Day 269 - 25 Jun 96 - Page 40
1 the diet. And I think we have a lot of confidence about
2 that.
3
4 Q. Apparently not, if these people are right. Can we turn
5 over the page.
6 A. With respect, Mr. Rampton, I mean, they do recommend,
7 I cannot find it here, but I am sure that they recommend at
8 the end of the day, having examined the evidence and
9 considering these factors and the fine definitions of
10 causes and development and mortality, that at the end of
11 the day all these bodies are recommending that we reduce
12 fat and particularly saturated fat intake because of the
13 risk they associate with ill-health.
14
15 Q. Well, with ill-health, yes. Can I ask you --
16 A. Or cancer in this case.
17
18 Q. Well, please turn over the page now to page 92. I am going
19 to remind you after that of what the COMA panel said about
20 this. You see the paragraph 4/1/3?
21 A. Yes.
22
23 Q. Intakes of saturated fatty acids. I will read the whole of
24 the paragraph.
25
26 Saturated fatty acids and cholesterol are not essential
27 nutrients and their importance relates directly to their
28 effects in increasing in blood and cholesterol
29 concentrations and promoting the development of coronary
30 heart disease.
31 A. Yes.
32
33 Q. About which you and I have no quarrel, as it happens, in
34 this case, Professor Crawford?
35 A. Yes.
36
37 Q. As noted previously, no lower limit to serum and cholesterol
38 has been identified for knowing which beneficial reduction
39 in coronary heart disease cannot be expected. So national
40 nutrition policy should seek to minimise the intake etc. of
41 fatty acids?
42 A. Yes.
43
44 Q. These fatty acids may also be specifically involved in
45 promoting cancers particularly of the colon and the breast,
46 although, and I stress the word "promoting" as well the
47 word "may"?
48 A. Yes.
49
50 Q. Although the evidence remains inconsistent. The main
51 justification for limiting saturated fatty acid intake
52 should therefore be the prevention of coronary heart
53 disease. Do you agree?
54 A. Yes, I agree with that in part, in the sense that I
55 think I have said consistently that the evidence on
56 coronary heart disease is very much stronger, but I have
57 also maintained the view that the evidence on cancer is so
58 much in step with the evidence on heart disease that the
59 likelihood of there being a common denominator in the
60 common cancers of western countries is very high indeed.
