ENIG Interview #1
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CATEGORY: foods/manmade
TECHNICAL: ***
SUMMARY:
This document is one of the best works on the negative
effects of hydrogenated oils. It's an interview with Mary
Enig, who's a PhD. researcher of fats and oils. As you read
through the document, you'll see just how much work she's done
in that field. This is part one of a three part document.
The major issue this article addresses is the fact that
hydrogenated oils are far worse than natural non man-made oils.
The question has come up on the list about whether the trans
fats in natural dairy were safer than those found in margarines
and shortenings. I think this passage sheds a little light on
that question:

"the misconception that processed margarine was better than
natural butter. But the studies showed that not only was the
amount much smaller (e.g., the fat in butter might be 2-3% of
the ruminant trans), the effect on the "machinery" in the cell
membranes was not different than without the trans. Yet all
studies feeding the trans produced by partially hydrogenating the
vegetable oils showed the adverse effect on the cell "machinery."

Not only is it far less, but what is in the dairy affects
the body alot less negatively. This does reinforce the
point that humans were not designed to consume the dairy of
other animals however..
This document is the one I also allude to when issues
of trans fats contributing to heart disease and cancer come
up. When you read through it, pay close attention to the number
of times she mentions a statistically significant increase
in cancer and CVD when discussing trans-fats and hydrogenated
oils. My favorite passage for vegetarians is this one:

"correlations between the increase in per capita dietary fat
intake and total cancer mortality over a sixty-year period show
significant positive correlations for total fat and vegetable
fat, and negative correlation for animal fat."

Many of ya'll have also heard me warn against eating
deep fried foods. That was because deep frying denatures
the foods far worse than any other preparation method. In fact,
deep frying is akin to the hydrogenation process. Be sure
to catch the section where she discusses the temperatures
at which hydrogenation occurs, and remember that deep frying
can reach temps. upwards of 440 deg. F. Consider how
many toxins can be introduced in that kind of environment..

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by Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D.

Dr. Mary G. Enig, a nutritionist widely known for her research on the
nutritional aspects of fats and oils, is a consultant, clinician, and the
Director of the Nutritional Sciences Division of Enig Associates, Inc.,
Silver Spring, Maryland. She received her PhD in Nutritional Sciences from
the University of Maryland, College Park in 1984, taught a graduate course
in nutrient-drug interactions for the University's Graduate Program in
Nutritional Sciences, and held a Faculty Research Associateship from 1984
through 1991 with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry. Dr. Enig is a Fellow of the American College of
Nutrition, and a member of the American Institute of Nutrition. Her many
years of experience as a "bench chemist" in the analysis of food fats and
oils, provides a foundation for her active roles in food labeling and
composition issues at the federal and state levels.

Dr. Enig is a Consulting Editor to the "Journal of the American
College of Nutrition" and formerly served as a Contributing Editor to
"Clinical Nutrition." She has published 14 scientific papers on the
subject of food fats and oils, several chapters on nutrition for books,
and presented over 35 scientific papers on food and nutrition topics. She
is the President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association, past President
of the Coalition of Nutritionists of Maryland and was appointed by the
Governor in 1986 to the Maryland State Advisory Council on Nutrition and
served as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee until the Council was
disbanded in 1988.

I first learned of Dr. Mary Enig's research from a 1978 report in the
Federation Proceedings. [1] We met shortly after that, and since I had
written about trans fats several times in Supernutrition, we had common
concerns about the effect that these trans fats from processed foods were
having. [2] We were both concerned particularly about the misconception
that processed margarine was better than natural butter.

In several visits by Dr. Mary Enig to the Solgar Nutritional Research
Center I quickly learned that she was an exacting scientist who is not
afraid to speak out and who supports good nutrition, not just going along
with the establishment's party line. While studying for her Ph.D. at the
University of Maryland, often she would first respond with the "correct"
answer that was expected, and then she would explain why new research
indicated "alternatives," such as optimal vitamin and mineral nourishment,
provided a better answer. It is not easy be credentialed by the "system,"
while your own research shows other facts.

In part I of my interview with Dr. Enig, we will discuss the harm
caused by partially-hydrogenated fats that are present in processed foods.
In Part II, we will discuss how partially-hydrogenated fats increase heart
disease and cancer risks, and how the processed food industry tries to
suppress this information.

In her 1978 report, Dr. Enig challenged the speculation concerning
the relationship of dietary fat and cancer causation. She concluded that
correlations between the increase in per capita dietary fat intake and
total cancer mortality over a sixty-year period show significant positive
correlations for total fat and vegetable fat, and negative correlation for
animal fat. That is the cancer rate is higher when the amount of vegetable
fat or total fat is higher in the diet, but the cancer rate is lower when
there there is more animal fat in the diet. These findings were unpopular
then as they are today, but they are still correct. It is convenient to
blame everything on red meat and animal fat, and believe that vegetable
oil is the great dietary salvation -- even if it is partially
hydrogenated. At least that is what the vegetable oil people would like
everyone to believe.

Now, we are not saying that lots of dietary fat is good for you and
that vegetables are not good. Eating vegetables, fruits and other whole
foods is very desirable. However, that is not the same as eating
partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils. Americans eat too much fat
(especially partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) and not enough fruits
and vegetables. The problem is that the typical American is not eating
enough whole foods, but instead, is eating too much partially-hydrogenated
vegetable oil -- a fractionated food -- that has been made into "funny
foods" such as margarine or added into baked goods. Such "funny foods" are
far different than real whole foods.

Hydrogenation ruins the nutritional value of vegetable oils! Why
would anyone want to ruin the nutrition value of vegetable oils? The
purpose of hydrogenation is to solidify an oil so that it can be made to
resemble real foods such as butter. (see figure 1.) The hydrogenation
process imparts desirable features such as spreadability, texture, "mouth
feel," and increased shelf life to naturally liquid vegetable oils. In the
hydrogenation process, vegetable oil is reacted under pressure with
hydrogen gas at 250 - 400oF for several hours in the presence of a
catalyst such as nickel or platinum. However, this industrial process
cannot control where the hydrogen atoms are added to the "unsaturated"
double bonds. Randomly adding hydrogen atoms to polyunsaturated fats
converts natural food components into many compounds, some of which have
never seen before by man until partially hydrogenated fats were
manufactured.

Some of the several dozens of altered compounds created in the
manufacture of partially-hydrogenated fats are "trans" fatty acids. Fatty
acids are the building blocks of fats, much like amino acids are the
building blocks of proteins. Other new compounds accidentally synthesized
include fatty acids having double bonds translocated to new and un-natural
positions, and various molecular fragments. Many of these altered
compounds are detrimental to health.

Since "trans" fats are so detrimental to our health. permit me to
briefly review the relevance of distinguishing between "trans" and "cis"
fats before chatting with Dr. Enig. Recently, in the September issue, in
the interview with Dr. Jim Clark and Mr. Lance Schilipalius, we discussed
"trans" isomers of carotenoids. "Trans" means the same thing here. "Cis"
and "trans" isomers refer to how identical atoms are added to double
bonds. (See figure 2.) When the atoms are added to the same side of the
double bond, the compound is called "cis" and the molecule is bent because
of the crowding of the atoms on one side. When the atoms are added on
opposite sides of the double bond, the compound is called "trans" and
molecule is "space-balanced" and straightened. The shape of a molecule is
important because enzymes and their substrates -- the molecules enzymes
act upon -- must fit together like a key in a lock.

Dr. Enig will discuss this during the interview, but the important
thing to remember is that natural polyunsaturated fatty acids are "cis"
compounds and are bent. Partial hydrogenation produces many un-natural
"trans" fats which are straight and not intended for use in the human
body. Figure 3 illustrates the differences between the shapes of "trans"
and "cis" fatty acids

You don't have to understand the difference between "trans" and
"cis," but it is important that you know that there is a difference
because, as Dr. Enig will explain, it can affect your health.

Passwater: Dr. Enig, a lot of people are interested in "trans" fats
now. You have been researching them since 1977. How are trans fats harmful
to us?

Enig: More than a decade of research at the University of Maryland,
as well as research that was being done at other institutions, showed that
consumption of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated (a process
that adds hydrogen to solidify or harden) vegetable fats and oils had many
adverse effects in health areas such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
immunity, reproduction and lactation, and obesity. It is rather easy today
to come up with a long list of these adverse effects from the published
research done by many scientists around the world, as well as the
researchers at the University of Maryland.

The reason there is so much recent interest is that during the past
three years there has been a number of major research reports published in
prestigious medical journals that caught the attention of the press. These
and earlier reports had shown, for example, that consumption of trans
fatty acids lower the "good" HDL cholesterol in a dose response manner
(the higher the trans fat level in the diet, the lower the HDL level in
the blood) and raise the atherogenic lipoprotein(a) in humans as well as
raising the "bad" LDL cholesterol and total blood cholesterol levels by
20-30 milligram-percent. These studies have usually been shown in
independent non-industry studies. Perhaps the most significant event
though was the report from researchers at Harvard University, who
evaluated more than 85,000 women in a long-term prospective study and
found that there was a significantly higher intake of trans fatty acids in
those individuals who developed heart disease. [3]

As regards to the question of cancer, trans fatty acids induce
adverse alterations in the activities of the important enzyme system that
metabolizes chemical carcinogens and drugs (medications), i. e., the
mixed-function oxidase cytochromes P-448/450. The initial research in this
area was done by the Maryland group in collaboration with the U. S. Food
and Drug Administration, and was followed by the more extensive evaluation
that I did for my Ph.D. dissertation; several groups around the country
and the world also reported the same or similar results. [4-6] Several
groups around the world reported a higher intake of partially hydrogenated
fats in those individuals who have developed cancer.

Both primate and human studies have shown inappropriate handling of
blood sugar; trans fatty acids decrease the response of the red blood cell
to insulin, thus having a potentially undesirable effect in diabetics. The
primate research was initiated at Maryland in collaboration with the U. S.
Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, and the
human research is from the University of Pittsburgh and quite recent.
[7,8]

One major concern is that trans fatty acids adversely affect immune
response by lowering efficiency of B cell response and increasing
proliferation of T cells. This was shown in research done at Maryland
using a mouse model and although there are reports from clinicians that
there are problems of immune dysfunction in humans it still needs to be
evaluated systematically in humans. [9]

Recent research from outside the U. S. has indicated that trans fatty
acids interfere with reproductive attributes and of concern is the finding
that trans fatty acids lower the amount of cream (volume) in milk from
lactating females in all species studies including humans, thus lowering
the overall quality available to the infant. [10,11] The latter research
was done at Maryland by my colleague Dr. Beverly Teter.

Basically, trans fatty acids cause alterations to numerous
physiological functions of biological membranes that are known to be
critical for cell homeostasis, e.g., appropriate membrane transport and
membrane fluidity, and these fatty acid isomers produce alterations in
adipose cell size, cell number, lipid class and fatty acid composition.
[12]

Passwater: Now that trans fats are becoming of more interest, the
term may still just be a buzz word to many of our readers. Would you
explain just what are trans fats? Where do they come from? How are they
formed?

Enig: To understand what trans fatty acids are you have to understand
what fatty acids are. Fatty acids are basically chains of carbon with a
carboxyl group (COOH) at one end that can react (e.g., combine) with
another molecule. When fatty acids are in fats or oils they are combined
with glycerol in the proportions of three fatty acid molecules to one
glycerol molecule and they form triacylglycerols or in common terminology,
triglycerides. (See figure 4.)

Fatty acids come in different chain lengths ranging from three
carbons long (propionic acid) to 24 carbons long (lignoceric acid). These
fatty acids are either "saturated" (with an adequate number of hydrogen
atoms) and chemically stable, or they are "unsaturated" (missing adequate
hydrogens) and chemically unstable. If a fatty acid is missing two
hydrogens, it is called a monounsaturated fatty acid, and in place of the
two hydrogens, the adjacent carbons "double" bond to each other. If the
fatty acid is missing four or six or more hydrogens, it is called a
polyunsaturated fatty acid, and it is even more unstable than the
monounsaturated fatty acid. Because the double bonds in naturally
occurring plant oil fatty acids are curved with a "cis" configuration, the
fatty acids cannot pack into a crystal form at normal temperatures so
their presence produces a liquid oil. Saturated fatty acids have a
straight configuration and can pack into a solid crystal at normal
temperatures.

If the unsaturated fatty acids are altered by partial hydrogenation
to straighten the chains so that they have some of the physical packing
properties of saturated fatty acids they have had their "cis" double bond
changed to a "trans" double bond and they turn a technically mostly
unsaturated oil into a solid fat. The trans fatty acids are the same
length and weight as the original "cis" fatty acid they were formed from,
and although they have the same number of carbons, hydrogens, and oxygens
they are shaped differently in space. The term that is used is that they
are "isomers." The problem arises when a large number of the trans fatty
acids are consumed from foods and they are deposited in those parts of the
cell membranes that are supposed to have either saturated fatty acids or
"cis" unsaturated fatty acids; under these circumstances the trans fatty
acids essentially foul up the "machinery."

Although the trans fatty acids are chemically "monounsaturated" or
"polyunsaturated" they are considered so different from the "cis"
monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids that they cannot be legally
designated, e.g., monounsaturated for purposes of labeling. Most of the
trans fatty acids produced by the partial hydrogenation process are
chemically monounsaturates.

There have always been small amounts of one kind of trans fatty acids
in the human diet from the ruminant fats (dairy, sheep, goat, deer,
buffalo, antelope, etc.) because the microorganisms in the rumen try to
get rid of the polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found in the plant
foods eaten by these animals. In the early days of trans fatty acid
research, the researchers assumed that the trans fatty acids found in
ruminant fats were no different than those produced by partial
hydrogenation in the factory. But the studies showed that not only was the
amount much smaller (e.g., the fat in butter might be 2-3% of the ruminant
trans), the effect on the "machinery" in the cell membranes was not
different than without the trans. Yet all studies feeding the trans
produced by partially hydrogenating the vegetable oils showed the adverse
effect on the cell "machinery."

Passwater: Why are trans fats a problem?

Enig: The various mechanisms through which the trans fatty acids
disrupt function are related in part to the ability of trans fatty acids
to inhibit the function of membrane related enzymes such as the delta-6
desaturase resulting in decreased conversion of e.g., linoleic acid to
gamma-linolenic acid or arachidonic acid; interference with the necessary
conversion of omega-3 fatty acids to their elongated tissue omega-3 fatty
acids; and escalation of the adverse effects of essential fatty acid
deficiency. This latter effect was shown especially by the work of Dr.
Holman and his colleagues at the Hormel Institute at the University of
Minnesota, the other effects have been shown by many researchers including
the University of Maryland researchers. [13,14]

Passwater: What were your early findings and what got you interested
in this area of research?

Enig: My initial published research in 1978 when I was at the
University of Maryland showed that trans fatty acids, which were
increasing in the food supply at the time and which had not been
catalogued in any of the food data tables, were the very factors that
explained the positive statistical relationship between the increase in
cancer mortality and vegetable fat consumption in the U. S. [1]

It was clear from the literature that once the trans fatty acids were
identified as products of partial hydrogenation and studies were engaged
in, there were a number of earlier researchers who questioned the
biological safety of the trans fatty acids viz a viz their relationship to
both cancer and heart disease. In fact, Dr. Ancel Keys had originally
claimed that the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils with their trans
fatty acids were the culprits in heart disease. [15] This was in 1958, and
the edible oils industry was very swift in their squelching of that
information; they shifted the emphasis to "saturated" fat and started the
phoney attack on meat and dairy fats.

Passwater: What have others added to your findings?

Enig: As you have noted in some of your writings, we at the
University of Maryland were not the first to raise the issue of trans
fatty acids and adverse health effects; Dr. Fred Kummerow from the
University of Illinois, Dr. George Mann from Vanderbilt University, and
Dr. Edward Pinckney with the American Medical Association had sounded the
alarm many years before my plunge into the foray. In fact, I had drawn
heavily on the research findings of Dr. Kummerow and the informative
writing of Dr. Mann when I first started to investigate what was known
about health effects of trans fatty acids at the time. Our research
findings have been duplicated by others, but more importantly other
independent researchers have extended and explained many of our findings
and concerns.

Passwater: I remember how the processed food industry tried to
suppress your early research. In Part II, let's discuss the techniques
used against you and how you overcame them, and then we can more fully
discuss the relationship of various fats to heart disease and cancer.

:cool: TJ :cool: