Day 269 - 25 Jun 96 - Page 77


     
     1        A.   The explanation, my Lord--
     2
     3   Q.   What simple, plausible explanation might there be?
     4        A.  The simple, plausible explanation is that the European
     5        countries adopted the dietary preventive measures far ahead
     6        of Britain, and there are other explanations so far as
     7        France is concerned.  I could go into it in some depth if
     8        you wish.
     9
    10   MR. RAMPTON:  I am interested in what you say, but if it were
    11        right one would expect them to have lower cholesterol
    12        levels, lower blood pressure and to be less fat?
    13        A.   Not necessarily, Mr. Rampton, because Michael Oliver
    14        did a very careful study of precisely that question.  He
    15        studied people in Stockholm and Edinburgh, and the reason
    16        he wanted to study the difference between Stockholm and
    17        Edinburgh was the fact that they had the same blood
    18        cholesterol levels in Stockholm and in Edinburgh but the
    19        people in Stockholm had a much lower mortality from heart
    20        disease than did the people in Edinburgh.  And he wanted to
    21        know why, and he has published and make a reputation for
    22        some of the results that he has done with the Scandinavian
    23        versus Scottish studies, and the bottom line was that if
    24        you studied the adipose fats of the people in Stockholm
    25        they had less saturated fats and more linoleic acid in them
    26        than the people in Edinburgh, and that changed Michael
    27        Oliver's thinking because he was one of the strongest
    28        antagonist towards diet and heart disease.
    29
    30             If I can permitted an anecdote I worked in Sweden in
    31        1963 and when I was asked to Professor Baronnay's house --
    32        he was the Professor who had invited me there -- he said:
    33        "I hope you do not mind but we do not use hard fats in
    34        this house, we only use these polyunsaturated
    35        margarines."   That was 1964 and that was 1963 and that was
    36        the first time I had heard about this particular change in
    37        peoples' diets on the continent.
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can I just stop you there because one has got
    40        to be terribly careful about national stereotypes?
    41        A.   Sure.
    42
    43   Q.   In fact, we are getting far to much in another area at the
    44        moment.  But if one did want a stereotype I would, I have
    45        to say, stereotype the Swedish population rather
    46        differently to the French, Spanish or Greek.  Now, that may
    47        be complete misperception on my part?
    48        A.   Yes.
    49
    50   Q.   But even if that is totally wrong, unhappily Sweden does
    51        not appear in figure 29?
    52        A.   No, that is a pity.
    53
    54   Q.   And let us suppose there is some merit in what you say
    55        about Sweden.  Can you take that across to France and
    56        Greece?
    57        A.   Well, we can certainly take it across to Greece
    58        because Greece has the lowest saturated fat intake.
    59
    60   Q.   Because of the olive oil?

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