Fat in the Fire

The reduction or control of fat consumption under medical supervision, with reasonable substitution of polyunsaturated for saturated fats, is recommended as a possible means of preventing atherosclerosis and decreasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The statement itself was hardly news, but its sponsorship was. Half reluctantly, the American Heart Association finally gave its blessing to the anti-cholesterol crusade. In one taut paragraph, it cautiously sanctioned the painstaking work of researchers such as New York's Dr. Norman Jolliffe and Minneapolis' Dr. Ancel Keys. Their research indicates, in essence, that saturated fats stimulate the body's production of cholesterol, which joins other substances to line and narrow the arteries, make them susceptible to blockages that can starve the heart or brain and cause death. A major part of the evidence comes from Dr. Keys, whose studies of foreign populations, concentration-camp victims and Minnesota businessmen suggested that the high U.S. rate of heart-artery disease might be blamed on the fat-heavy American diet.

"Study of diets in the U.S.," said the A.H.A. report, "indicates that they usually contain large amounts of fat, which account for approximately 40-45% of the calories. In contrast, many populations in other parts of the world--for example, large groups in Asia, Africa and Latin America--eat food containing barely a third as much fat. The concentrations of cholesterol in the blood of such groups are much less than in those consuming the excess-calorie and high-fat diets, and some reports indicate that heart attacks are correspondingly fewer."

Heavily qualified ("As yet there is no final proof"), the A.H.A. statement failed to beat its detractors--who were primed for battle--into print. The National Dairy Council, whose products (whole milk, butter, cream, cheese) were identified by the A.H.A. as cholesterol-producing villains, fought back fiercely. "The idea that replacing some 'saturated' fats [animal and hydrogenated fats] with 'unsaturated' fats will help prevent heart disease is clearly unproved," said the council. Manipulating the diet in favor of unsaturated fats (chiefly liquid vegetable oils), suggested the council darkly, could even be dangerous to health.

Producers of unsaturated fats, such as Mazola Corn Oil and Wesson Oil, were ready, too. They took full-page ads in the nation's newspapers to echo the A.H.A. action. And in Minneapolis, Physiologist Keys--who helped draft the A.H.A. statement--called it an acceptable compromise, although it contained "some undue pussyfooting." Said he: "The A.H.A. had to get the facts out. A deal like this includes a great deal of commercial pressure. People in the meat, dairy, butter, and oils industries have billions at stake. They're very unhappy. The vegetable oil people are delighted. We couldn't care less."

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