What book is that?  I think that claim is true to a degree, though it
becomes more and more difficult to figure out for Americans as we become
more "mixed" with each generation.  My dad is of mixed northern
European/Scandinavian ancestry.  I told him about the paleo diet, and he
loves it.  He told me it was the best diet he's tried (that is, when he
sticks to it, which is difficult in a 2 person household with my mom).  My
mom, on the other hand, has German ancestry, much of it Bavarian (that side
has dark hair and eyes, olive/tan skin),claims to need more carbs, and is
very stubborn with the low fat is the way to go. I'm not so sure about that
as she's never tried to eat Paleo.  She tried Atkins for a week, but quit
when she smelled like ammonia and had stinky breath and got sick of meat and
eggs and cheese.  She's also a VERY picky eater--hates veggies, doesn't like
fruit unless it has tons of sugar on it.  But she seems to have more of a
grain tolerance.  Maybe because grains were eaten by her ancestors for far
longer, maybe for thousands of years before they were domesticated.  Maybe.
But for northern Europeans, grains wouldn't have thrived in that
environment.

I wonder what the statistics look like for Syndrome X type diseases
(osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, etc.) for those with northern European
ancestry compare with those with Mediterranean ancestry.  Maybe the
Mediterranean diet isn't a diet after all--maybe it is just that those with
that ancestry have developed a partial adaptation to grains....

Hmm, maybe I should ask my doctor.  He's very thorough (but conventional)
and asks what one's ancestry is.  I wonder if he's noticed a pattern. Hmm.


> I just read a review of a book that mentions how one's ethnicity plays a
> part in how many carbs a person needs.  Basically, northern europeans from
> cold climates need very few carbs, mediterraneans need a moderate amount,