>Todd Moody

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>Another thing to consider, concerning optimal foraging theory, is
>that there are *many* paleo foods that are so calorie-thin that
>they would seemingly not be worth the bother of gathering.  The
>spices would tend to fall into this category, for example.  You'd
>have to gather a lot of parsley to get 100 Kcal, I think.  The
>same is true of other leafy greens.  Optimal foraging theory
>would suggest that we'd largely ignore such calorically sparse
>items, and so we should not be well adapted to them.  But the
>truth is that they appear to be quite good for us.
>
I agrre totally this calorie stuff is completely outdated. there is more to
nutrition than the calorie intake story . Some foods,  in minute amounts,
have powerfull effect on the health ,,even aromas of flowers might have more
influence on the well being of humans than we could expect (why do we smell
them in the first place? if they don't have a place in our "nutritional
chart. ".
I have been told that the Native of west coast of Canada were gathering 300
species of plant , and i read that the average american is getting 90 % of
his plant intake from 12 plants. (quite a difference)
In relation of the thread about" healthy " neolithic peoples , the diversity
of  their food intake might play a role in their  overall well being .
We are far from being finished  at discovering "new" essential  or not so
essential but important,  nutrients in foods.
Jean-claude