I think the point is (and maybe I'm wrong) that we should only be eating
the foods we evolved on, because other foods contain proteins, etc., that
are "alien" to the human body.  I mean, to get rather straightforward about
it, the reason beans make you fart is because your body cannot digest them
properly.  One of Ray's tenets is that these "alien" elements cause immune
responses in the body.  So, if you subscribe to this concept, which I do,
it then makes sense to avoid altogether foods which fall into this
category.  A prime example of this is wheat.  I've heard all kinds of
arguments from people who insist that the human body has evolved to handle
eating wheat.  I'm convinced that this is wishful self-delusion.  I know
what happens to me if I eat anything with wheat in it.  Within a few hours
I'm in extreme pain (especially if I combine wheat with dairy, such as
fettucine alfredo).  Is it just me?  I don't think so.  I also was lactose
intolerant.  What I found when I started lowcarb was that the day I quit
eating wheat-based foods, my lactose intolerance disappeared.  (I started
on Atkins.)  How many people are lactose intolerant?  I wonder how many of
them are like me, actually gluten intolerant?  The point of Neanderthin, or
at least the one that stuck out to me, is that one should avoid the foods
the human body is not accustomed to and able to digest properly.

As far as eating foods raw, I'm still not convinced that eating raw beef is
safe in this day and age.  What I do is cook it as little as possible.  But
I fully cook chicken and pork.  As to vegetables, I don't eat many, and the
ones I do eat are usually raw in a salad.  Exception:  fried cabbage.
 Fruit, I eat raw.  It's one of those things where you just do the best you
can.

Take care,
John Pavao

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This is my basic confusion about Neanderthin. If foods that require cooking
are out, then why isn't cooking out? Is it because nobody in their right
mind (except for a few strange instinctos) would ever eat all-raw including
animal foods? Is it because cooking paleo-foods has not been found to be
problematic to a significant enough degree to justify the extreme of an
all-raw paleo-diet? (This is pretty much my experience at 80% raw paleo.)
Is it because no one--including Ray for all I know--has long-term all-raw
experience with which to compare it? Is it simply a realization that one
can't tell folks to eat raw animal foods these days without opening oneself
to a nasty lawsuit when someone gets salmonella, etc.?