On Fri, 5 Jul 2002 23:30:05 -0500, Theola Walden Baker <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Would you care to offer a brief run-down on what you think the
>merits/advantages are?  I'm not calling your views into question, just
>merely wondering what they might be.
>
>I read somewhere (Paleodiet archives, I think) that Paleo humans almost
>assuredly got small amounts of cheese (made from rennet) in their diets from
>the stomach contents of young animals they killed or scavenged.   That made
>sense to me.  (And possibly answers why there has been an adaptive response
>in most caucasians?)

We can talk about this from two perspectives - 1) Paleo-ness 2) Human
Physiology.

1) The argument that milk is "not Paleo" seems to me somewhat odd logic, since
all Paleo humans drank milk.   The reply is usually "well they didn't drink the
milk of other species" - but that seems to me irrelevant, since they ATE other
species - ie food comes from "other species" - the fact that a food came from
another species is NEVER used otherwise.   And, dairy is the only PROVEN Paleo
food, since it is the only food that we know without any doubt was eaten by
Paleo man.

2) So, all the arguments against dairy have actually nothing to do with Paleo,
they have to do with what we NOW KNOW about how the human physiology reacts to
the milk of other species.    Some modern humans are lactose intolerant.   Was
Paleo man lactose intolerant?   We don't know.   Without our perception of
MODERN humans and how they react to dairy, we would not have any reason to
question dairy at all.

SO, if you use modern knowledge of human physiology that many modern humans do
not tolerate milk, you can also use the same knowledge that butter is not only
harmless, but actually beneficial (cf the work of Fallon and Enig).

But, if you are going to accept modern knowledge of human physiology, then
there is no reason to base one's diet solely on Paleo concepts, and therefore
you are going to want to regulate your diet according to its effects on your
hormone levels, blood sugar, mental and physical energy level, etc. - ie
something like the Zone diet.


--
Cheers,

Ken
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