I have lived and traveled in the third world quite a bit. I saw a friend's
baby die from in intestinal bug. It is really common. I see two things
happening.

First, the weaker babies and children die off, so the adults all tend to be
very tough, resistant to those sorts of bugs. We in the rich countries are
not weeded so much any more, so our weaker members survive, but may be
brought down by a disease that would not have much effect on a more selected
population.

Second, the types of e-coli, salmonella, cholera and other deadly diseases
of the gut are mostly filth-borne diseases. When masses of dirty humans and
their animals crowd together so that the drinking water becomes
contaminated, filth-borne diseases become more prevalent. Our distant paleo
ancestors didn't face the constant exposure to these diseases

On 3/1/07, C. Kuni <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> We watched "Walking with Cavemen" last night. (Netflix.)  Very interesting
> portrayal of early man.  I learned a lot, though I'm not sure how much of
> the film was fact and how much was speculation.  The climate/food connection
> was especially interesting to me.  Also, it looks like we were meat eaters
> for quite some time before we ever cooked our food.  So why do we have so
> many problems with e-coli and bacteria today?  Any thoughts?
> CK
>