[ExI] pale diet again: RE: It's not only the fittest who survive.

[Max More]

On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Harvey Newstrom <mail at harveynewstrom.com>wrote:

> Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com> wrote,
> > This also seems to fit some of the archaeological evidence too. There
> seems to
> > have been many big kills where there was even waste, but these were not
> everyday
> > or even every month affairs, it seems.
>
> This is my problem with the Paleo diet.  The archeology does not fit a
> high-fat diet.  Everything I read shows that hunter/gatherers got more
> of their diet from gathering than hunting.  Big game meat was not a
> daily occurrence.  And even when big game was bagged, it was not
> high-fat as seen in today's deliberately fattened meats.  Therefore, I
> do not believe that high-fat meals are a good emulation of a paleo diet,
> even if eaten rarely.
>

There are a range of opinions about this in the paleo community. As a
30-year advocate of low-fat eating, I have made a huge shift in deciding
that animal fats are not a bad thing (so long as they are not combined with
high levels of carbohydrates). Have you read Loren Cordain's analyses of the
paleo diet? Have you read the more high-fat-friend paleo analyses, such as
that by recent, well-informed poster to this list, J. Stanton? Additionally,
regardless of the history, have you read Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad
Calories?

I would add that there is no one Paleo diet. What human ate varied
considerably depending on the time period we're talking about and on their
location. Some people ate almost exclusively animal meat. Others a more
varied diet. I'm not aware of *any* vegetarian paleo people.


>
> I also doubt the lack of grains in the diet.  Archeological evidence
> shows that grains were routinely gathered and used in paleo times.


That contradicts everything I've seen. I'd be interested in the evidence
that you mention. We had this discussion a few months back. The skeptics of
paleo could only come up with rather weak evidence of apparently rare
consumption of any kind of grains.

Whatever our differences on these issues, can I assume that you would agree
that the vast increase in consumption over the last few decades of refined
carbohydrates -- especially high-fructose corn syrup -- is a very bad thing
for health?

--- Max


-- 
Max More
Strategic Philosopher
Co-founder, Extropy Institute
CEO, Alcor Life Extension Foundation
7895 E. Acoma Dr # 110
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
877/462-5267 ext 113
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