Jens Wilkinson wrote:

> Exactly. And actually Dr. Cordain mentioned in his
> message (which makes a lot of sense) that all mammals
> have enzymes to detoxify alcohol. This would indeed be
> necessary since it is such a common toxin in the world, 
> and there are others like it. 

I think it's worth mentioning, in case people here don't already know, that
many naturally occurring toxins are beneficial to humans. For example some
of the beneficial substances in plant foods are designed by nature to be
toxic. Certain toxic substances in broccoli come to mind. These toxic
substances in broccoli were evolved probably to discourage animals from
consuming cruciferous vegetables, but humans and probably also other animals
evolved mechanisms to consume them anyway. Not only did we evolve a means of
consuming them; we also evolved a way to take advantage of them: the
"toxins" in cruciferous vegetables reduce the risk of cancer.

Alcohol seems to be a similar "toxin."

-gts