Day 015 - 21 Jul 94 - Page 04
1 contain quantities of myristic and calmonated(?) acids?
A. I would expect them to, yes. Also some stearic,
2 particularly in the meat.
3 Q. We do not stigmatize, as I understood your evidence
yesterday, stearic acid to the same extent as the other
4 two?
A. No.
5
Q. I had better finish the head note. It goes on: "Not only
6 the frequency of bowel movements was higher, but also the
daily total stool output as well as the fecal fiber
7 excretion were greater in Kuopio compared with New York
due to high dietary intake in rural Kuopio of cereal
8 products rich in fiber. The concentration of fecal
secondary bile acids and bacterial B-glucuronidase
9 activity was lower in rural Kuopio, but the total daily
excretion of these constituents was the same in two
10 populations. The daily fecal excretion of bacterial
nuclear dehydrogenase activity and of neutral sterols was
11 higher in rural Kuopio, and the concentration of these
constituents was the same in the two groups. The high
12 daily excretion of cholesterol metabolites in Kuopio might
be due to high dietary intake of dairy products. The data
13 suggest that one of the factors contributing to the
low-risk of large bowel cancer in Finland, in spite of
14 high dietary intake of fat, appears to be the fact that a
high dietary fiber leads to an increase in stool bulk,
15 thus diluting bile acids, which have promoting activity".
That means a promoting activity in carcinogenesis?
16 A. Yes, it would do.
17 Q. This is 1978. Are you in a position to tell us, or shall
I ask Dr. Arnott next week, whether bile acids are still
18 characterised in that way as promoters of bowel cancer?
A. I think I would prefer you to ask Dr. Arnott on that;
19 he would be more familiar with that particular area.
20 Q. Then just one passage on that page; it is the last part of
the right-hand column.
21
MR. JUSTICE BELL: In so far as we are to get anything from
22 this, is the punch line, on your understanding, the last
sentence of the head note, that it was the greater amount
23 of fibre in the Finnish diet which ---
A. Yes.
24
Q. -- seemed to be the distinguishing factor?
25 A. Yes, this would be the important point to come out of
this paper.
26
MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I will not proceed with it much further
27 now. I will ask Dr. Arnott about it next week. But I
would like to ask Professor Wheelock whether he can answer
28 this question: Your having told us yesterday that part of
your business is to look at matters of this kind to see
29 what deleterious effects, if any, particular substances in
our diet may have upon us?
30 A. That is right.
