Recent History
July 7, 1966
Geographical Aspects of Acute Myocardial Infarction in India with Special Reference to Patterns of Diet and Eating
Malhotra demonstrates a difference in heart disease rates between Northern Indians eating saturated fats and Southern Indians eating refined carbs and seed oils.
Several studies, notably those of Keys et al. (1958), have suggested that dietary fats are a major factor in the etiology of ischmmic heart disease. It is suggested that the liability to develop ischsmic heart disease increases with a rise in the total consumption of dietary fats, or that a higher consumption of saturated fatty acids increases this liability. On the other hand, there are several careful epidemiological studies from many countries, such as the statistical review by Yudkin (1957), which failed to find even a clear-cut correlation between fat consumption and mortality from ischemic heart disease. In India the consumption of fats (Indian Council for Medical Research, 1964) and also the pattern of diets and eating (Malhotra, 1964) differ from place to place, and a study of the geographical aspects of myocardial infarction with reference to dietary differences could, therefore, be worth while. The study reported in this paper stems from such an attempt.
Perambur (Madras) and Alavakkot, both in South India, show the highest incidence rates for acute myocardial infarction as compared with the centres in the North, such as Ferozepur, Jhansi, or Delhi. The incidence is 7 times higher in Perambur (South India) than in Ferozepur (North India). These geographical trends are also reflected in the admissions for acute myocardial infarction expressed as a percentage of all admissions (Table I).
Fats.
The fat consumption in the South is 8-19 times less than in the Punjab (Indian Council for Medical Research, 1964), the average daily amount in the case of railway sweepers, investigated by us, being 7 g. of seed oils, such as groundnut or sesame oil. The proportion of calories from fat is 3j per cent of a total of 2400 calories. In the North, on the other hand, average daily consumption of 75 g. mainly ghee and other milk fats and to some extent of vegetable seed oil, such as mustard oil or vanaspathi, provides 23 per cent of calories from fats out of a total of 2800 calories. In the higher income groups the daily fat intake in the North is even higher, being 70-190 g. against 10-30 g. in the South (Padmavati, 1962). Less obvious, but equally important, are the differences in the chemical composition of fats used by these disparate population groups. Milk, ghee, and fermented milk products, which are the main sources of fats in the Punjab and Rajasthan, contain a large proportion (43%') of short-chain lower fatty acids (Hilditch, 1949). The relative proportion of lower fatty acids in the seed oils, such as groundnut or sesame (gingelly) oil is much smaller; and in these the longchain oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids are prominent (Nicholls, 1961). The degree of saturation of the fatty acids in the dietary fats of the South Indians versus North Indians also shows big differences. Thus, while the North Indians largely consume fats containing saturated fatty acids, the South Indians eat fat in which the poly-unsaturated fatty acids have a preponderance: the poly-unsaturated fatty acid content of the South Indian seed oils is 45 per cent against 2 per cent in the North Indian ghee and other milk fats (Indian Council for Medical Research, 1963).
January 1, 1967
Polyunsaturates are the plus in Mazola
Polyunsaturates are the plus in Mazola
Although we know them as “vegetable oils,” they’re actually pressed mainly from seeds: cottonseeds, rapeseeds, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and corn, as well as from soybeans. We’ve seen how these oils started to become popular for culinary use when the AHA endorsed them for “heart health” in 1961. Having the backing of the country’s highest medical authority on heart disease gave them an enormous boost. “The rush to get aboard the polyunsaturated bandwagon has become a stampede,” gushed the trade publication Food Processing in that same year. New products containing “higher and higher amounts of polyunsaturated oils” included salad dressings, mayonnaise, and margarine. Even breads and rolls were promoted for containing these new oils. Mazola was just one of the manufacturers enthusiastically advertising the potential health benefits of its oils. “Polyunsaturates are the plus in Mazola,” said a magazine ad in 1967.
January 1, 1975
Take This Ad to Your Doctor - Mazola: The Only Leading Brand That's Pure Corn Oil.
And by 1975, Mazola was practically pushing its oil as a medical product.
Margarine Gets Nod Over Butter
Margarine and butter are. of course, primarily fats. Most margarines are manufactured mainly from partially hardened polyunsaturated tats, while butter consists mainly of saturated animal fat. derived from whole milk Monounsaturated fat. which has no effect on blood cholesterol level, is another tvpe of unsalurated tat While vegetable oils are, as a rule, high in polyunsaturated fats, the liquid oils usually become more saturated when they are hardened for use in margarine. Therefore, margarine can never be as unsaturated as the oils it's made from But because margarine is made from vegetable oils, it's less likely to increase blood cholesterol levels than butter, which is largely saturated fat What's more, certain margarines, such as those made from minimally hardened oils, may actually lower blood cholesterol levels Consumers Union s medical consultants advise using margarine instead of butter especially a margarine selected from the list included here However, it should be emphasized that if an in dividual is on a cholesterollowering. low-saturated-fat diet the entire diet is important and involves much more than simply a choice of margarine over butler. Margarine comes in a confusing variety of shapes, sizes and forms Consumers Union tested a total of 45 brands of five different types conventional sticks, soft, whipped, diet imitation, and liquid and reported the results in the January 1975 Consumer Reports Conventional, soft, and whipped margarines are at least 80 per cent vegetable-oil fat Whipped margarine contains less margarine and more air. so a tablespoon of whipped contains only 07 calories instead ol the 100 calories in conventional and soft margarines Diet
margarine has hall as much tat and half as many calories (50 calories per tablespoon i as conventional and soft products. Butter has about the same amount of calories as conventional and soft margarines Some margarines generally those made from corn, sunflower, or safflower oils that have been minimally hardened contain more of the kinds of polyunsaturated fat that may help reduce the blood cholesterol level than do other margarines. In Consumers Union's tests, the margarines with the highest percentage of cholesterollowering polyunsaturated fats were Promise Soft, Promise. Food Club Soft, Squeeze Parkay Liquid. Soft Whipped Blue Bonnet. Parkay Soft, Whipped Parkay. Whipped Miracle Corn Oil, and Mazola Unfortunately, having a high percentage of cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats may affect a margarine's taste and smell Margarine’s strongest selling point had always been its lower price That, however, has been changing While the price of butter seemed to stabilize in 1974, margarine prices continued to rise.
