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Mary G. Enig | |
---|---|
Born | 1931 |
Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park |
Awards | Master of the American College of Nutrition |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Nutrition |
Institutions | Weston A. Price Foundation |
Mary Gertrude Enig, PhD (born 1931) is a nutritionist and researcher known for her unconventional positions on the role fats play in diet and health. Enig was an early opposer of trans fats, years before their dangers were widely accepted. She has continued to promote skepticism towards the scientific consensus that high saturated fat diets lead to heart disease, while she advocates for a diet based in whole foods and rich in certain saturated fats, such as those found in coconut oil and butter.
Academic and professional history
Enig attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), receiving an MS, and later a PhD in Nutritional Sciences in 1984. She was a faculty research associate at UMCP with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1984 through 1991. While in graduate school and later as a research associate, Enig participated in biochemical research on lipids. She has published scientific papers on food fats and oils and is a former editor of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
Enig is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. She was a Licensed Nutritionist in Maryland from May 1988 to October 2008.
Enig is the co-founder, vice president, and board-member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), started in 1999 to promote nutrition and health advice based on the work of 20th century dentist and researcher Weston A. Price.
Dietary views
Saturated fats
Enig disputes the lipid hypothesis, which postulates that consumption of saturated fats contributes to heart disease.
Her chapter in the book Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An evaluation by scientists, was reviewed in the New England Journal of Medicine which noted that while she provided an appropriate discussion of trans fats in diet, she misrepresented the medical literature on the connection between diet and coronary disease, and that she wrote with an inflammatory tone that was unjustified. Enig disputed the review in a letter to the journal.
Coconut oil
Enig has conducted and published original research into the properties of coconut oil and is a vocal advocate for its consumption, going against the widely held consensus that due to coconut oil's high saturated fat content, its use should be minimized or avoided.
Enig's theory is that lauric acid, the main acid in coconut oil is the precursor to monolaurin, a lipid with antimicrobial properties, and that unprocessed coconut oil could be effective in the treatment of viral infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Selected works
Books
- Mary Enig, Trans fatty acids in the food supply: A comprehensive report covering 60 years of research, (Enig Associates, 1993).
- 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 978-0967089737.
- 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 978-0967812601.
- Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, Eat Fat Lose Fat – The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats, (Plume, March 28, 2006). ISBN 0452285666, ISBN 978-0452285668.
Chapter
- Mary Enig, "Diet, serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease", in Mann GV (ed): Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An evaluation by scientists. (Janus Publishing, London, 1993). pp 36-60. ISBN 1857560728.
Journal articles
- Enig, MG; Munn, RJ; Keeney, M. (1978). "Dietary fat and cancer trends--a critique". Federation proceedings. 37 (9): 2215–20. PMID 566221.
- Enig, MG; Pallansch, LA; Sampugna, J; Keeney, M. (1983). "Fatty acid composition of the fat in selected food items with emphasis on trans components". Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society. 60: 1788. doi:10.1007/BF02680357.
- Enig, MG; Budowski, P; Blondheim, SH (1984). "Trans-unsaturated fatty acids in margarines and human subcutaneous fat in Israel". Human nutrition. Clinical nutrition. 38 (3): 223–30. PMID 6086551.
- Enig, MG; Atal, S; Keeney, M; Sampugna, J (1990). "Isomeric trans fatty acids in the U.S. diet". Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 9 (5): 471–86. PMID 2258534.
- Lieberman, Shari; Enig, Mary G.; Preuss, Harry G. (2006). "A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents". Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 12 (6): 310–314. doi:10.1089/act.2006.12.310.
See also
References
- Bowden, Jonny. (2007). The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth – The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why. Gloucester, MA: Fair Winds Press. pp. 108, 167, 177, 301, 311. ISBN 1592332285.
- Burros, Marian. (October 7, 1992). Now What? U.S. Study Says Margarine May Be Harmful. The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- Eauclaire, Sally. "Soy backlash". Vegetarian Times.
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ignored (help) - "Verification Page". Maryland Board of Dietetic Practice.
- "Weston A Price Foundation Board of Directors".
- Ravnskov U, Allen C, Atrens D, Enig MG, Groves B, Kauffman JM, Kroneld R, Rosch PJ, Rosenman R, Werkö L, Nielsen JV, Wilske J, Worm N. (February 22, 2002). Studies of dietary fat and heart disease. Science 295 (5559): 1464-6. doi:10.1126/science.295.5559.1464c PMID 11859893.
- Stone, Neil J. (March 31, 1994). Book Review – Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An Evaluation by Scientists. New England Journal of Medicine 330 (9): 943–944.
- Enig MG. (September 1, 1994). More on Coronary heart disease: the dietary sense and nonsense. New England Journal of Medicine 331 (9): 615. PMID 8047097.
- Trimming the Fats. (December 10, 2003). The Washington Post.
- Webb, Densie. (September 5, 1990). Processed oils rival butter in raising cholesterol. Wilmington Morning Star. N.Y. Times News Service.
- Enig, Mary (May 2000). Know Your Fats. Bethesda Press. p. 114. ISBN 0-96781-260-7.
- Enig, Mary (September 1995). "Health and nutritional benefits from coconut oil and its advantages over competing oils" (PDF). Indian Coconut Journal. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- Garin: Claims on health benefits of VCO need proof The Philippine Star. 12 Sept 2010.
- Research on coconuts for Aids urged, The Nation, 29 Dec 29 1997.
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