>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 alternate e-mail: [log in to unmask]