On Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:50:05 -0700, Batsheva wrote:

>He doesn't look that good, IMHO....Red face, totally gray, flaccid chin 
> tone. The interviewer looks in better shape....LOL. 
>
> Sorry, but we talk all we want about which foods to eat. The proof is in 
> the pudding - maybe we should have a loincloth competition. Sort of a 
> paleo remake of the Miss America pagents... LOL. In my opinion, if you 
> are doing paleo correctly, you should be strikingly glowing, in good 
> shape, and have a nice vibration.

I'm sorry Dr Cordain doesn't appear to live up to your expectations. He consistently surpasses mine as I focus more on what he writes than on what he looks like. We are talking here about the guy who has provided up a quarter of the important information we discuss here. I am not suggesting we all draw on his books, but that academics draw on his papers for inspiration and guidance for their own research and articles, authors draw on his papers and the papers of others who reference his work for their books, journalists draw on that research and those articles, bloggers and podcasters draw on the journalists' work and you and I draw on the bloggers and journalists. This guy has been feeding information in at all levels of the food chain for about 15 years and is held in high regard (but not idolized) around the world. His generosity, openness, willingness to study, conduct original research, assess intelligently and take into account new research findings, even where this leads him publicly change his position and recommendations are well known. Less well-known are his frequent discussions and phone calls from some of the big names in the palaeosphere - big names who call him when they're stuck. 

For example, Dr Cordain has personally examined the ethnographic literature to uncover and analyse details of 229 (from a total of 862) hunter-gatherer groups for whom sufficient information is available to produce research that backs up our hunches, prejudices and our own N=1 experiences. One paper of his on this topic has been cited in over 300 subsequent papers  - this guy's influence is incredible.

And you want him - at 61 with a demanding job - to also meet your physique expectations? He mentions in this video his sons, who have been brought up on a palaeo diet - perhaps we should look at them rather than their dad, who - like so many of his vintage - were seduced for a decade or two by vegan and vegetarian diets that, we now know, can do lasting damage, damage that may or may not ever manifest itself in body shape or complexion.

So I think you miss the point. Let's not trivialize Dr Cordain's work by diverting us into a discussion of his appearance. This is not about "celebrity culture", even though you may find a radically dumbed-down discussion a more comfortable paradigm for debate. I would rather debate Cordain's approach to exercise or whether his criticisms of milk (I drink fresh raw - that's unhomogenized, not pastuerized - as a probiotic) apply to all populations.

Keith