
4 13.1
122 +114
43.6 - 29
v8t 95
“Calculated from Table 4, wet-to-dry ratio, and weight of total sample.
°0.95 counting error.
ral
auc Sr”/g Ca
497 +
1239 +
613 %
339+
248 +
140
300+
41.4
121.6
122.5
47.3
106.5
127
27.9
149+
36.1
33L + 828