> > Carol:
> > I believe that the levels of vegetable oils that are best for humans
> > can be easily ingested in the form of whole foods.  So many people are
> > so frightened of saturated fat and cholesterol that they either go way
> > overboard on the vegetable oils, or they try to cut out fat entirely.
>
> Jean-Louis Tu:
> I agree, but some people like, or are used to vegetable oils
> in their salads.

I like salad without dressing.  Most folks I know who use vegetable
oil in salads use it for the way it helps to stick spices etc. to
the veggies.  I've met very few who use naked oil, and those who do
often do it because they believe it's good for them, not because
they like the taste that much.

> Just using cold-pressed oils _instead_ of hydrogenated oil is
> already a healthful practice.

Might be just the lesser of two evils.

> Two tablespoons of olive oil contain as much fat as one avocado, so
> there is no need to pour huge amounts on your salad or to drink
> directly from the bottle :-)
>
> The low death rate from CHD in France (so-called "French paradox"),
> which is about twice lower than in the US or in North European
> countries, is attributed to the consumption of red wine and of olive
> oil

By some.  It is attributed to other things by others.

> (in fact, olive oil is consumed mostly in Southern France).
>
> > Personally, I don't think the evidence that animal fats cause
> > coronary heart disease is all that convincing.
>
> There has been a debate on the Paleodiet listgroup
> <http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/paleodiet.html>
> between Loren Cordain and Sally Fallon and Mary Enig on whether
> saturated fats cause CHD or not. Both parties finally agreed to
> disagree. See also the page "The Cholesterol
> Myths" <http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-25775/>.

Thanks.  I'll take a look.

> AFAIK, other possible factors than saturated fat include:
>  -low ratio omega 3/omega 6 fatty acids in the modern diet, due to the
>   fact that modern animals are grain-fed instead of grass-fed,
>  -transfatty acids,
>  -refined carbohydrates (white bread, white sugar, morning cereals...),
>  -lack of exercise.

No argument there.

> > If I had to choose right now, I'd say that it looks like sugar and
> > homogenized milk are the biggest baddies.
>
> What is the effect of homogenization on milk and why does it cause CHD?

If you research homogenization, xanthine oxidase, and plasmalogen,
you should find more info than I could do justice here.  If you don't,
let me know.

:)
Carol