CATEGORY: foods/manmade
TECHNICAL: ***
SUMMARY:
This is the third and final part of the interview with
Mary Enig on the subject of trans-fats and denatured oils. As
I have previously indicated, this is one of the most telling
documents on the topic. There are many important issues she
addresses that ties together the whole concept of human evolution,
health and denatured, man-made foods.
Some key points to consider in this segment of
the document are these:

* We have let our natural diet be changed by processed food technology.

* European has decided to limit TFAs to four percent of the
energy source.

* historically no people had a high intake of polyunsaturates in their
diets. Mostly saturated animal fats..

* children are being encouraged to drink low-fat milk instead of whole
milk. In addition to the fact that, there are a number of components
in mothers milk that are anti-cancer (hence the budwig diet, and
the new research on human milk fighting cancer)

* properties and some of the fatty acids found in milk (and coconut oil)
have anti-microbial properties.

* the FDA is running with misinformation a lot of the time. But, if it
suits their agenda, they will vigorously use it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

PART III A Perspective on Fats and the Health Food Industry

by Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D.

In the two previous issues, Dr. Enig and I have been discussing how
the trans fatty acids formed upon the partial hydrogenation of vegetable
and marine oils are being shown to be more harmful than saturated fats.
Margarine and other processed foods rich in Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs) were
once touted to be healthy choices for good diets, but now many researchers
are recognizing that TFAs are more harmful than the natural butter and
animal or tropical fats they replaced.

We discussed how the processed food industry tried to cover up this
fact. As Rodney Leonard discusses in Nutrition Week, "The reputation that
[hydrogenated] vegetable oil as the fat of choice in a healthy diet lies
in ruins. And the real question is why the American health establishment
did not act sooner to correct what may be the biggest scam ever
perpetuated in nutrition and nutrition policy on the American
public...These trans fatty acids were found to not only have more severe
health consequences for persons at risks for heart disease, but also to
increase the risk for individuals prone to certain types of cancer." [28]

We have let our natural diet be changed by processed food technology.
The European Community has decided to limit TFAs to four percent of the
energy source. Unfortunately, as Dr. Enig has shown, the American diet is
closer to 10 - 14 percent, with some individuals consuming as much as 60
grams of TFAs daily. Let's continue to look into the trumped-up reasons
given to us by food processors as why we should switch to TFAs, and then
see what the truth is.

Passwater: Some "authorities" are implying that all saturated fats or
animal fats greatly increase LDL cholesterol by shutting down LDL receptor
production which consequently causes LDL cholesterol to build up in the
blood, while they are also implying that all polyunsaturated fats or
vegetable fats either lower LDL cholesterol or raise it only modestly.

Would you share with us your perspective of what we can accept as
fact about saturated fat, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and
TFAs with respect to blood cholesterol?

Enig: This is a complex subject, that is difficult to explain in a
few words, but I'll try to be brief. The current dogma on the effect of
saturated fatty acids on LDL and LDL receptors is really an issue that is
not satisfactorily clear-cut. It is not surprising that feeding different
proportions of different fatty acids have different effects in different
animals and different organ systems or tissues. Fatty acids are active
components in regulating all sorts of homeostatic mechanisms in mammalian
systems. But sometimes some of the basic research that identifies what is
happening to one part of the cell does not really show what is going on in
another part of the cell or in the whole person, and these reports have to
be interpreted carefully.

I am concerned about the inconsistencies in interpreting the
research. One example of such inconsistency can be seen when you compare
some of the research with recent reviews. In a section of a 1980 report
that measured the effect of dietary fats on LDL- cholesterol in humans, i.
e., the effect of saturated and polyunsaturated dietary fat on the
composition of LDL, the total cholesterol in LDL from feeding saturated
fat was 59.1% (balanced is phospholipid and triglyceride) and the total
cholesterol in LDL from feeding polyunsaturated fat was 59.5%. Not very
different and certainly not higher than from saturated fat! These data are
from the research of Dr. Antonio M. Gotto's group at Baylor College of
Medicine. [29]

Given these findings, I have some real problems with the unreferenced
or inappropriately-referenced statements in, for example, the recent
chapter on regulation of LDL-cholesterol levels that appeared in the 1993
Annual Reviews of Nutrition. The statement was made that "... {fats}
containing predominantly saturated fatty acids further increase the
concentration of cholesterol carried in [the LDL] fraction ..." and that
"... when fed at equal levels, saturated fatty acids are more active in
increasing the LDL-C concentration than are unsaturated lipids in reducing
the concentration." There was no reference given for the first part of the
statement; the references for the latter part (a 1957 paper by Dr. Ancel
Keys et al and a 1989 talk by Dr. Mark Hegsted) are really inappropriate
in my opinion.

Passwater: I see that you still tell it like it is. My next question
won't be of interest to most of our readers, but I have to ask it because
it will be important to other researchers. So readers please hang on for a
brief moment while I get a tad technical, and then well get to the
practical "take home" message.

Dr. Enig, how about the LDL-receptor?

Enig: Briefly, so much of the research on down regulation of the
LDL-receptor appears to be done on cells like fibroblasts which are
questionably appropriate. One report showed that down regulation of
LDL-receptors by saturated fatty acids was considered a good phenomenon
since the cell was a macrophage. In addition, any of the changes that are
occurring in response to short-term feeding that are likely to be
rearrangements of homeostatic mechanisms don't mean very much. I know that
many feeding studies have been purposely cut off after a short term so
that it would show something that would not show up in the long term.

As I said, I think this very complex area probably needs a whole
article that delves into the meaning of the inconsistencies. Many people
have interpreted these reports as meaning that people should avoid
saturated fatty acids and consume more polyunsaturated fatty acids. It is
important to know that historically no people had a high intake of
polyunsaturates in their diets. This is really a phenomenon of the present
century, and the evidence against the excess intake of polyunsaturates is
mounting.

Passwater: Its ironical -- animal fats have been blamed for the
damage caused by partially-hydrogenated oils -- which started out as
wholesome vegetable oils -- that is, until they were chemically altered by
man. I can't help but think about so many in the general public who are
not scientifically trained and who have been brain-washed by the countless
illegal commercials that promise that using margarine will protect them
from heart disease. These people don't even read the newspaper accounts
such as the report from Harvard that margarine actually is associated with
increased heart disease and heart disease death. In the Harvard study of
85,000 nurses, after adjusting for all known possible confounding factors
including total fat and total calorie intake, there was a fifty percent
greater incidence of heart disease among those women with consuming the
highest fifth of percentage of fats as TFAs compared to those in the
lowest fifth. [3] Since all other factors, including total fat and total
calories were compensated for, the researchers conservatively concluded,
"these findings support the hypothesis that consumption of
partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil may contribute to occurrence of
coronary heart disease."

Then there is the recent report in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition that found that the risk of coronary heart disease increases as
consumption of vegetable oil rises. [30]

However, the years of newspaper, magazine and TV ads that falsely
told them that margarine was good for the heart -- has made them think
that it was true.

Now we are learning that mothers are giving their children soda or
skim milk with their meals so as to avoid the fat in milk. They want to
protect their children against heart disease by giving them very low fat
diets in their youth. What effect is the fear of saturated fat having on
the health of our children?

Enig: It is really unfortunate that children are being encouraged to
drink low-fat milk instead of whole milk. In addition to the fact that
milk is a good source of calories for growth (children actually need fat
as an energy reserve so that the protein they are consuming can be well
utilized for growth), there are a number of components in milk that are
not widely appreciated. Milk fat globule membrane has anti-cancer
properties and some of the fatty acids found in milk (and coconut oil)
have anti-microbial properties.

Passwater: I am seeing reports that there appears to be a link
between TFAs and obesity? Dr. Lewis H. Kuller has made such comments in
Lancet, and Drs. Edward Siguel and Robert Lerman have indicated such a
possible link in the American Journal of Cardiology. [31,32] I have also
read discussions where TFAs have been called "the obesity trigger."

Enig: There was a report earlier this year at a major symposium on
obesity that was held in New York, that the metabolic effect of increasing
dietary TFAs changes characteristics of muscle cells that trigger the
onset of diabetes and increasing obesity. I have not seen the actual
research, but am looking forward to following it.

Passwater: Dr Enig, many of our readers are hearing about trans fats
for the first time. Others may not be sure of what your message is
regarding red meat, animal fat and vegetable oil. Would you give us a
"take home" perspective regarding your advice on dietary fats?

Enig: The important thing to understand is that all fats are
basically mixtures of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty
acids in different proportions. There isn't any real evidence that
everyone needs to consume exactly the same balance of fatty acids, except
that we do know that people need to take in at least 2-3% of their fat as
the omega-6 fatty acids and at least 1-1.5% of their fat as omega-3 fatty
acids. This means that smaller people expending fewer calories need fewer
calories of each fatty acid and total fats than larger or more active
people who consume more calories.

The fats that humans have consumed for millennia, such as the fats
they added to mixed dishes, were almost always more saturated than they
were unsaturated. It was the easily extractable fat or oil. The fat came
from the animal, or, in the case of areas such as the tropics, it was the
oil that came from the coconut or the palm fruit that was used in cooking.
Sometimes it was one of the very stable oils such as olive oil or sesame
paste that contained lots of built-in antioxidants and weren't too
polyunsaturated.

People didn't really have the ability to extract oil from vegetables
such as corn, or from many seeds as they do today. However, they got their
essential polyunsaturated fatty acids from many of these plants when they
were included in the foods they were eating. People used the intact leaf,
root, nut, grain or seed along with all their antioxidants in the stews or
the porridges that most people ate. This was the manner in which the
polyunsaturates were historically consumed. The polyunsaturated fatty
acids didn't have to be hydrogenated to protect their integrity and keep
them from going rancid because they were consumed in a protected
whole-food state.

People on low-fat diets historically consumed adequate amounts of
essential fatty acids from foods such as grains, vegetables and nuts; and
then they made their own saturated fat for the necessary structural
adipose (structural body fat) and energy storage. Those people with higher
fat intakes in their diets still had about the same amount of essential
fatty acids, and ultimately the same amount of saturated fat for storage
or as the energy source. Regardless of whether they ate it or made it, the
fat in the tissues of our ancestors was relatively saturated, and
therefore, the fatty acid supply to the tissues was predictably saturated.
Today, with the high levels of partially- hydrogenated vegetable and
marine oils in the diets of many people, the tissues and organs are faced
with a new situation. Many researchers have now concluded that the
presence of the TFAs is causing shifts in favor of chronic disease. Not a
good situation!

The bottom line is to consume as many whole foods and whole food
mixtures as possible. Since we live in a society where other people
prepare most of the foods many of us eat, it is important to look for the
least processed and the least likely to go rancid when it comes to fats
and oils.

There is nothing wrong with consuming your essential fatty acids from
oils as long as those oils are safely extracted and carefully stored, but
a good balance needs to be maintained with sources of the more saturated
fats such as the animal tallows and/or dairy fats for those who are not
vegetarians, or the more saturated fats such as palm or coconut oils for
those who are vegetarians.

Passwater: These facts will be hard to accept by those who have
always heard just the opposite, and because of this constant repetition,
they have come to believe the erroneous information. While we're on the
subject of truth, let's shift gears for a moment.

You attended the Waxman hearing in July. What comments do you have to
offer about the FDA efforts to limit nutritional products and information?

Enig: One major problem as I see it is that the members of congress
and their staffs have only part of the information and almost none of the
training to understand that the FDA is running with misinformation a lot
of the time. But, if it suits their agenda, they will vigorously use it.

The supplement industry needs to be sure of its facts, needs to spend
the time and effort to document these facts. The science is on the side of
whole foods and rational supplementation. There is one thing that bothers
me; as an expert in lipids I notice mistakes in many books, magazines and
newspapers being made by "spokespersons" about the effects of fats and
oils in health. I immediately discount the reliability of source of the
information and suspect anything else that is being said. Sometimes I make
allowances and can salvage certain facts and separate the wheat from the
chaff, but others not so inclined, might not be so lenient. Since the FDA
has a very biased attitude towards the whole foods and supplement
industry, any erroneous written material that is put out by that industry
or on behalf of that industry is considered grist for the FDA's mill. I
hate to see the good apples spoiled because of the presence of a few
rotten ones.

Passwater: There is so much that needs to be covered, and we didn't
even get around to discussing omega-3 and omega-1 fatty acids. Perhaps you
will be kind enough to chat with us again. I am sure that TFAs cause
membrane abnormalities that can cause irregular heart beats and I want to
pursue the research that suggests that TFAs trigger obesity. We are going
to hear a lot more about TFAs in the future. It has taken 15 years, but I
feel that the corner has now been turned and the momentum is building. The
data can no longer be suppressed.

Your pioneering studies will have a major impact on helping people
select better diets in the future. Now the public will have to deal with
the fact that most junk foods are high in trans fat -- and this is a
deadly reality that can not be compensated for merely by juggling other
food components. Changing the ratio of polyunsaturates or saturates does
not alter or compensate for the accumulation of trans fats. People will no
longer be able to rationalize junk food as "just" being devoid of
nutrients which can be replaced with supplements. People will no longer be
able to rationalize junk food as "just" being high in fat which can be
held in check by keeping the total dietary fat to 30% or less of total
calories by selecting low-fat high-sugar foods. The reality is that there
are only two healthy choices -- either get the trans fats out of foods and
pseudo foods such as margarine -- or don't eat them. At least we can
control the latter.

Dr. Enig, what are you looking into now?

Enig: I have submitted a proposal for a research project that aims to
evaluate a specific nutritional support approach that I think will be
extremely useful for individuals with HIV/AIDS. I am currently waiting to
hear about the funding. I am presently preparing some of the research done
by our group at the University of Maryland for submission to the
appropriate scientific journals. I am also writing articles and a book
aimed at correcting a lot of the misinformation that has been written
about fats and oils. The working title of the book is "Know Your Fats: The
complete primer for understanding fats, oils and cholesterol." The book is
meant to be a comprehensive primer that would accurately explain what I
have realized most people involved in nutrition don't really understand. I
am also teaching short courses and workshops on lipids and nutrient-drug
interactions. I fell that there is a great need for people with my
training to continue to teach and consult.

Passwater: And, I am sure that you will continue to speak out for
scientific truth. I can hardly wait for your book to be published. Thanks
for taking the time to inform us about the dangers of trans fats in
processed foods. I still admire your bravery in presenting the information
in scientific forums, rather then taking the easy path of merely
researching topics that are "politically" safe and don't risk losing
funding or dirty tricks. I have always enjoyed our nutrition discussions
through the years and look forward to more of your visits to the Solgar
Nutritional Research Center.

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All rights, including electronic and print media, to this article are
copyrighted to Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D. and Whole Foods magazine (WFC
Inc.).

:cool: TJ :cool: