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Department of Agriculture food data had been sabotaged by the margarine lobby. The other thing Reipma told Enig during his unguarded visit was that he had called in on the FASEB offices in an attempt to coerce them into publishing letters to refute her paper, without allowing Enig to submit any counter-refutation as was normally customary in scientific journals. He told Enig that he was "thrown out of the office"—an admission later confirmed by one of the FASEB editors. Nevertheless, a series of letters did fol- low the July 1978 article.’° On behalf of the ISEO, Applewhite and Walter Meyer of Procter & Gamble criticised Enig's use of the data. Applewhite accused Enig of extrapolating from two data points, when in fact she had used seven. John Bailar, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute , pointed out that the correlations between vegetable oil consumption and cancer were not the same as evidence of causation, and warned against changing current dietary components in the hope of preventing can- cer in the future—which is, of course, exactly what the McGovern Committee did. In reply, Enig and her colleagues noted that although the National Cancer Institute (NCD had provided them with faulty can- cer data, this had no bearing on the statis- tics relating to trans consumption and did not affect the gist of their argument—that the correlation with vegetable fat consump- tion, especially trans fat consumption, was sufficient to warrant a more thorough investigation. The problem was that very little investigation was being done. University of Maryland researchers recognised the need for more research in two areas. One concerned the effects of trans fats on cellular processes once they are built into the cell membrane. Studies with rats, including one conducted by Fred Mattson in 1960, indicated that the trans fatty acids were built into the cell mem- brane in proportion to their presence in the diet, and that the turnover of trans in the cells was similar to that of other fatty acids. These studies, according to J. Edward Hunter of the ISEO, were proof that "trans fatty acids do not pose any hazard to man in a normal diet". Enig and her associates were not so sure. Kummerow's research indicated that the trans fats contributed to heart disease; and Kritchevsky, whose early experiments with vegetarian rabbits were now seen to be totally irrelevant to the human model, had found that trans fatty acids raise choles- terol in humans.” Enig's own research, published in her 1984 doctoral dissertation, indicated that trans fats interfered with enzyme systems that neutralised carcinogens and increased enzymes that potentiated carcinogens."* Endnotes 1. Kritchevsky, D. et al., "Effect of Cholesterol Vehicle in Experimental Atherosclerosis", Am. J. Physiol. 178:30-32, July-September 1954 2. "Notice of Supelco-AOC Award to Kritchevsky", Inform 7:315, 1996 3. Enig, M. G., Trans Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: A Comprehensive Report Covering 60 Years of Research, Enig Associates, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, USA, 1995 (2ed), pp. 4-8 4. Groom, D., "Population Studies of Atherosclerosis", Annals of Int. Med. 55(1):51-62, July 1961; Enos, W. F. et al., "Pathogenesis of Coronary Disease in American Soldiers Killed in Korea", JAMA 158:912, 1955. 5. Laurie, W. et al., "Atherosclerosis and its Cerebral Complications in the South African Bantu", Lancet, February 1958, pp. 231-232 NEXUS - 81 The Oiling of America Continued next issue... Continued on page 82 DECEMBER 1998 - JANUARY 1999