Dr. Mary Enig

Photo of Mary Enig from Weston A. Price Foundation

Mary G. Enig (1931-2014) is known for her research and views on fats—saturated fats and trans fats in particular and her advocacy of a whole foods diet.  Her views for a long time were shunned but have increasingly gained adherence.

A biochemist and nutritionist Mary Enig received her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a member of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, a Master of the American College of Nutrition and president of the Maryland Nutritionists Association.  Dr. Enig is a former contributing editor of the scientific journal Clinical Nutrition and consulting editor of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. As a lipids expert she has been consulted by governments both domestic and foreign and has been mentioned in publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post among others.

Books 

• Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol  

with Sally Fallon Morell:

• Nourishing Traditions 
• Eat Fat, Lose Fat

 
Websites

She is a co-founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation which hosts many of her essays and papers and a member of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS).

Saturated Fats
For many years Dr. Mary Enig's research and views on the relative merits of saturated fat (like those found in butter and coconut oil) in relation to other kinds of fat and skepticism towards the contribution of cholesterol to disease fell into disfavor with the rise in popularity of the lipid hypothesis and diet-heart hypothesis and their acceptance by major medical organizations and institutions. This has caused her to adopt an often strident tone in expressing her views that has been used against her at times. An example is the The New England Journal of Medicine review by Dr. Neil J.Stone of the book Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense edited by Dr. George V. Mann in which Dr. Enig contributed a chapter, a review to which Dr. Enig gave a reply. Many years later Dr. Stone was the head of a committee involved in controversial guidelines recommending the prescription of statins to more people.  The field remains controversial with recent evidence on saturated fats increasingly tending to support Dr. Enig's position while institutions stick with their previous recommendations. 

Trans Fats
A reevaluation of saturated fats would not be the first instance Dr. Enig's peers in the medical community would be revising their views to more closely resemble hers. As a pioneering lipids researcher she has also been among the earliest experts warning about the potential dangers of trans fats.  These dangers have since been widely recognized resulting in trans fats increasingly being removed from food products.  It was an issue to which she played a notable role.  She contributed valuable data to widely cited seminal scientific papers on the topic by the likes of Walter Willett et al.  She was also a consultant in the public information campaign waged by Joseph Stephens in his lawsuit against Oreo cookies because of their trans fat content. The lawsuit was eventually dropped when the makers of Oreo cookies announced they would reformulate the recipe to contain less trans fats.

The Oiling of America
Mary Enig is a witness to the backstage dealing involved in coming up with nutritional policy and guidelines.  In her article "The Oiling of America" she details the influence wielded by the food industry in scientific research and the intimidation tactics used.  She is a vocal critic of unsaturated vegetable seed oils like soybean oil and canola.

Other Food Issues
This record in combination with her advocacy of traditional whole foods like raw milk and grass-fed meat has made her a champion of the unprocessed natural foods movement, but keep her a controversial figure. As an advocate of raw milk and critic of soy products she is still well in the minority.

Oil Blend
A cooking oil mixture Mary Enig suggests in her book Eat Fat Lose Fat that is suitable for salads and mayonnaise and cooking at low heat is the following

1 cup coconut oil
1 cup cold-pressed sesame oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

It combines a cooking oil predominantly composed of saturated fats with one made up mainly of polyunsaturated fats and another that is mostly monounsaturated. Using less processed virgin oils means they have more polyphenols and thus retain more antioxidant properties.  

Selected Works

• Enig, Mary. (1993). "Diet, serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease". In Mann, GV (ed): Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An evaluation by scientists. London: Janus Publishing. pp 36–60. ISBN 1857560728.
• Enig, MG; Munn, RJ; Keeney, M. (1978). "Dietary fat and cancer trends--a critique". Federation proceedings 37 (9): 2215–20. PMID 566221.
• Enig, MG; Pallansch, LA; Sampugna, J; Keeney, M. (1983). "Fatty acid composition of the fat in selected food items with emphasis on trans components". Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society 60 (10): 1788. doi:10.1007/BF02680357.
• Enig, MG. (1984). Modification of Membrane Lipid Composition and Mixed-Function Oxidases in Mouse Liver Microsomes by Dietary Trans Fatty Acids. Doctoral Dissertation for the University of Maryland.
• Enig, MG; Budowski, P; Blondheim, SH. (1984). "Trans-unsaturated fatty acids in margarines and human subcutaneous fat in Israel". Human nutrition. Clinical nutrition 38 (3): 223–30. PMID 6086551.
• Enig, MG; Atal, S; Keeney, M; Sampugna, J. (1990). "Isomeric trans fatty acids in the U.S. diet". Journal of the American College of Nutrition 9 (5): 471–86. PMID 2258534.
• Enig, Mary. (1995). Trans Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: A Comprehensive Report Covering 60 Years of Research.
• Enig, Mary. (April 25, 1996). "A New Look at Coconut Oil – Health and Nutritional Benefits from Coconut Oil: An Important Functional Food for the 21st Century".  Presented at the AVOC Lauric Oils Symposium, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam.
• Enig, Mary and Sally Fallon. (1999). "The Skinny on Fats". Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. New Trends.
• Enig, Mary and Sally Fallon. (2000). "The Oiling of America". The Weston A. Price Foundation. 
• Lieberman, Shari; Enig, Mary G.; Preuss, Harry G. (2006). "A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents". Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310–314. doi:10.1089/act.2006.12.310.

More Information

• Allyn, Karen. (2006). Interview with Mary Enig. Forward Motion. Washington, DC.
• Passwater, Richard A. (November 1993 – January 1994). Health Risks from Processed Foods and Trans Fats. Interview with Dr. Mary Enig. Whole Foods Magazine.
• Schimke, David. (January – February 2004). Big Fat Controversy. experiencelife.com.
• Teicholz, Nina. (June 2004). Heart Breaker. Gourmet.