Mary G. Enig

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Dr Mary G. Enig (circa 2000).
Dr Mary G. Enig (circa 2000).

Mary Gertrude Enig, Ph.D. (born 1931) is a nutritionist who reviews research on and writes articles about the nutritional aspects of fats. Enig attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UCMP), receiving an M.S. in (year?) and a Ph.D in Nutritional Sciences in 1984. She has been a Licensed Nutritionist in Maryland since May 1988.[1]

Enig is a Fellow of The American College of Nutrition[citation needed], a member of The American Society for Nutritional Sciences[citation needed] and a member of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS).[2]

Contents

[edit] Professional history

Enig is the co-founder, Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF).[3] Prior to the founding of the WAPF in 1999, Enig worked as a nutritional consultant for individuals, industry and governments worldwide through Enig Associates, Inc., a small, scientific/engineering firm.[4] She was a faculty research associate at UMCP with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1984 through 1991.[citation needed]

[edit] Research at UMCP

While in graduate school and later as a research associate, Enig participated in biochemical research on lipids and contributed to several scientic articles published by UMCP research teams.

[edit] Controversial dietary advice

Much of Enig's dietary advice is in opposition to the consensus of the medical and scientific communities. She admits that she is "on the fringe" in her nutritional views and advice.[5]

[edit] Coconut oil

Enig is a vocal advocate for dietary consumption of coconut oil, a highly saturated fat, and has written multiple articles regarding the health benefits she claims it has. [6][7][8][9] She claims Lauric acid, the main acid in coconut oil, "has antimicrobial properties and is the precursor to monolaurin, the antimicrobial lipid." [10] She also states that lauric acid "gives human milk its major antimicrobial properties, and it may be a conditionally essential fatty acid [11] since it cannot be made by mammals other than the lactating female and must be obtained from the diet."[12]

Enig is critical of lowfat diets for weight loss and states in summary: "Perhaps the best way to lose unwanted weight (excess weight in the form of fat, that is) is to change the type of fat in the diet to the type of fat found in the coconut." [13] In collaboration with Sally Fallon, co-founder of the WAPF, Enig wrote a book about coconut-based diets for weight loss.[14]

Enig also claims that natural coconut oil may be effective in the treatment of AIDS and other viral infections. [15]

[edit] Saturated fats

Enig disputes the Lipid hypothesis which argues that consumption of saturated fats contribute to heart disease[16] and claims that big business and other powerful vested interests played a significant role in the negative portrayals of saturated fats. [17]

She claims that an (unspecified) study conducted during the early 1970s by Canadian scientists on rapeseed and canola oil, concluded that at least 25% of fat in the diet should be in the form of saturated fat.[18].

Enig claims that the "maintenance of a healthy digestive system requires input from lipids, which include molecules such as cholesterol, appropriate saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and other lesser known components such as glycosphingolipids."[19]

[edit] Cholesterol

Enig argues that cholesterol does not contribute to heart disease and calls it a "phony issue." She goes on to say that "New research continues to show that the saturated fats are not a problem, that the trans fatty acids found in partially hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils really are a problem, and that the lack of appropriate balance in the diet of the polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is also a problem."[20]

[edit] Homogenized milk

Enig's organization, the WAPF, is an advocate of raw milk and claims that "homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease." [21] The only reference to back this claim is an article Enig wrote that addressed a 1970's era theory that was later disproven. Enig summarizes her article by stating: "The fact that Oster's theory has been disproven does not mean that the homogenization process is benign." [22] She does not give any reason why homogenized milk might be harmful or any information that would link homogenized milk to heart disease, as the WAPF claims.

[edit] Scientific papers and editorials

  • Enig MG, Munn RJ, Keeney M. Dietary fat and cancer trends--a critique Fed Proc. 1978 Jul;37(9):2215-20.
  • Enig MG, Munn RJ, Keeney M. Dietary fats and cancer trends--response. Fed Proc. 1979 Oct;38(11):2437-9
  • Enig MG, Pallansch LA, Sampugna J, Keeney M. Fatty acid composition of fat of selected food items with emphasis on trans components. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 1983;60:1788-95
  • Enig MG, Budowski P, Blondheim SH. Trans unsaturated fatty acids in margarines and human subcutaneous fat in Israel Human Nutr: Clin Nutr. 1984;38C:223-230.
  • Enig MG, Atal S, Keeney M, Sampugna J. Isomeric trans fatty acids in the US diet. J Amer Coll Nutr 1990; 9:471-486.
  • Enig MG, Atal S, Keeney M, Sampugna J. Responses to Drs Applewhite and Hunter; Drs de Villiers, Grundy, Holub and Kummerow; Dr. Katan. J Amer Coll Nutr 1991;10:512-514; 517-518; 519-521.
  • Goldberg ML, Enig MG. Palmitic and lauric acids and serum cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr. 1993 Aug;58(2):244
  • Ravnskov U, Allan C, Atrens D, Enig MG, Groves B, Kaufman J, Kroneld R, Rosch PJ, Rosenman R, Werkö L, Nielsen JV, Wilske J, Worm N. Studies of dietary fat and heart disease. Science 2002;

[edit] References

  1. ^ Maryland license verification - enter last name to obtain license status
  2. ^ THINCS member list
  3. ^ Weston A Price Foundation Board of Directors
  4. ^ Enig Associates website
  5. ^ Interview of Mary Enig on her local cable station - 2006
  6. ^ "The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  7. ^ "More Good News on Coconut Oil" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  8. ^ "Fat and Cholesterol in Human Milk" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  9. ^ "Health and Nutritional Benefits from Coconut Oil: An Important Functional Food for the 21st Century" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation
  10. ^ Enig, Mary G. Know Your Fats, p.114
  11. ^ "More Good News on Coconut Oil" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  12. ^ Enig, Mary G. Know Your Fats, p.194
  13. ^ "Lowfat Diets" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  14. ^ Dr Mary Enig and Sally Fallon Eat fat, Lose fat: lose weight and feel great with three delicious, science-based coconut diets, Plume, ISBN 0-45228-566-6
  15. ^ ON NATURAL COCONUT OIL FOR AIDS AND OTHER VIRAL INFECTIONS - an article by Mary Enig
  16. ^ "The Skinny on Fats" - Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  17. ^ "The Oiling of America" - Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, The Weston A. Price Foundation, 1999
  18. ^ "The Importance of Saturated Fats for Biological Functions" Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation -2004
  19. ^ "Digestion and Absorption of Food Fats" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  20. ^ "Cholesterol and Heart Disease-- A Phony Issue" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated
  21. ^ See the "Real milk is not homogenized" section
  22. ^ "Milk Homogenization & Heart Disease" - Mary Enig, The Weston A. Price Foundation - undated

[edit] Other articles by Mary Enig

[edit] Selected bibliography

  • Dr Mary Enig, Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol, (Bethesda Press, May 2000). ISBN 0-96781-260-7, ISBN-13 978-0967812601.
  • Sally Fallon, with Dr Mary Enig (contributing editor), Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, (NewTrends Publishing, October 1999). ISBN 0-96708-973-5, ISBN-13: 978-0967089737.
  • Dr Mary Enig, Trans fatty acids in the food supply: A comprehensive report covering 60 years of research, (Enig Associates, 1993).