On Fri, 12 Sep 1997, Don Wiss wrote:

> In Ron Hoggan's article:
>
> Hoggan R, "Considering Wheat, Rye, and Barley Proteins as Aids to
> Carcinogens" _Medical Hypotheses_ 1997; 49(3): 285-288
>
> Ron postulates that cereal grains effect the immune system, in part, by
> downregulating the activation of natural killer cell activity, thus
> reducing or eliminating the body's first line of defence against malignancy.

I also would be very interested in amplification of something
that Ron stated in this forum recently, namely that cereal grains
actually *cause* reduced stomach acid levels, by provoking a
histamine reaction (I think I have that right).

> Then in Ray Peat's article "Toxicity of Unsaturated Oils", which I posted
> the URL of yesterday and recommended that people read, he argues that
> unsaturated fats weaken the immune system. It includes this quote
> "vegetable oil is emulsified with water for intravenous injection, are now
> marketed specifically for the purpose of suppressing immunity in patients
> who have had organ transplants."

I have read that soybean oil specifically is used for this
purpose.  On the other hand, I don't know how much parity there
is between dietary ingestion of an oil and use of an intravenous
emulsion.  And his further point is that the fat of feedlot
animals is *more* unsaturated than it would otherwise be.  This
is why he claims that lard can no longer be considered a
saturated fat.

I find Ray Peat's material very thought-provoking, but he
frustratingly seldom ties specific claims to specific references,
so it's hard to know where to look to see where he's getting some
of this stuff from.  For example, using Medline I have not been
able to find much corroboration of the claims he makes for
coconut oil.  Still, I find these essays interesting enough that
I went ahead and subscribed to his newsletter.

Todd Moody
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