Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 49


     
     1   Q.   You may wish to know that was 1985, that document was
     2        produced.
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is there anything there you would take
     6        exception to, Dr. Barnard?
     7        A.  Not on the -- not in so far as I have read it so far,
     8        no.
     9
    10   Q.   It is just the left-hand column on that page.
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  The last document I want to refer you to is the
    13        document No. 1 on the Miscellaneous Supplementary List.
    14        A.  Yes, the World Health Organisation?
    15
    16   Q.   Yes.  The Executive Summary.  Do you have a copy of the
    17        Executive Summary?
    18        A.  No, I do not.
    19
    20   Q.   It might help just to have it.  I believe this will be the
    21        last document we will refer to.  There will be a couple of
    22        questions to follow.  (Handed).  I will try to be as brief
    23        as possible.  The section I am interested in is the
    24        introductory section.  We have already had in great detail
    25        chunks of the full report.  This is the Executive Summary
    26        of that report, yes?
    27        A.  Yes.
    28
    29   Q.   The 1990 Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic
    30        Diseases, World Health Organisation.  Just in the
    31        introductory summary, if I may refer you to the first
    32        paragraph, just the last sentence on the first paragraph:
    33        "Anthropological studies show that the diet which fueled
    34        most of human evolution was low in fat, very low in sugar,
    35        and high in fibre and other complex carbohydrates".  Have
    36        you made any such studies or research, whether you would
    37        agree with that view?
    38        A.  I agree with that view and published some rather
    39        detailed elaborations on that view in my first book on
    40        nutrition which we described yesterday.
    41
    42   Q.   If we go down to the third paragraph -- I think we have
    43        dealt with that.  I will leave that.  The fourth
    44        paragraph, the last sentence in the fourth paragraph --  I
    45        had better read the whole paragraph:  "One consequence of
    46        the very intensity of this research - and the publicity it
    47        often receives - has been a tendency to focus attention on
    48        individual food items or often has been tendency to focus
    49        attention on individual food items or nutrients, with the
    50        result that consumers frequently lose sight of the need 
    51        for balance in their diets.  The problem is compounded by 
    52        the fact that the concept of the balanced diet, though 
    53        still extremely important, was introduced to protect
    54        populations from the diseases of nutrient deficiency, and
    55        may require adjustment in the light of growing evidence
    56        that nutrient excesses can also cause disease".  What does
    57        that sentence mean to you?
    58        A.  It is true that in the early stages of nutritional
    59        science -- by that I mean prior to the advent of this
    60        century -- attention particularly focused on making sure

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