>The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ....
 >They still think Animal Fats are Bad......

Yesterday I was reading ni Udo Erasmus, Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, in
his chapter in Meats (pp. 223-226).  He says that the problem with animal
fats is that our animals are way too fatty and he had tables comparing
domesticated to wil animals where the fat content, as in a pig, changes from
38% domesticated to 1.3% wild.  Because of the high content of non-essential
fatty acids (e.g domestic cattle contain 80% non-essential fatty acids), the
small amount of EFA's (essential fatty acids) that we get from these sources
are not utilized.  He cites studies showing that there is a critical ratio
of oleic acid (OA) to EFA of 95% to 5% which means that large quantities of
non-essential fatty acids compete successfully for enzyme attention and
crowd out the LA from getting this enzyme attention.  Beef fat is at this
critical ratio; pigs are a bit lower as their fat has more LA.  He advises
consumers to push for lean meats -- 3-5% fats.

Now we all know about Pottenger's work with raw meat and dairy as well as
Weston Price's studies of cultures eating natural diets with lots of raw
animal products, but these studies were done in the early 20th century when
animals were much leaner than they are today, and so perhaps the enzymes
were in the right balance to digest a small amount of fat, which in any
case, was higher in EFA's than even the organic beef and pork that we get,
except maybe for a few 100% grazed animals.

So now my question for Gregg and anyone else: Are there any more recent
scientific studies showing that consumption of raw animal fats has a
different effect on the body (e.g. that the fats either don't function as
saturated fats or don't make sticky platelets?)

I'm not talking about one person's clinical experience, such as Aajonus, but
something that makes sense of the difference between raw and cooked
saturated fats and the bodies processing of raw saturated fats.

Erasums recommends eating raw foods, and cites the 1950's study on
leucocytosis that was recently posted as evidence that one should eat raw
before or with any cooked foods.  But he doesn't say anything specifically
about raw animal fats as he seems to think all animal fats should be
consumed in moderation to keep the proper ratio of W-3 and W-6 EFA's to
W-9's and saturated fatty acids.

--N.B.  I eat raw dairy, maybe too much cheese for that balance; and raw
fish; and as far as eggs go I lightly cook the whites and eat the yolk as
runny as possible only because I'm sort of squeamish (though today I liked
the bowl when I scrambled some eggs and it actually tasted good), and when I
eat red meat it is very rare, still cold in the center, but I am not totally
raw as I cook rabbit, eat a small amount of breads and grains, and
occasionally a cooked vegetable, and once in a while I indulge in a cookie
or two.

Janis Bell ([log in to unmask])
Associate professor, Kenyon College, on leave
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