Heart Disease & Fat - The American Paradox

Before the 1920s, heart disease was rare in the United States. By the mid 1950s, however, heart disease was the leading cause of death, as it still is today, for both men and women.
If fat is so bad for us, one would assume that Americans started eating more of it in the 1900s, in step with these rising rates of heart disease, not to mention rising rates of diabetes and obesity. That assumption, however, is incorrect.
Internationally renowned nutritionalist and biochemist Mary G. Enig, PhD, has studied the eating patterns of Americans dating back as far as the late 1800s. In her highly regarded book ‘Know Your Fats’ (Bethesda Press, 2000), she convincingly uses U.S. Department of Agriculture data to show that fat consumption and heart disease have no connection whatsoever. According to her review of government health records and food consumption statistics, Americans cut back on animal fat between 1910 and 1970. In the early 1900s, Americans were eating mostly saturated and monounsaturated fats in the form of butter. lard, coconut oil, and olive oil. By the 1970s, Americans were eating fewer animal fats and less butter and lard. Since the 1970s, Americans have cut back on saturated fat even more.
Has all of this fat cutting done any good for our hearts? No. Heart disease rates are going up, not down.