[ExI] Gout and meat adaptations

[J. Stanton]

I'll get back to Harvey's stuff in a bit, but:

Spike wrote:
> Humans radiated out of Africa long enough ago that they
> would have been time for digestive systems to evolve variations dependent on
> where the genetically isolated subgroups of humans evolved.  For instance,
> the Inuits have developed the ability to subsist entirely on meat, whereas
> the Europeans tend to develop gout and ketosis if we try that.

I love you, Spike, but there are a couple problems here.

First, the idea that meat (or purines in general) cause gout is an old 
myth.  Fructose is the primary driver of blood uric acid, and, 
therefore, gout:
http://paleozonenutrition.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/gout-and-fructose/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7219473.stm
"Men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85% higher 
risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month, a 
study suggests." ... "Diet soft drinks did not increase the risk of gout 
but fruit juice and fructose rich fruits (apples and oranges) were 
associated with a higher risk, the researchers said."

And an excellent overview of the real issues, which are fructose, 
***high insulin***, and underhydration (includes links/references):
http://www.emotionsforengineers.com/2009/09/causes-of-gout.html

A severe gout sufferer I know said that he has not had a single gout 
attack -- not even a tingle -- since going on a high-fat paleo diet.

Second, the idea that there is a special Inuit adaptation to meat-based 
diets is unsupported by any evidence with which I'm familiar.  The ApoE 
variation that allows us to process dietary fat much better than 
chimpanzees is millions of years old:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15101252

Pardon the website, but here's another instructive article about 
non-Inuit eating meat-based diets (the magazine it's from is otherwise 
behind a paywall), i.e. Vilhjalmur Stefansson:
http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm

JS
http://www.gnolls.org