Ray Audette, author of "NeanderThin: A Cave Man's Guide to Nutrition," takes
the opposite view of our dietary heritage.

"The unique physical characteristics that separate man from the great apes
are red-meat adaptations," he said. "Hominids are savannah apes. For an ape
to survive out on the grasslands, you've got to eat the grass-eaters."

The somewhat eccentric Audette said he decided to eat "only those things
that would be edible if I had no technology -- if I were naked with a sharp
stick." The resulting meat-heavy diet enabled him to lose weight and cure
his rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, he said.

Another book, "Eat Right 4 Your Type," by Peter J. D'Adamo, has it both ways
when it comes to the carnivore-herbivore debate. D'Adamo, a naturopathic
physician, says that, to avoid health problems, we should customize our
diets based on when our blood types evolved.

If your blood type is O, for instance, you are a member of the oldest
genetic group, and you should eat plenty of meat because your genes are
those of an ancient hunter-gatherer. But if your blood is type A, your group
evolved after the start of agriculture, and you're better off as a
vegetarian, D'Adamo argues.