Page 17 - Summer2010

Caustic Commentary

eleven resulted in death, none of which were caused by raw recent study showed that olive oil and a “new type of canola
milk (dairyreporter.com, February 17, 2010). Meanwhile, and flaxseed oil” raised cholesterol levels more than butter.
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced According to a spokesperson for the University, the short- and
its intention to close down a New Jersey cheese maker in the medium-chain fatty acids in butter are stored preferentially in
wake of listeria contamination and an alleged failure to correct the intestinal cells. “However, butter leads to a slightly higher
unsanitary conditions at the plant. The company manufactures content of free fatty acids in the blood, which is a burden on
and distributes soft, semi-soft and hard pasteurized Mexican the body. . . Olive oil is good, to be sure, but our findings in-
cheese throughout the Mid Atlantic and New England. The dicate that different food fats can have different advantages”
announcement about the decision included figures from Cen- (Science Daily, February 20, 2010).
ters for Disease Control and Prevention showing twenty-five
hundred serious illnesses from listeriosis each year, of which SPEECHLESS
five hundred die (dairyreporter.com, January 5, 2010). What has left most commentators speechless is a mega-anal-

ysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
MINCING WORDS (March 2010 91(3)535-546). Researchers combined the rela-
It’s amazing how researchers so carefully choose their words tive risk rates from twenty-one studies representing almost
to hide unwelcome findings. Several studies have shown that three hundred fifty thousand people whose diets and health
industrial seed oils strongly promote prostate cancer cell outcomes had been followed for five to twenty-three years.
growth; a recent study found that lowering the fat content of The conclusion: “There is no significant evidence for conclud-
a primarily saturated fat diet offers little survival benefit in ing that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased
mice with transplanted human prostate cancer cells, in con- risk of CHD (coronary heart disease) or CVD (cardiovascu-
trast to lowering a diet high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty lar disease).” Not one word about this study appeared in the
acids, which does offer survival benefit (Journal of Urology mainstream press. An accompanying editorial voiced outrage
2010 Apr;183(4):1619-24). Rather than state the obvious in at the findings and repeated the old discredited advice—avoid
unambiguous language—that saturated fats don’t contribute red meat, whole milk, egg yolks and cheese, and eat more egg
to cancer—the researchers hid the important point in their whites, grains, fat-free dairy foods and seed oils. Only James
conclusion: “. . . fat type may be as important as fat amount H. Hodges of the American Meat Institute Foundation spoke
in the prostate cancer setting.” In another study, mice fed a out: “This study is critically important because of its size and
standard rat chow diet plus 10 percent corn oil exhibited in- statistical power. No doubt, it will be viewed with skepticism
creased body weight, total body fat mass and abdominal fat by some researchers who believe strongly in a link between
mass along with reduced bone mineral density compared to heart disease and saturated fat. But when it comes to science,
controls on rat chow alone. The title of the study describes we must view new findings with an open mind and critical
the corn oil diet as a “high-fat” rather than a “high-oil” diet thought. Without an open mind, we risk enacting misguided
(Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2010 Feb 9). When a public policies. While this study may not reflect prevailing
diet high in corn oil but low in fiber, vitamin D and calcium nutrition advice, it is a very substantial body of work. It is
triggered inflammation in the mouse colon, Peter Holt, one important to note that the study’s authors relied upon twenty-
of the study authors, stated that the study lent support to the one peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature that rep-
hypothesis that “red meat, processed meat and alcohol can resent some of the leading thinkers in nutrition research. The
increase the risk of colorectal cancer” (ScienceDaily.com, magnitude of this study and its findings merit both respect
January 2, 2010). But the study did not look at red meat, and thoughtful consideration.” Amen.
processed meat and alcohol, it looked at corn oil! Monoun-
saturated fatty acids, found in olive oil and canola oil, are the MORE CONFIRMATION
current darling of the research establishment. Researchers On the heels of the mega-analysis exonerating saturated fat
at Lund University in Sweden really got tongue-tied when a is a prospective study from Australia which looked at adults

SUMMER 2010 Wise Traditions 17