This article was originally titled ‘Fat, the good the bad and the ugly’ which would have really easy to cover if I’d gone with the majority of information written on the subject, but instead I’ve decided to go back in time and find out how our diets have changed and what effect on our bodies it has had and let you decide what is good, bad and ugly for yourselves. I managed to locate a PHD study written by Dr. Mary G. Enig, PhD. From which I’ve taken key points and broken them down in point form for ease of reading. To read the full study, go to: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html  Up until around 1920 clogged arteries, heart disease and diabetes were a medical rarity and the amount of saturated fat consumption from animal products was high.During the next forty years saturated fat consumption lowered and the incidence of coronary heart disease rose dramatically, and by the mid 1950’s heart disease was the leading cause of death among Americans. Today heart disease causes at least 40% of all US deaths. To reiterate this point, heart disease rose as saturated fat consumption dramatically lowered. From 1910 to 1970, the proportion of traditional animal fat in the American diet declined from 83% to 62%, and butter consumption plummeted from 18 pounds per person per year to 4. During the past 80 years, dietary cholesterol intake has increased only 1%. During the same period the percentage of dietary vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortening and refined oils increased about 400% while the consumption of sugar and processed foods increased about 60%.A Medical Research Council survey showed that men eating butter ran half the risk of developing heart disease as those using margarine.Mother's milk provides a higher proportion of cholesterol than almost any other food. It also contains over 50% of its calories as fat, much of it saturated fat. Both cholesterol and saturated fat are essential for growth in babies and children, especially the development of the brain.The following are results of surveys of traditional populations. 1.        Jews when they lived in Yemen – consumed a highly fatty diet solely of animal origin and suffered very little heart disease or diabetes. They also consumed no refined sugar. Yemenite Jews living in Israel, whose diets contained margarine and vegetable oils, suffered high levels of both diseases. Refined sugar consumption = 25-30% of total carbohydrate intake.2.        People in Northern India when compared with Southern Indians consume 17 times more animal fat but have an incidence of coronary heart disease 7 times lower.3.        The Masai and kindred tribes of Africa – subsist largely on milk, blood and beef. They are free from coronary heart disease and have excellent blood cholesterol levels. 4.        Eskimos eat liberally of animal fats from fish and marine animals. On their native diet they are free of disease and exceptionally hardy.5.        An extensive study of diet and disease patterns in China found that the region in which the populace consumes large amounts of whole milk had half the rate of heart disease as several districts in which only small amounts of animal products are consumed.6.        Several Mediterranean societies have low rates of heart disease even though fat-including highly saturated fat from lamb, sausage and goat cheese-comprises up to 70% of their caloric intake. 7.        A study of Puerto Ricans revealed that although they consume large amounts of animal fat, they have a very low incidence of colon and breast cancer.8.        A study of the long-lived inhabitants of Soviet Georgia revealed that those who eat the most fatty meat live the longest.9.        In Okinawa, where the average life span for women is 84 years-longer than in Japan-the inhabitants eat generous amounts of pork and seafood and do all their cooking in lard.None of these studies is mentioned by those urging restriction of saturated fats. The relative good health of the Japanese, who have the longest life span of any nation in the world, is generally attributed to a low fat diet. Although the Japanese eat few dairy fats, the notion that their diet is low in fat is a myth; rather, it contains moderate amounts of animal fats from eggs, pork, chicken, beef, seafood and organ meats. The Japanese probably consume more cholesterol than most Americans. What they do not consume is a lot of vegetable oil, white flour or processed food (although they do eat white rice.) The life span of the Japanese has increased since World War II with an increase in animal fat and protein in the diet.The Swiss live almost as long on one of the fattiest diets in the world. Tied for third in the longevity stakes are Austria and Greece-both with high-fat diets. As a final example, let us consider the French. Anyone who has eaten his way across France has observed that the French diet is just loaded with saturated fats in the form of butter, eggs, cheese, cream, liver, meats and rich patés. Yet the French have a lower rate of coronary heart disease than many other western countries. In the United States, 315 of every 100,000 middle-aged men die of heart attacks each year; in France the rate is 145 per 100,000. In the Gascony region, where goose and duck liver form a staple of the diet, this rate is a remarkably low 80 per 100,000.This phenomenon has recently gained international attention as the French Paradox. (The French do suffer from many degenerative diseases, however. They eat large amounts of sugar and white flour and in recent years have succumbed to the timesaving temptations of processed foods.)Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been shown to contribute to a large number of disease conditions including increased cancer and heart disease; immune system dysfunction; damage to the liver, reproductive organs and lungs; digestive disorders; depressed learning ability; impaired growth; and weight gain.One reason the polyunsaturates cause so many health problems is that they tend to become oxidized or rancid when subjected to heat, oxygen and moisture as in cooking and processing. They have been characterized as "marauders" in the body for they attack cell membranes and red blood cells and cause damage in DNA/RNA strands, thus triggering mutations in tissue, blood vessels and skin. Free radical damage to the skin causes wrinkles and premature aging; free radical damage to the tissues and organs sets the stage for tumors; free radical damage in the blood vessels initiates the buildup of plaque. Is it any wonder that tests and studies have repeatedly shown a high correlation between cancer and heart disease with the consumption of polyunsaturates? New evidence links exposure to free radicals with premature aging, with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and with Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's and cataracts.

Too Much Omega-6

Problems associated with an excess of polyunsaturates are exacerbated by the fact that most polyunsaturates in commercial vegetable oils are in the form of double unsaturated omega-6 linoleic acid, with very little of vital triple unsaturated omega-3 linolenic acid. Recent research has revealed that too much omega-6 in the diet creates an imbalance that can result in increased tendency to form blood clots, inflammation, high blood pressure, irritation of the digestive tract, depressed immune function, sterility, cell proliferation, cancer and weight gain.

Too Little Omega-3

A number of researchers have argued that the American diet is deficient in unsaturated omega-3 linolenic acid. Deficiencies have been associated with asthma, heart disease and learning deficiencies. Most commercial vegetable oils contain very little omega-3 linolenic acid and large amounts of the omega-6 linoleic acid. In addition, modern agricultural and industrial practices have reduced the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in commercially available vegetables, eggs, fish and meat. For example, organic eggs from hens allowed to feed on insects and green plants can contain omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the beneficial ratio of approximately one-to-one; but commercial supermarket eggs can contain as much as nineteen times more omega-6 than omega-3! Nathan Pritikin, well known for his low-fat diet, soon found that the fat-free diet presented many problems, not the least of which was the fact that people just could not stay on it. Those who possessed enough will power to remain fat-free for any length of time developed a variety of health problems including low energy, difficulty in concentration, depression, weight gain and mineral deficiencies. Pritikin may have saved himself from heart disease but his lowfat diet did not spare him from cancer. He died, in the prime of life, of suicide when he realized that his Spartan regime was not curing his leukemia. We shouldn't have to die of either heart disease or cancer-or consume a diet that makes us depressed.