The China Study by Thomas Campbell

(^82) THE CHINA STUDY
end of the day the average person who gorged on the float would be left
scratching his head and feeling queasy, wondering what he should have
done and why.
There's good reason for the average consumer to be confused. The
unanswered questions on fat remain unanswered, as they have for the
past forty years. How much fat can we have in our diets? What kind of
fat? Is polyunsaturated fat better than saturated fat? Is monounsatu-
rated fat better than either? What about those special fats like omega-
3, omega-6, trans fats and DHA? Should we avoid coconut fat? What
about fish oil? Is there something special about flaxseed oil? What's a
high-fat diet anyway? A low-fat diet?
This can be confusing, even for trained scientists. The details that un-
derlie these questions, when considered in isolation, are very misleading.
As you shall see, considering how networks of chemicals behave instead
of isolated single chemicals is far more meaningful.
In some ways, however, it is this foolish mania regarding isolated as-
pects of fat consumption that teaches us the best lessons. Therefore, let's
look a little more closely at this story of fat as it has emerged during the
past forty years. It illustrates why the public is so confused both about
fat and about diet in general.
On average, we consume 35-40% of our total calories as fat. 19 We have
been consuming high-fat diets like this since the late nineteenth century,
at the onset of our industrial revolution. Because we had more money, we
began consuming more meat and dairy, which are relatively high in fat.
We were demonstrating our affluence by consuming such foods.
Then came the mid to late twentieth century when scientists began
to question the advisability of consuming diets so high in fat. National
and international dietary recommendations^2 °-B emerged to suggest that
we should decrease our fat intake below 30% of calories. That lasted for
a couple decades, but now, the fears surrounding high-fat diets are abat-
ing. Some authors of popular books even advocate increased fat intake!
Some experienced researchers have suggested that it is not necessary to
go below 30% fat, as long as we consume the right kind of fat.
The level of 30% fat has become a benchmark, even though there is
no evidence to suggest that this is a vital threshold. Let's get some per-
spective on this figure by considering the fat contents of a few foods, as
seen in Chart 4.6.