Ancel B. Keys' critique of "Diet and coronary thrombosis. Hypothesis and fact, by John Yudkin. The Lancet, 1957."

Ancel B. Keys has come in for a lot of flak recently over alleged "cherry-picking" of data for his 6/7 Countries studies. Here's Keys' critique:- "SUCROSE IN THE DIET AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE" of Dr. John Yudkin's "15 Countries" article.

Keys accuses Yudkin of bias, cherry-picking countries that fit his own hypothesis.

Here are some plots from Keys' 11 Countries article.

5-Year CHD cases/1,000 men vs Sucrose %E.

5-Year CHD cases/1,000 men vs Sat Fats %E.

Sucrose %E vs Sat Fats %E.

So there you have it.

Saturated fats Saturated fats Saturated fats.

George Henderson left the following comment. I think that the information in it deserves a bigger audience.

Saturated fats seem to get the blame for everything nowadays. "Saturated fats clogged my arteries". "Saturated fats gave me cancer". "Saturated fats stole my job". O.K, I've done that joke before.

There are saturated fats, there are saturated fats, there are saturated fats, there are saturated fats, there are saturated fats and there are saturated fats. Saturated fats are an ester of Glycerol (a 3-carbon alcohol) and three saturated fatty acids (SFA's). There are roughly six categories of SFA's.

1) Short chain SFA's such as Acetic acid, Propionic acid, Butyric acid (found in butter and also what soluble fibre ferments into in the colon) and Caproic acid.
2) Medium chain SFA's such as Caprylic acid, Capric acid, Lauric acid and Myristic acid.
3) Long chain SFA's such as Stearic acid.
4) SFA's behaving like Palmitic acid.
5) Odd chain SFA's such as Pentadecylic acid and Margaric acid.
6) Very long chain SFA's such as Behenic acid.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_saturated_fatty_acids

In foods, the above SFA's are associated with different things.
1) and 2) don't get associated with much polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA's), e.g. dairy and tropical nuts.
3) and 4) are more likely to be associated with long-chain PUFA's, e.g. meats, poultry, temperate nuts.
5) is associated with CLA and not much PUFA's, e.g. dairy from grass-fed animals.

See also Siri-Tarino et al, Forests & Trees and "Eureka!" moments and Chowdhury et al, More forests & more trees and more "Eureka!" moments with cheese.

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!

Coconut Oil is the No. 1 most stable oil for cooking at high temperatures.

What’s in coconut oil?

According to McCance and Widdowson's “The Composition of Foods”, the fatty acid composition of coconut oil is as follows:-
Name(:0=sat, :1=mono, :2=poly, n6=omega-6) Quantity (%)
Caprylic Acid (C8:0)___________________________7.5
Capric Acid (C10:0)____________________________7.1
Lauric Acid (C12:0)___________________________47.7
Myristic Acid (C14:0)_________________________15.8
Palmitic Acid (C16:0)__________________________9.0
Stearic Acid (C18:0)___________________________2.4
Arachidic Acid (C20:0)_________________________1.0
Palmitoleic Acid (C16:1)_______________________0.4
Oleic Acid (C18:1)_____________________________6.6
Linoleic Acid (C18:2 n6)_______________________1.8

Won’t all that saturated fat give me a heart attack?

Whether or not you get coronary heart disease depends on your whole diet. According to https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/34/8/1552/4812510 , Pukapukans got 26% (male) to 30% (female) of their total Calories from saturated fats. Tokelauans got 47% (male) to 49% (female) of their total Calories from saturated fats. Tokelauans had total serum cholesterol 35-40mg/dL (0.9- 1.03mmol/L) higher than Pukapukans.

As Tokelauans were getting about seven times more energy from saturated fats than the 7% that current healthy eating guidelines recommend, they must have been dropping like flies from coronary heart disease or strokes, right? Wrong.

“Vascular disease is uncommon is both populations and there is no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having a harmful effect in these populations.” 

How come? Well, if you look at the rest of the Tokelauans’ diet, you’ll see virtually no refined sugar or cereal products. Basically, they weren’t eating any junk. When Tokelauans migrated to New Zealand, their sat fat intake fell to ~41% of total calories, but as they were eating more refined carbs & sugar, their lipid profile got worse.

What are the benefits of coconut oil?

Medium-chain fatty acids are metabolised rapidly without passing through the liver and they provide a quick source of energy for muscles. There is some evidence that medium-chain fatty acids stimulate the thyroid gland to secrete more T4 & T3 which can be an aid when cutting. There is also some evidence that Lauric Acid has anti-bacterial & anti-viral properties. Coconut oil is also good for the skin when rubbed in.

Where can I buy coconut oil?

Don’t buy cheap coconut oil. It’s almost certainly Refined, Bleached & Deodorised, which detracts from its health benefits. The best coconut oils are Organic Virgin Oils. Some good on-line sources are:-

http://www.fresh-coconut.com/  and https://www.revital.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Coconut+Oil