Anyway, I digress. How important is fat, or the lack thereof, in relation to health and disease? Recent studies indicate that the extreme position of consuming very little fat can lower mood, and even lead to violence and suicide.

Reducing fat intake in those who are McDonald's junkies is certainly a worthwhile goal. Most members of the medical establishment, health writers in the media, and other fitness experts stress the importance of a reducing excessive fat intake. But, tipping the scale too much of the low end can lead you to the local health food store or pharmacy urgently groping for a bottle of St. John's wort.

"Alterations in mood after changing to a low-fat diet," was the title of the article published recently in The British Journal of Nutrition. Ten male and ten female healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 37 years of age had their mood monitored while reducing their fat intake. The amount of total calories they consumed remained constant. For the first month, each volunteer consumed a diet containing 40 percent energy as fat, and the second month half of the subjects changed to a low-fat die consisting of 25 percent of calories from fat. Changes in mood and blood lipids were tested before, during, and after the conclusion of the study. At the end of the second month, the volunteers who had remained on the 40 percent fat diet had a slight decline in anger and hostility while those on the lower fat diet had an increase in hostility. The researchers state, "The results suggest that a change in dietary fat content from 40 percent down to 25 percent of energy may have adverse effects on mood. Another study released to the media in March got a lot of media attention through releases in Associated Press and Reuter's News Service. The findings, published in the March 15 issue of the American College of Physicians' Annals of Internal Medicine (128(6):478-487), were based on computer-database surveys of more than 30 peer- reviewed medical reports and analyses from the United States and Europe. The investigators discovered that men with blood cholesterol levels of less than 160 milligrams per deciliter had a homicide, suicide or fatal accident rate 50 to 80 percent higher than those with the highest cholesterol levels. Women with low cholesterol levels were nearly 30 percent more prone to violent death.

Dr. Beatrice Golomb, staff physician at San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California, said the findings suggest a link between low cholesterol and violent death. She said it is possible that low cholesterol is accompanied by a reduction in the brain chemical serotonin, which is believed to control violent behavior. ``We know that low-serotonin people are more likely to commit suicide, especially by violent means, and homicide,'' explained Golomb, who also works as a research professor of psychiatry at the University of Southern California.

Wells AS, Read NW, Laugharne JDE, Ahluwalia NS. Alterations in mood after changing to a low-fat diet. British Journal of Nutrition 79:23-30, 1998.