T

he other area needing further investigation concerned just how much trans fat
there was in a 'normal diet' of the typical American. What had hampered any
thorough research into the correlation of trans fatty acid consumption and dis-
ease was the fact that these altered fats were not considered as a separate catego-
ry in any of the databases then available to researchers.
The massive Health and Human Services National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES II), conducted during the years 1976 to 1980, noted the increasing US
consumption of margarine, French fried potatoes, cookies and snack chips—all made with
Food corporations vegetable shortenings—without listing the proportion of trans fats present.
Mary Enig first looked at the NHANES II database in 1987 and, when she did, she had
and medical a sinking feeling. Not only were trans fats conspicuously absent from the fatty acid
analyses, but data on other lipids made no sense at all. Even foods containing no trans
authorities continue fats were listed with faulty fatty-acid profiles. In general, the NHANES II database tend-
ed to minimise the amount of saturated fats in common foods.
to promote the Over the years, Joseph Sampagna and Mark Keeney, both highly qualified lipid bio-
consumption of chemists at the University of Maryland, applied to the National Science Foundation, the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
hydrogenated National Dairy Council and the National Livestock and Meat Board for funds to look into
the trans content of common American foods. Only the National Livestock and Meat
vegetable oils, Board came through with a small grant for equipment; the others turned them down.
A USDA official confided to the Maryland research group that they "would never get
despite the growing money as long as they pursued the trans work". Nevertheless, they did pursue it.
Sampagna, Keeney and a few graduate students, funded jointly by the USDA and the uni-
evidence as to the versity, spent thousands of hours in the laboratory analysing the trans fat content of hun-
health risks. dreds of commercially available foods.
In December of 1982, Food Processing carried a brief preview of the University of
Maryland research 19 and, five months later, printed a blistering letter from Edward Hunter
on behalf of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils (ISEO). 20 The University of
Maryland studies on trans fat content in common foods had obviously struck a nerve in
the industry. Hunter stated that the Bailar, Applewhite and Meyer letters that had
appeared in Federation Proceedings five years earlier, "severely criticized and discredit-
Part 2 of 2 ed" the conclusions reached by Enig and her colleagues. Hunter was concerned that
Enig's group would exaggerate the amount of trans found in common foods. He cited
ISEO data indicating that most margarines and shortenings contain no more than 35 per
cent and 25 per cent trans respectively, and that most contain considerably less.
What Enig and her colleagues actually found was that many margarines indeed con-
tained about 31 per cent trans fat, while later surveys by others revealed that Parkay mar-
garine contained up to 45 per cent trans, and that many shortenings found ubiquitously in
cookies, chips and baked goods contained more than 35 per cent trans fat. Enig also dis-
by Mary G. Enig, PhD covered that many baked goods and processed foods contained considerably more fat
[email protected] from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils than was listed on the labels.
& The final results of Enig's ground-breaking compilation were published in the October
Sally Fallon 1983 edition of the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society.21 Her analyses of more
[email protected] than 220 food items, coupled with food disappearance data, allowed University of
© 1998 Maryland researchers to confirm earlier estimates that the average American consumed at
least 12 grams of trans fat per day—directly contradicting ISEO assertions that most
Americans consumed no more that 6 to 8 grams of t r a n s fat per day. Those who

FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999 NEXUS • 35

consciously avoided animal fats typically consumed far more than NNMS agencies. John Weihrauch—a USDA scientist, not an
12 grams of trans fat per day. industry representative—surreptitiously slipped the letter to Dr
Enig. She and her colleagues replied by asking: "If the trade

T
he ISEO did not want the American public to hear about the association truly believes 'that trans fatty acids do not pose any
debate on hydrogenated vegetable oils. For Enig, this harm to humans and animals'...why are they so concerned about
translated into the sound of doors closing. But, a poster any levels of consumption and why do they so vehemently and so
presentation she organised for a campus health fair caught the eye frequently attack researchers whose findings suggest that the con-
of the dietetics department chairman who suggested she submit an sumption of trans fatty acids is greater than the values the indus-
abstract to the Society for Nutrition Education, many of whose try reports?"
members are registered dietitians. Her abstract concluded that The Maryland researchers argued that trans fats should be
"...meal plans and recipes developed for nutritionists and dieti- included in food nutrition labels; but the Hunter and Applewhite
tians to use when designing diets to meet the Dietary Guidelines, letter asserted that "there is no documented justification for
the dietary recommendation of the American Heart Association or including trans acids...as part of nutrition labeling".
the Prudent Diet have been examined for trans fatty acid content. During her testimony, Enig also brought up her concerns about
Some diet plans are found to contain approximately 7% or more other national food databases, citing their lack of information on
of calories as trans fatty acids." The Abstract Review Committee trans. The Food Consumption Survey contained glaring errors—
rejected the submission, calling it of "limited interest". reporting, for example, consumption of butter in amounts nearly
Early in 1985, the Federation of American Societies for twice as great as what exists in the US food supply, and of mar-
Experimental Biology (FASEB) heard more testimony on the garine in quantities nearly half those known to exist in the food
trans fat issue. Enig alone represented the alarmist point of view, supply. The NNMS officials responded to Enig's criticism by
while Hunter and Applewhite of the dropping the whole section pertaining
ISEO and Ronald Simpson, then with to butter and margarine from the 1980
the National Association of tables.
Margarine Manufacturers, assured

T
the panel that trans fats in the food he Enig-ISEO debate was cov-
supply posed no danger. Enig report- ered by the prestigious Food
ed on University of Maryland The ISEO did not want the Chemical News and Nutrition
research that delineated the differ- American public to hear about W e e k 2 5—both widely read by
ences in small amounts of naturally Congress and the food industry, but
occurring trans fats in butter, which the debate on hydrogenated virtually unknown to the general
do not inhibit enzyme function at the vegetable oils. public. National media coverage of
cellular level, and man-made trans dietary fat issues focused on the pro-
fats in margarines and vegetable ceedings of the National Heart, Lung
shortenings, which do. She also and Blood Institute (NHLBI), as this
noted a 1981 feeding trial in which enormous bureaucracy ploughed
swine fed trans fatty acids developed relentlessly forward with the lipid
higher parameters for heart disease hypothesis. In June of 1984, for
than those fed saturated fats, especially when trans fatty acids example, the press diligently reported the proceedings of the
were combined with added polyunsaturates.22 Her testimony was NHLBI's Lipid Research Clinics (LRC) Conference which was
omitted from the final report, although her name in the bibliogra- organised to wrap up almost 40 years of research on lipids, cho-
phy created the impression that her research supported the lesterol and heart disease. The problem with the 40 years of
FASEB whitewash.23 NHLBI-sponsored research on lipids, cholesterol and heart dis-
In the following year, 1986, Hunter and Applewhite published ease was that it had not produced many answers—at least not
an article, exonerating trans fats as a cause of atherosclerosis, in many answers that pleased the NHLBI.
the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition24—which, The ongoing Framingham Study found that there was virtually
by the way, is sponsored by companies including Procter & no difference in coronary heart disease (CHD) "events" for indi-
Gamble, General Foods, General Mills, Nabisco and Quaker Oats. viduals with cholesterol levels between 205 mg/dL and 294
The authors once again stressed that the average per-capita con- mg/dL—the vast majority of the US population. Even for those
sumption of trans fatty acids did not exceed 6 to 8 grams. with extremely high cholesterol levels—up to almost 1,200
Behind the scenes, in a private letter to Dr Kenneth Fischer, mg/dL—the difference in CHD events compared to those in the
Director of the Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO), Hunter normal range was trivial.26
and Applewhite charged that: "...the University of Maryland The NHLBI's Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT)
group continues to raise unwarranted and unsubstantiated con- studied the relationship between heart disease and serum choles-
cerns about the intake of and imagined physiological effects of terol levels in 362,000 men, and found that annual deaths from
trans fatty acids and...they continue to overestimate greatly the CHD varied from slightly less than one per thousand, for serum
intake of trans acids by typical Americans." They said: "No one cholesterol levels below 140 mg/dL, to about two per thousand,
other than Enig has raised questions about the validity of the food for serum cholesterol levels above 300 mg/dL—once again, a triv-
fatty-acid composition data used in NHANES II and...she has not ial difference. Dr John LaRosa, of the American Heart
presented sufficiently compelling arguments to justify a major re- Association (AHA), claimed that the curve for CHD deaths began
evaluating." to "inflect" after 200 mg/dL, when in fact the "curve" was a very
The letter contained numerous other innuendos that Enig had gradually sloping straight line that could not be used to predict
mischaracterised the work of other researchers and had been less whether serum cholesterol above certain levels posed a signifi-
than scientific in her research. It was widely circulated among cantly greater risk for heart disease. One unexpected MRFIT

36 • NEXUS FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999

finding the media did not report was that deaths from all causes— that animal fats were the cause of heart disease. Rarely men-
cancer, heart disease, accidents, infectious disease, kidney failure, tioned in the press was the ominous fact that the group taking the
etc.—were substantially greater for those men with cholesterol cholesterol-lowering drugs had an increase in deaths from cancer,
levels below 160 mg/dL.27 stroke, violence and suicide.30
What was needed to resolve the validity of the lipid hypothesis A number of clinicians and statisticians, including Michael
once and for all was a well-designed, long-term diet study that Oliver and Richard Krommel, who participated in a 1984 Lipid
compared coronary heart disease events in those eating traditional Research Clinics conference workshop, were highly critical of the
foods with those whose diets contained high levels of vegetable manner in which the LRC results had been tabulated and manipu-
oils—but the proposed Diet–Heart Study designed to test just that lated. In fact, the conference went very badly for the NHLBI,
had been cancelled without fanfare years earlier. with critics of the lipid hypothesis almost outnumbering support-
In view of the fact that orthodox medical agencies were united ers.
in their promotion of margarine and vegetable oils over animal Dissenters were again invited to speak briefly at the NHLBI-
foods containing cholesterol and animal fats, it is surprising that sponsored National Cholesterol Consensus Conference held later
the official literature can cite only a handful of experiments indi- that year, but their views were not included in the panel's report
cating that dietary cholesterol has "a major role in determining for the simple reason that the report was generated by NHLBI
blood cholesterol levels". staff before the conference convened. Dr Bev Teter, of the
One of these was a study, involving University of Maryland's lipid group,
70 male prisoners, directed by Fred discovered this when she picked up
M a t t s o n 2 8—the same Fred Mattson some papers by mistake just before the
who had pressured the AHA into
... it is surprising that the conference began, and found they con-
removing any reference to hydrogenat- official literature can cite only tained the consensus report, already
ed fats from its diet/heart statement a written, with just a few numbers left
decade earlier. Funded in part by a handful of experiments blank.
Procter & Gamble, the research con- indicating that dietary The 1984 Cholesterol Consensus
tained a number of serious flaws. The Conference final report was a white-
biggest flaw was that the subjects cholesterol has "a major role wash, containing no mention of the
receiving cholesterol did so in the form in determining blood large body of evidence that conflicted
of reconstituted powder—a totally arti- with the lipid hypothesis. One of the
ficial diet. Mattson's discussion did cholesterol levels". blanks was filled in with the number
not even address the possibility that the '200'. The document defined all those
liquid formula diet he used might with cholesterol levels above 200
affect blood cholesterol differently than mg/dL as "at risk" and called for mass
would a whole-foods diet, when many other studies indicated that cholesterol screening, even though the most ardent supporters of
this is in fact the case. the lipid hypothesis had surmised in print that 240 should be the
The culprit in liquid protein diets actually seems to be oxidised magic cut-off point. Such screening would in fact need to be car-
cholesterol, formed during the high-temperature drying process, ried out on a massive scale, as the federal medical bureaucracy, by
which seems to initiate the build-up of plaque in the arteries.29 To picking the number 200, had defined the vast majority of the
give it 'body', powdered milk containing oxidised cholesterol is American adult population as "at risk". The report resurrected the
added to reduced fat milk—which the American public has ghost of Norman Jolliffe and his Prudent Diet by suggesting the
accepted as a healthier choice than whole milk. It was purified, avoidance of saturated fat and cholesterol for all Americans now
oxidised cholesterol that Kritchevsky and others used in their defined as "at risk", and specifically advised the replacement of
experiments on vegetarian rabbits. butter with margarine.
The NHLBI argued that a diet study using whole foods and The Consensus Conference also provided a launching pad for
involving the whole population would be too difficult to design the nationwide National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)
and too expensive to carry out. But the NHLBI did have funds which had the stated goal of "changing physicians' attitudes".
available to sponsor the massive Lipid Research Clinics Coronary NHLBI-funded studies had determined that while the general pop-
Primary Prevention Trial in which all subjects were placed on a ulation had bought into the lipid hypothesis and was dutifully
diet low in cholesterol and saturated fat. Subjects were divided using margarine and buying low-cholesterol foods, the medical
into two groups, one of which took a cholesterol-lowering drug profession remained sceptical. A large "Physicians Kit" was sent
and the other a placebo. Working behind the scenes, but playing a to all doctors in America, compiled in part by the American
key role in both the design and implementation of the trials, was Pharmaceutical Association whose representatives served on the
Dr Fred Mattson, formerly of Procter & Gamble. NCEP coordinating committee. Doctors were taught the impor-
An interesting feature of the study was the fact that a good part tance of cholesterol screening, the advantages of cholesterol-low-
of the trial's US$150 million budget was devoted to group ses- ering drugs and the unique benefits of the Prudent Diet. NCEP
sions in which trained dietitians taught both groups of study par- materials told every doctor in America to recommend the use of
ticipants how to choose "heart-friendly" foods: margarine, egg margarine rather than butter.
replacements, processed cheese, baked goods made with veg-

O
etable shortenings; in short, the vast array of manufactured foods ther mouthpieces of the medical establishment fell in line
awaiting consumer acceptance. As both groups received dietary after the Consensus Conference. In 1987, the National
indoctrination, study results could support no claims about the Academy of Sciences published an overview in the form
relation of diet to heart disease. Nevertheless, when the results of a handout booklet, containing a whitewash of the trans prob-
were released, both the popular press and medical journals por- lem and a pejorative description of palm oil—a natural fat high in
trayed the Lipid Research Clinics trials as the long-sought proof beneficial saturates and mono-unsaturates that, like butter, has

FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999 NEXUS • 37

nourished healthy population groups for thousands of years, and, stifled by denying funding to the 'unbelievers'. This meeting will
also like butter, competes with hydrogenated fats because it can review the data and expose the rascals."
be used as a shortening. The rascals did their best to prevent the meeting from taking
The following year, the Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition place. Funding promised by the Greenwall Foundation of New
and Health emphasised the importance of making low-fat foods York City was later withdrawn, so Mann paid most of the bills. A
more widely available. Project LEAN (Low-fat Eating for press release, sent as a dirty trick to speakers and participants,
America Now)—sponsored by the J. Kaiser Family Foundation wrongly announced that the conference had been cancelled.
and a host of establishment groups such as the American Heart Several speakers, including the prestigious Dr Roslyn Alfin-Slater
Association, the American Dietetic Association, the American and Dr Peter Nixon of London, did in fact renege at the last
Medical Association, the USDA, the National Cancer Institute, minute on their commitment to attend. Dr Eliot Corday of Los
the Centers for Disease Control and the National Heart, Lung and Angeles cancelled after being told that his attendance would jeop-
Blood Institute—announced a publicity campaign to "aggressively ardise future funding.
promote foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol in order to The final pared-down roster included: Dr George Mann; Dr
reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer". Mary Enig; Dr Victor Herbert; Dr Petr Skrabenek; Dr James
The next year, Enig joined Frank McLaughlin, Director of the McCormick, a physician from Dublin; Dr William Stehbens from
Center for Business and Public Policy at the University of New Zealand, who described the normal protective process of
Maryland, in testimony before the National Food Processors arterial thickening at points of greatest stress and pressure; and Dr
Association (NFPA). It was a closed conference for NFPA mem- Meyer Texon, an expert in the dynamics of blood flow.
bers only. Enig and McLaughlin had been invited to give "a view Mann, in his presentation, blasted the system that had foisted
from academia". Enig presented a number of slides and warned the diet/heart-disease dogma on a gullible public. "You will see,"
against singling out classes of fats and oils for special pejorative he said, "that many of our contributors are senior scientists. They
labelling. A representative from Frito-Lay took umbrage at Enig's are so for a reason that has become painfully conspicuous as we
slides which listed amounts of trans fats in Frito-Lay products. organised this meeting. Scientists who must go before review
Enig offered to re-do the analyses if Frito-Lay were willing to panels for their research funding know well that to speak out, to
fund the research. "If you'd talk different, you'd get money," he disagree with this false dogma of Diet/Heart, is a fatal error. They
said. must comply or go unfunded. I could
Enig urged the association to show a list of scientists who said to
endorse accurate labelling of trans me, in effect, when I invited them to
fats in all food items, but conference participate, 'I believe you are right,
participants—including representa- "I believe you are right, that the that the Diet/Heart hypothesis is
tives from most of the major food
processing giants—preferred a poli-
Diet/Heart hypothesis is wrong, wrong, but I cannot join you because
that would jeopardise my perks and
cy of "voluntary labelling" that did but I cannot join you because funding.' For me, that kind of hypo-
not unnecessarily alert the public to
the presence of t r a n s fats in their
that would jeopardise my critical response separates the scien-
tists from the operators, the men from
foods. To date, they have prevailed perks and funding." the boys."
in preventing the inclusion of trans

B
fats on nutrition labels. y the 1990s the operators had
succeeded, by slick manipula-

E
nig and the University of tion of the press and of scien-
Maryland group were not alone in their efforts to bring tific research, in transforming America into a nation that was well
their concerns about the effect of partially hydrogenated and truly oiled. Consumption of butter had bottomed out at about
fats before the public. 5 grams per person per day, down from almost 18 grams at the
Kummerow at the University of Illinois, blessed with indepen- turn of the century. Use of lard and tallow had been reduced by
dent funding and an abundance of patience, carried out a number two-thirds. Margarine consumption had jumped from less than 2
of studies that indicated that trans fats increased the risk factors grams per person per day in 1909 to about 11 grams in 1960.
associated with heart disease and that vegetable-oil-based fabri- Since then, consumption figures have changed little, remaining at
cated foods such as Egg Beaters cannot support life.31 about 11 grams per person per day—perhaps because knowledge
George Mann, formerly with the Framingham project, pos- of margarine's dangers has been slowly seeping out to the public.
sessed neither funding nor patience and in fact was very angry However, most of the trans fats in the current American diet
with what he called the "Diet/Heart scam". His independent stud- come not from margarine but from shortening used in fried and
ies of the Masai in Africa,32 whose diet is extremely rich in cho- fabricated foods. American shortening consumption of 10 grams
lesterol and saturated fat and who are virtually free of heart dis- per person per day held steady until the 1960s, although the con-
ease, had convinced him that the lipid hypothesis was "the public tent of that shortening had changed from mostly lard, tallow and
health diversion of this century...the greatest scam in the history coconut oil—all natural fats—to partially hydrogenated soybean
of medicine".33 oil. Then shortening consumption shot up and by 1993 had
Mann resolved to bring the issue before the public by organis- tripled to over 30 grams per person per day. But the most dramat-
ing a conference in Washington, DC, in November of 1991. ic overall change in the American diet was the huge increase in
"Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are wasted by the bureaucra- the consumption of liquid vegetable oils, from slightly less than 2
cy and the self-interested Heart Association," he wrote in his invi- grams per person per day in 1909 to over 30 grams in 1993—a
tation to participants. "Segments of the food industry play the fifteenfold increase.
game for profits. Research on the true causes and prevention is The irony is that these trends have persisted concurrently with
revelations about the dangers of polyunsaturates. Because

38 • NEXUS FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999

polyunsaturates are highly subject to rancidity, they increase the increased coronary heart disease risk factors.42 The industry—and
body's need for vitamin E and other antioxidants. the press—responded by promoting tub spreads which contain
Excess consumption of vegetable oils is especially damaging to reduced amounts of trans compared to stick margarine.
the reproductive organs and the lungs—both of which are sites for For the general population, these trans reductions have been
huge increases in cancer in Americans. In test animals, diets high more than offset by changes in the types of fat used by the fast-
in polyunsaturates from vegetable oils inhibit the ability to learn, food industry. In the early 1980s, the Center for Science in the
especially under conditions of stress; they are toxic to the liver; Public Interest campaigned against the use of beef tallow for fry-
they compromise the integrity of the immune system; they ing potatoes. Before that, it campaigned against the use of tallow
depress the mental and physical growth of infants; they increase for frying chicken and fish. Most fast-food concerns switched to
levels of uric acid in the blood; they cause abnormal fatty acid partially hydrogenated soybean oil for all fried foods. Some
profiles in the adipose tissues; they have been linked to mental deep-fried foods have been tested at almost 50 per cent trans.43
decline and chromosomal damage; and they accelerate ageing. The industry continues to argue that American trans consump-
Excess consumption of polyunsaturates is associated with tion is a low 6 to 8 grams per person per day—not enough to con-
increasing rates of cancer, heart disease and weight gain. The tribute to today's epidemic of chronic disease. Total per-capita
excessive use of commercial vegetable oils interferes with the consumption of margarine and shortening hovers around 40 grams
production of prostaglandins, leading to an array of complaints per person per day. If these products contain 30 per cent trans
ranging from autoimmune disease to premenstrual syndrome (many shortenings contain more), then average consumption is
(PMS). Disruption of prostaglandin production leads to an about 12 grams per person per day.
increased tendency to form blood clots, and hence to myocardial In reality, consumption figures can be dramatically higher for
infarction—which has reached epidemic levels in the US.34 some individuals. A 1989 Washington Post article documented
Those who have most actively promoted the use of polyunsatu- the diet of a teenage girl who ate 12 doughnuts and 24 cookies
rated vegetable oils as part of a Prudent Diet are well aware of over a three-day period; her total trans intake worked out to at
their dangers. In 1971, William B. Kannel, former Director of the least 30 grams per day, and possibly much more. The fat in the
Framingham Study, warned against including too many polyun- chips that teenagers consume in abundance may contain up to 48
saturates in the diet. A year earlier, per cent trans, which translates into
Dr William Connor of the American 45.6 grams of trans fat in a small, 10-
Heart Association issued a similar ounce (284-gram) bag of snack chips
warning, and Frederick Stare which a hungry teenager can gobble
reviewed an article which reported up in a few minutes. High school sex
that the use of polyunsaturated oils Cholesterol, like saturated fats, education classes do not teach
caused an increase in breast tumours. stands unfairly accused. It has a American teenagers that the altered
And Kritchevsky, way back in 1969, fats in their snack foods may severely
discovered that the use of corn oil number of important functions compromise their ability to have nor-
caused an increase in in the body. mal sex, to conceive, to give birth to
atherosclerosis.35 healthy babies and successfully nurse
As for the trans fats produced in their infants.
vegetable oils when they are partially Foods containing t r a n s fat sell
hydrogenated, the results that are because the American public is afraid
now in the literature more than justi- of the alternative: saturated fats
fy the concerns of early investigators about the relation between found in tallow, lard, butter, palm oil and coconut oil—fats tradi-
trans fats and both heart disease and cancer. tionally used for frying and baking. Yet the scientific literature
The research group at the University of Maryland found that delineates a number of vital roles for dietary saturated fats: they
trans fatty acids not only alter enzymes that neutralise carcino- enhance the immune system,44 are necessary for healthy bones, 45
gens and increase enzymes that potentiate carcinogens, but in provide energy and structural integrity to the cells, 46 protect the
nursing mothers they also depress milk-fat production and l i v e r ,47 and enhance the body's use of essential fatty acids. 48
decrease insulin binding. 36 In other words, trans fatty acids in the Stearic acid, found in beef tallow and butter, has cholesterol-low-
diets of new mothers interfere with their ability to nurse success- ering properties and is a preferred food for the heart.49 As saturat-
fully and increase their likelihood of developing diabetes. ed fats are stable, they do not become rancid easily, they do not
Unpublished work indicates that trans fats contribute to osteo- call upon the body's reserves of antioxidants, they do not initiate
porosis. Hanis, a Czechoslovakian researcher, found that trans cancer, and they do not irritate the artery walls.
consumption decreased testosterone, caused the production of Your body makes saturated fats, and your body makes choles-
abnormal sperm and altered gestation.37 Koletzko, a German pae- terol—about 2,000 mg per day. In general, cholesterol that the
diatrics researcher, found that excess trans consumption in preg- average American absorbs from food amounts to about 100 mg
nant women predisposed them to having low-birth-weight per day. So, in theory, even reducing animal foods to zero will
babies.38 Trans consumption interferes with the body's use of result in only a five per cent decrease in the total amount of cho-
omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oils, grains and green vegeta- lesterol available to the blood and tissues. In practice, such a diet
bles), leading to impaired prostaglandin production. 39 George is likely to deprive the body of the substrates it needs to manufac-
Mann confirmed that trans consumption increases the incidence ture enough of this vital substance.
of heart disease. 40 In 1995, European researchers found a positive Cholesterol, like saturated fats, stands unfairly accused. It acts
correlation between breast cancer rates and trans consumption.41 as a precursor to vital corticosteroids (hormones that help us deal
Until the 1993 studies, only the disturbing revelations of Dutch with stress and protect the body against heart disease and cancer)
researchers Mensink and Katan in 1990 received front-page cov- and to the sex hormones like androgen, testosterone, oestrogen
erage. Mensink and Katan found that margarine consumption and progesterone. It is a precursor to vitamin D, a very important

FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999 NEXUS • 39

fat-soluble vitamin needed for healthy bones and nervous system, terol levels twice as high as cholesterol fed alone.55 Enig's work—
proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin produc- and that of Kummerow and Mann and several others—merely
tion, reproduction and immune system function. And it is the pre- confirmed what Kritchevsky ascertained decades ago but declined
cursor to bile salts which are vital for digestion and assimilation to publicise: that vegetable oils, and particularly partially hydro-
of fats in the diet. genated vegetable oils, are bad news.
Recent research shows that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant.50 However, "Position Paper on Trans Fatty Acids" took no posi-
This is the likely explanation for the fact that cholesterol levels go tion at all. Studies have given contradictory results, said the
up with age. As an antioxidant, cholesterol protects us against authors, and the amount of trans in the average American diet is
free-radical damage that leads to heart disease and cancer. very difficult to determine. As for labelling, the authors said:
Cholesterol is the body's repair substance, manufactured in large "There is no clear choice of how to include trans fatty acids on
amounts when the arteries are irritated or weak. Blaming heart the nutrition label. The database is insufficient to establish a clas-
disease on high serum cholesterol levels is like blaming firemen, sification scheme for these fats." There may be problems with
who have come to put out a fire, for starting the blaze. trans, says the senior researcher, but their use "...helps to reduce
Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors the intake of dietary fats higher in saturated fatty acids. Also,
in the brain. 51 Serotonin is the body's natural 'feel-good' chemical. vegetable fats are not a source of dietary cholesterol, unlike satu-
This explains why low cholesterol levels have been linked to rated animal fats."
aggressive and violent behaviour, depression and suicidal tenden- Kritchevsky and his co-authors concluded that physicians and
cies. Mother's milk is particularly rich in cholesterol and contains nutritionists should "...focus on a further decrease in total fat
a special enzyme that helps the baby utilise this nutrient. Babies intake and especially the intake of saturated fat... A reduction in
and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing total fat intake simplifies the problem, because all fats in the diet
years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous sys- decrease and choices are unnecessary." However, even senior sci-
tem. Dietary cholesterol plays an important role in maintaining entists find that fence-straddling is necessary. "We may con-
the health of the intestinal wall, 52 which is why low-cholesterol clude," wrote Kritchevsky and his colleagues, "that consumption
vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intesti- of liquid vegetable oils is preferable to solid fats."
nal disorders. As a footnote, early in 1998 a sym-
Animal foods containing saturated posium entitled "Evolution of Ideas
fat and cholesterol provide vital about the Nutritional Value of
nutrients necessary for growth, ener- Dietary Fat" reviewed the many flaws
gy and protection from degenerative in the lipid hypothesis and highlight-
disease. Like sex, animal fats are
necessary for reproduction. Humans
... low cholesterol levels have ed a study in which mice fed on puri-
fied diets died within 20 days, but
are drawn to both by powerful been linked to aggressive and mice fed on whole milk stayed alive
instincts. Suppression of natural
appetites leads to weird nocturnal
violent behaviour, depression for several months.56 One of the sym-
posium participants was David
habits, fantasies, fetishes, bingeing and suicidal tendencies. Kritchevsky. He noted that the use of
and splurging. Animal fats are nutri- low-fat diets and drugs in interven-
tious and satisfying and they taste tion trials "did not affect overall CHD
good. mortality". Ever with a finger in the
"Whatever is the cause of heart wind, this influential founding father
disease," said the eminent biochemist of the lipid hypothesis concluded
Michael Gurr in a recent article, "it is not primarily the consump- thus: "Research continues apace and, as new findings appear, it
tion of saturated fats." 53 And yet the high priests of the lipid may be necessary to re-evaluate our conclusions and preventive
hypothesis continue to lay their curse on the fairest of culinary medicine policies." ∞
pleasures: butter and Béarnaise, whipped cream, soufflés and
omelettes, full-bodied cheeses, juicy steaks and pork sausages. Editor's Note:
This is an edited version of Part 2, with renumbered endnotes. The
complete transcript and endnotes can be downloaded from our web

O
n April 30, 1996, senior researcher David Kritchevsky page <www.peg.apc.org/~nexus/>.
received the American Oil Chemists' Society's Research
Award in recognition of his accomplishments as a About the Authors:
• Mary G. Enig, PhD, is an expert of international renown in the field of
"researcher on cancer and atherosclerosis as well as cholesterol
lipid biochemistry. She has headed a number of studies on the content
metabolism". His accomplishments include co-authorship of and effects of trans fatty acids, and has successfully challenged govern-
more than 370 research papers, one of which appeared a month ment assertions that dietary animal fat causes cancer and heart disease.
later in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.54 "Position She is a licensed nutritionist, a qualified expert witness, a nutrition consul-
Paper on Trans Fatty Acids" continued the debate on trans fats tant to individuals, industry, and state and federal governments, a con-
that began in the same journal with Hunter and Applewhite's 1986 tributing editor to a number of scientific publications, a Fellow of the
attack on Enig's research. "A controversy has arisen about the American College of Nutrition, and President of the Maryland Nutritionists
Association.
potential health hazards of trans unsaturated fatty acids in the
American diet," wrote Kritchevsky and his co-authors. • Sally Fallon is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that
Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (with Pat
Actually, the controversy dates back to 1954. In the rabbit Connolly, Executive Director of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation,
studies that launched Kritchevsky on his career, the researcher and Mary G. Enig, PhD), as well as of numerous articles on the subject of
actually found that cholesterol fed with Wesson oil "markedly diet and health.
accelerated" the development of cholesterol-containing low-densi-
Continued on page 82
ty lipoproteins; and cholesterol fed with shortening gave choles-

40 • NEXUS FEBRUARY – MARCH 1999

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