Mary Gertrude Enig (née Dracon; July 13, 1931 – September 8, 2014) was a nutritionist and researcher known for her unconventional positions on the role

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

s play in diet and health. She disputed the medical consensus that diets high in saturated fats contribute to development of heart disease, while she advocated for a

low-carbohydrate Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein (nutrient), pr ...

high-fat diet, rich in animal fats and

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

."Before You Take the Vegetarian Vow"
nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024."Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Three Delicious, Science-Based Coconut Diets"
publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024. Along with Sally Fallon, Enig co-founded the

Weston A. Price Foundation The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), co-founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon (Morell) and nutritionist Mary G. Enig, is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through educati ...

(WAPF) in 1999. Enig died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at the age of 83.

Career

Enig attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) where she received a MS and later a PhD in Nutritional Sciences in 1984.Passwater, Richard A. (November 1993 – January 1994)
Health Risks from Processed Foods and Trans Fats
Interview with Dr. Mary Enig. ''Whole Foods Magazine''. From 1984 through 1991 she was a faculty research associate at UMD with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry where she participated in biochemical research on lipids. Enig was a Licensed Nutritionist in Maryland from May 1988 to October 2008. She was a Master of the American College of Nutrition. and was a former editor of the ''

Journal of the American College of Nutrition The American Nutrition Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization established to encourage the scientific investigation of nutrition and metabolism. The ANA publishes the ''Journal of the American Nutrition Association'' ...

'' where she published articles on food fats and oils. Enig was a board member and vice-president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) which she co-founded with Sally Fallon in 1999 to promote nutrition and health advice based on the work of early 20th century

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

and researcher

Weston A. Price Weston Andrew Valleau Price (September 6, 1870 – January 23, 1948) was a Canadian dentist known primarily for his theories on the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health. He founded the research institute National Den ...

Dietary views

Enig, a member of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS), disputed the widely accepted view in the scientific community that consumption of saturated fats contributes to heart disease. Her chapter in the book ''Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An evaluation by scientists'' was reviewed in the '' New England Journal of Medicine'', which noted that while she provided an appropriate discussion of trans fats in diet, she did not accurately depict the medical literature on the connection between diet and coronary disease, and that she wrote with an inflammatory tone that was unjustified. Enig responded in a letter published in the journal. Enig criticized

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

and low-fat diets. She argued against medical consensus by stating, "heart disease has been correlated most consistently with consumption of sugar and an excess in polyunsaturated oils". She denied studies linking heart disease to red meat consumption. She opposed the use of

processed food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...

s such as pasteurized milk, sugar, vegetables oils and white flour. Enig claimed butter and

are good for heart health. She published articles on the properties of coconut oil and was a vocal advocate for its consumption. Citing the work of Jon J. Kabara, she claimed that unprocessed coconut oil could be effective in the treatment of viral infections including HIV/AIDS. Enig was an early researcher of

trans fatty acids Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that naturally occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. It became widely produced as an unintentional byproduct in the industrial p ...

, warning of their dangers before they were widely accepted. Pollan, Michael. (2008). ''In Defense of Food – An Eater's Manifesto''. Penguin. p. 45; . She believed that trans fats lower the beneficial type of cholesterol-carrying particles ( HDL) and pushed for improved labeling of trans fats on products, which is now mandatory on food products in the U.S. and in Europe. In 1989, Sally Fallon, an advocate for the nutritional theories of Weston A. Price, recruited Enig to utilize her nutritional training to co-write a book to promote Price's work, ''Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.'' It has sold more than 400,000 copies as of 2011. Enig co-wrote another book with Fallon called ''Eat Fat, Lose Fat'' which promotes what Enig considered "good" fats, and argued that many who follow low-fat diets feel low on energy because they are "fat deficient".

Selected publications

*''Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats'' (1999, with Sally Fallon) *''Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Three Delicious, Science-Based Coconut Diets'' (2004, with Sally Fallon)

References

{{Use mdy dates, date=May 2012 1931 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers American cookbook writers American food scientists American women nutritionists American nutritionists Critics of vegetarianism Fellows of the American College of Nutrition High-fat diet advocates Low-carbohydrate cookbook writers Low-carbohydrate diet advocates Place of death missing University of Maryland, College Park alumni Writers from Indianapolis