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Mary Gertrude Enig, Ph.D. (born 1931) is a nutritionist who reviews research on and writes articles about the nutritional aspects of fats. Enig attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UCMP), receiving an M.S. in (year?) and a Ph.D in Nutritional Sciences in 1984. She has been a Licensed Nutritionist in Maryland since May 1988.[1]
Enig is a Fellow of The American College of Nutrition (presented with its "Mastership Award" in 2003),[2] a member of The American Society for Nutritional Sciences[3] and a member of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS).[4]
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Enig is the co-founder, Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF).[5] Prior to the founding of the WAPF in 1999, Enig worked as a nutritional consultant for individuals, industry and governments worldwide through Enig Associates, Inc., a small, scientific/engineering firm.[6] She was a faculty research associate at UMCP with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1984 through 1991.[citation needed]
While in graduate school and later as a research associate, Enig participated in biochemical research on lipids and contributed to several scientific articles published by UMCP research teams.
Much of Enig's dietary advice is in opposition to the consensus of the medical and scientific communities. She admits that she is "on the fringe" in her nutritional views and advice.[7]
Enig is a vocal advocate for dietary consumption of coconut oil, a highly saturated fat, and has written multiple articles regarding the health benefits she claims it has. [8][9][10][11] She claims Lauric acid, the main acid in coconut oil, "has antimicrobial properties and is the precursor to monolaurin, the antimicrobial lipid." [12] She also states that lauric acid "gives human milk its major antimicrobial properties, and it may be a conditionally essential fatty acid [13] since it cannot be made by mammals other than the lactating female and must be obtained from the diet."[14]
Enig is critical of lowfat diets for weight loss and states in summary: "Perhaps the best way to lose unwanted weight (excess weight in the form of fat, that is) is to change the type of fat in the diet to the type of fat found in the coconut." [15] In collaboration with Sally Fallon, co-founder of the WAPF, Enig wrote a book about coconut-based diets for weight loss.[16]
Enig also claims that natural coconut oil may be effective in the treatment of AIDS and other viral infections. [17]
Enig disputes the Lipid hypothesis which argues that consumption of saturated fats contribute to heart disease[18] and claims that big business and other powerful vested interests played a significant role in the negative portrayals of saturated fats. [19]
She claims that an (unspecified) study conducted during the early 1970s by Canadian scientists on rapeseed and canola oil, concluded that at least 25% of fat in the diet should be in the form of saturated fat.[20].
Enig claims that the "maintenance of a healthy digestive system requires input from lipids, which include molecules such as cholesterol, appropriate saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and other lesser known components such as glycosphingolipids."[21]
Enig argues that cholesterol does not contribute to heart disease and calls it a "phony issue." She goes on to say that "New research continues to show that the saturated fats are not a problem, that the trans fatty acids found in partially hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils really are a problem, and that the lack of appropriate balance in the diet of the polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is also a problem."[22]
Enig's organization, the WAPF, is an advocate of raw milk and claims that "homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease." [23] Extensive research conducted by Danish scientist Uffe Ravnskov and supported by such experts as Ron Schmidt, MD, indicate a causal relationship between homogenization and heart disease. Recent research likewise suggests a relationship.