On Wed, 31 Oct 2001 12:38:04 -0400, matesz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Studies and evidience I have I read indicate that
>when cholesterol levels are lowered by increasing PUFA intake (exchaning
>saturated fat with polyunsaturated vegetable oils), risk of colon cancer
>increases drammatically.  I don't have the refs handy.

Rachel,
if you are making such a general statement I'd urge you to provide the refs.

I suspect - I'm quite shure - the tests you thought of was replacing the
SFA by ordinary omega-6 PUFAs (like safflor oil, sunflower etc.).

This indicates nothing more as we already know: all that omega-6 oil with
little or no omega-3 oil promotes cancer (and CHD and allergies too).

What a natural and healthy fat composition is, you just have to analyze
which kind of fat there is in ordinary food plants and in wild game.
Thats roughly 1/3 SFA 1/3 Mufa and 1/3 PUFA, while the omega-6 part of the
pufa normally doesn't go below a ratio 1:6 to omega-3's.
The exception are only some nuts and other fatty plant seeds
(these are often high in w-6).

Still cholesterol levels in the blood are the strongest *indicator* for
heart disease to come. These are not directly related to colesterol intake
(most is body made).
But cholesterol levels *are* strongly related to intake of animal fat.
Because this usually is from farmed animals and very unfavourable
in it's composition,
possiply suppressing most PUFA activity, both w-3 and w-6.
I think the real culprit for the CHD risks is not the cholesterol
but the unfavourable fat composition *usually* associated with it.

We could see the difference if once a study was made with high cholesterol
wild game fat (as far as such would be available).
Or with nature-like fat compositions (maybe with some flax together with
the sunflower oil, to reach 1/3 of total fat).

regards, Amadeus