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Mary Gertrude Enig, PhD (born 1931) is a nutritionist who reviews research on and writes articles about the nutritional aspects of fats. She is known for her early opposition to trans fats before its dangers were widely accepted, her skepticism towards the diet-heart hypothesis, and her current advocacy of whole foods and certain saturated fats such as those found in coconut oil.

Academic and professional history
Enig attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), receiving an MS, and later a PhD in Nutritional Sciences in 1984. She was a Licensed Nutritionist in Maryland from May 1988 to October 2008.

Enig is the co-founder, vice president and a member of the board of directors of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF). Prior to the founding of the WAPF in 1999, Enig worked as a nutritional consultant for individuals, industry and governments worldwide through Enig Associates, Inc. participating in forums such as those held by the ASEAN Vegetable Oil Club (AVOC) and testifying before the U.S. Congress. She was a faculty research associate at UMCP with the Lipids Research Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1984 through 1991. While in graduate school and later as a research associate, Enig participated in biochemical research on lipids. She has published over 14 scientific papers on food fats and oils and presented over 35 on nutrition and is a former editor of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Enig is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and was one of three to be named a Master of the organization in 2003. She is also a member of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS).

Coconut oil
Enig has conducted and published original research into the properties of coconut oil and is a vocal advocate for its dietary consumption, writing multiple articles regarding its health benefits and has been quoted in newspapers regarding her views on coconut oil.

She says lauric acid, the main acid in coconut oil, "has antimicrobial properties and is the precursor to monolaurin, the antimicrobial lipid" and that natural coconut oil may be effective in the treatment of viral infections such as measles, herpes, vesicular stomatitis, cytomegalovirus, and HIV/AIDS. She also states that lauric acid "gives human milk its major antimicrobial properties, and it may be a conditionally essential fatty acid since it cannot be made by mammals other than the lactating female and must be obtained from the diet." Enig also notes that the saturated fat in coconut oil consists of medium chain fatty acids, which she says are not only not harmful, but help in promoting healthy metabolism.

Enig is critical of lowfat diets for weight loss and states in summary: "Perhaps the best way to lose unwanted weight (excess weight in the form of fat, that is) is to change the type of fat in the diet to the type of fat found in the coconut." In collaboration with Sally Fallon, co-founder of the WAPF, Enig wrote a book about coconut-based diets for weight loss called Eat Fat, Lose Fat.

Saturated and trans fats
Enig disputes the lipid hypothesis, which postulates that consumption of saturated fats contributes to heart disease. A vocal critic, she has both received and given criticism in scientific journals on the issue. She raised concerns as early as the 1970s about the dangers of trans fats. The negative effects of trans fats are now widely recognized, spurring efforts to remove them from food supplies world wide. Her position regarding saturated fats is supported by recent meta-analyses of randomized intervention trials, which indicate that saturated fats are no riskier than monounsaturated fats or carbohydrates when substituted on an isocaloric basis  raising questions about the link between saturated fats and cardiovascular disease that had been widely thought settled.

Health agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Medical Association, however, still advise consumers to avoid coconut oil because of concerns with saturated fats.

Enig believes that big business and other powerful vested interests played a significant role in the negative portrayals of saturated fats in order to sell margarine and similar spreads, which often contained substantial levels of trans fats. She is skeptical of consumer groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which flip-flopped on the issue of trans fats without admitting its earlier mistake in pushing for products containing them, and its continued campaigns in the name of public health.

Enig sees benefits in the consumption of saturated fats and notes their function in certain signaling and stabilizing processes in the body at the cellular level involving proteins. She also says that the "maintenance of a healthy digestive system requires input from lipids, which include molecules such as cholesterol, appropriate saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and other lesser known components such as glycosphingolipids."

Books

 * Mary Enig, Trans fatty acids in the food supply: A comprehensive report covering 60 years of research, (Enig Associates, 1993).
 * Sally Fallon, with Dr Mary Enig (contributing editor), Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, (NewTrends Publishing, October 1999). ISBN 0-96708-973-5, ISBN 978-0967089737.
 * Mary Enig, Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol, (Bethesda Press, May 2000). ISBN 0-96781-260-7, ISBN 978-0967812601.
 * Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, Eat Fat Lose Fat – The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats, (Plume, March 28, 2006). ISBN 0452285666, ISBN 978-0452285668.

Chapter

 * Mary Enig, "Diet, serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease", in Mann GV (ed): Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense – An evaluation by scientists. (Janus Publishing, London, 1993). pp 36-60. ISBN 1857560728.

Journal articles

 * Lieberman, Shari, Mary G. Enig, Harry G. Preuss. (December 2006). A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310-314.
 * Lieberman, Shari, Mary G. Enig, Harry G. Preuss. (December 2006). A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310-314.
 * Lieberman, Shari, Mary G. Enig, Harry G. Preuss. (December 2006). A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310-314.
 * Lieberman, Shari, Mary G. Enig, Harry G. Preuss. (December 2006). A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310-314.
 * Lieberman, Shari, Mary G. Enig, Harry G. Preuss. (December 2006). A Review of Monolaurin and Lauric Acid: Natural Virucidal and Bactericidal Agents. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 12 (6): 310-314.