Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol

Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol

by Mary G. Enig

Editorial Reviews
The role of fats and oils (technically called lipids) in human nutrition has received considerable attention in recent years. Newspapers and magazines are filled with articles about dietary fat, and radio and television talk shows feature spot announcements about fat. Grocery stores distribute fact sheets about dietary fat, consumer groups discuss the topic of fat in their newsletters, and many internet sites have pages on fats and oils. In addition, enthusiastic writers have produced whole books about fat.

But, almost all of these articles or books have been written by individuals who have no actual scientific training in fats and oils. And, unfortunately, too much of what they have written or said is either incorrect or unacceptably incomplete.

Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol by Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. provides the reader with a very broad but also in-depth discussion of the many aspects of dietary fats and oils in our foods and in our bodies. The reader will gain an understanding of the relationship between dietary fat intake and health and between dietary fat intake and disease. The reader will also be able to determine why some information in other books or articles may not be correct.

The book is written broad enough to appeal to the general public and with sufficient detail to serve as excellent reference to the nutritionist, dietitian and physician. The food/health journalist, who often serves as the intermediary between the researcher and the consumer, should find this book particularly useful. They all should find this book a useful and valuable source of factual information written by an internationally acknowledged expert in the subject. During the writing and editing of this book, individuals in all of the above categories were consulted for ideas, questions, and criticism.

An effort has been made to keep the terminology understandable and in accordance with that terminology used in the numerous reports written for consumers by government agencies. Occasionally, it has been necessary to use technical terms in order to avoid simplistic wording that would sacrifice accuracy. A General Glossary of those terms, common to fats and oils in foods and lipids in biological systems, is included at the end of this book for the reader.

Learn how much omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids people really need for optimum health.

Learn why the body makes saturated fatty acids and omega-9 fatty acids.

Learn why cholesterol is needed by the brain, how it is the body's repair substance, and how it is important for proper hormone production.

Learn which saturated fatty acids are conditionally essential.

Learn how the functional saturated fatty acids such as lauric acid promote health.

Learn how to select the best fats and oils for healthy ease-of-use.

Learn why this book -- written by an international expert -- is your definitive source for accurate information on fats, oils, cholesterol, and their nutrition.

About the Author
Dr. Mary G. Enig, a nutritionist/biochemist of international renown for her research on the nutritional aspects of fats and oils, is a consultant, clinician, and the Director of the Nutritional Sciences Division of Enig Associates, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr. Enig, a consultant on nutrition to individuals, industry, and state and federal governments, is a licensed practitioner in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She has served as a Contributing Editor of the scientific journal Clinical Nutrition and a Consulting Editor of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Dr. Enig has authored numerous journal publications, mainly on fats and oils research and nutrient/drug interactions, and is a well-known invited lecturer at scientific meetings and a popular interviewee on TV and radio shows about nutrition. She was an early and articulate critic of the use of trans fatty acids and advocated their inclusion in nutritional labeling; the scientific mainstream is now challenging the food product industry's use of trans-containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. She received her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a Fellow of The American College of Nutrition, a member of The American Society for Nutritional Sciences, and President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association.

A Home Run!, August 25, 2000
Reviewer: Virginia Worthington ScD, CNS from Washington, DC USA
At last an accurate book on fats and oils. KNOW YOUR FATS is both easy to read and comprehensive. The text covers basic fat facts and explores how fats and oils are used by food processors and how fats affect health. A well organized glossary and appendices provide additional reference materials. Overall, this book contains a wealth of information that is normally found only in scientific books costing many times more. It is a must-have book for health professionals, students and others with a serious interest in nutrition, and it is also a wonderful book for anyone interested in knowing more about fats and oils.

Facts About Fats At Last, April 17, 2001
Reviewer: Sally W Fallon from Washington, DC USA
For years Americans have been fed a diet of misinformation on the important subject of dietary fats and oils. This misinformation encourages the consumption of imitation foods based on highly processed vegetable oils and mitigates against the consumption of healthy traditional fats like butter, tallow and coconut oil. Although this misinformation often originates with the very food companies that profit from such misguidance, it also permeates the vast majority of scholarly and popular books on the subject, books that may seem objective and factual but which in fact bolster the trend towards processed foods.

Mary Enig's book is the exception. Both scholarly and readable, Know Your Fats sorts out fact from fiction in this controversial field. Enig is a highly qualified specialist in the subject of lipids, trained at the University of Maryland under pioneering researchers. She is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and President of the Maryland Nutritionists' Association. Most importantly, Enig was the first to speak out about the dangers of trans fatty acids in the food supply. She held her ground in spite of industry blackballing and the professional cold-shoulder that ensued. Today she enjoys the satisfaction of having been right.

Readers of Know Your Fats should be prepared for some surprises. They'll learn about the health benefits of saturated fats, the importance of cholesterol, dangers of polyunsaturates, flaws in the lipid theory of heart disease, what's left out of nutrition labeling, errors in the official data bases (used in many research projects) and the dangerous substitute ingredients that have quietly permeated the American food supply. Anyone interested in the subject of diet and health needs to obtain this book, read it thoroughly and refer to it often.

Rendering the complex understandable, August 20, 2000
Reviewer: Paul Leber, M.D. from Potomac, Maryland USA
Know Your Fats is a little gem that will be of interest to anyone seeking an understanding of the role that dietary fats play in human health and disease. Written in a succinct and jargon free style, Dr. Enig's book provides a comprehensive, yet understandable, overview of lipid biology, biochemistry and physiology. The book is literally crammed with attractive illustrations and useful tables that not only facilitate an understanding of the material covered, but serve as a source of information for future reference. Although written for the layman, the book will be of interest to scientists, physicians and health-care workers who seek a contemporary overview of this continually evolving field.

A little gem, August 22, 2000
Reviewer: Paul Leber, M.D. from Potomac, Maryland USA
Know Your Fats is a little gem that will be of interest to anyone seeking an understanding of the role that dietary fats play in human health and disease. Written in a succinct and jargon free style, Dr. Enig's book provides a comprehensive, yet understandable, overview of lipid biology, biochemistry and physiology. The book is literally crammed with attractive illustrations and useful tables that not only facilitate an understanding of the material covered, but serve as a source of information for future reference. Although written for the layman, the book will be of interest to scientists, physicians and health-care workers who seek a contemporary overview of this continually evolving field.

Will the real fats please stand?, December 27, 2000
Reviewer: Jerry Cott from College Park, MD USA
The role of fats and oils in human health has received enormous attention in recent years. Popular media are filled with articles about dietary fat, and what we should and should not be eating. Medical organizations such as the American Heart Association have recently published new guidelines concerning new dietary recommendations with an increased emphasis on omega-3 oils - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/4304635102.

While this book is primarily for the layman, it provides a sufficient detailed overview of lipid biology, biochemistry and physiology that professional readers will find it very useful. Journalists who write about these health areas should be especially encouraged to study it. Indeed, anyone seeking an understanding of the role that dietary fats play in human health and disease should give this a read. The style is succinct and jargon free, with many illustrations and useful tables that not only facilitate an understanding of the material covered, but serve as a source of information for future reference. It provides an in-depth discussion of the many facts and fantasies regarding dietary fats and oils. A General Glossary of terms, common to fats and oils in foods and lipids in biological systems, is included at the end of the book.

A distinctive aspect of the book is the challenge to the scientific community which she feels is partly responsible for propagating many of our current misunderstanding regarding the health risks and benefits of various dietary fats. Dr. Enig was an early and outspoken critic of the use of trans fatty acids and has advocated their inclusion in nutritional labeling, so that we can more easily avoid them. In addition to her views on partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, she is critical of other mainstream beliefs, including the decision to vilify tropical oils many years ago. She feels that their virtual exclusion from our current diet has been detrimental to our health. In her support of including these and other saturated fats in our diet, such as those in dairy products, she places herself outside the conventional establishment. The challenges she presents to the food industry and the scientific community should help prevent complacency in this important and evolving arena.