>>The nomad Masai in Kenya drink/eat almost exclusively raw cows' milk
>>,blood and meat. Tests done on them show they have extremely healthy
>>blood lipid profiles. They are tall, slender,muscular and athletic. They
>>have also been shown to have lactose intolerance amongst them, in
>>numbers that are surprisingly high.

>It would be interesting to know what the
>autoimmune disease incidence is among the Masai and what other diseases
>they may get. It would also be interesting to know what they die of and
>how long they live. <snip> There may be some useful studies
>that have already been done. I would love to see them.

It is interesting to see this myth about the Masai as epitomes of health
still surviving and circulating after all these years. While it is true
that the Masai are (or were) athletic and could be considered to be in good
health compared to Westerners, they are not models of perfect health. The
Masai in fact have significant levels of atherosclerosis.

My limited knowledge of the situation is that the myth about the Masai
probably got its start from field studies of them in the 1960s done by
George Mann [1965, "Physical fitness and immunity to heart disease in the
Masai," Lancet, 12/25/65, p.308]. However, as Lee Hitchcox points out in
his book Long Life Now (1996, Celestial Arts, p.161), this early study by
Mann depicting the Masai as free of heart disease was funded by a vested
interest in how the study turned out: the National Livestock and Meat Board.

When Mann did later independent studies of the Masai, his published
findings were curiously different: Autopsies showed the Masai to have
significant levels of atherosclerosis. These levels of atherosclerosis were
present even in the face of low blood lipids--exemplified in the Masai by
cholesterol levels in the range of 115 to 145 [Mann G. et al 1972,
"Atherosclerosis in the Masai," American Journal of Epidemiology, 95:1,
Jan. 1972, pp. 26-37].

If I am remembering Mann's research correctly, however, the Masai were
spared many of the repercussions from atherosclerosis that might affect
Westerners for the reason that the diameters of their arteries were much
larger than average, presumably due to the effect of their superior
cardiovascular fitness from high levels of physical activity. Thus, they
still had enough arterial volume despite the atherosclerosis to support
good blood flow.

So be wary of stories depicting the Masai as being in exemplary health
because of, or perhaps despite, their milk consumption.

--Ward Nicholson <[log in to unmask]>