I've been reading this list for about a week and you all seem so supportive
of each other.  I've gathered quite a lot of information.  I haven't been
able to get my hands on Neanderthin, but have read quite a lot on the
Internet.  I've been a high carb, no red meat person for about a dozen years,
thinking I was really taking care of myself.  However, I feel lousy.  I never
sleep and am exhausted all day.  I was told I was anemic about five years
ago, but can't take iron, so I dismissed it.  One thing I could never
understand was why I ate so well (or so I thought), but craved chocolate.
About two weeks ago, after research on this diet, I pretty much forced myself
off sugar, began to cut way back on pasta, bread, rice and other high-carb
foods and began to buy red meat.  Still, I don't sleep and am constantly
fatigued (but I've lost 8 pounds -- yes)!  Anyway, during my reading, I was
astonished to discover that tryptophan is found heavily in protein, something
I must not have been getting enough of.  I'm full of questions, but will try
to bother you with just a few at a time, since its beginning to look like I'm
writing a book here.

 1) Will this tryptophan ever kick in and allow me to sleep?  One of you
mentioned this diet lets you sleep like a rock.  Hard to believe.  Sounds
like a dream (heh).

2) I haven't heard anything about liquid intake among the Paleolithic.  How
much water did they drink?  I'm sure they weren't trying to force down 8
glasses a day like I've been told to do.  Did they get their liquid from
plants and fruits?  Was it enough?  Any evidence of them getting kidney
stones?

3) I know this has been addressed, but I missed it -- with all this red meat
consumption, isn't  cholesterol a concern?  The meats all those years ago
were wild and lean and the hunters/gatherers got a tremendous amount of
cardio exercise. And what about the amount of time meat takes to transverse
through your intestines?  This has for quite some time now been the argument
against red meat -- that it stays in the lower intestine too long which might
contribute to colon cancer.  Please explain.

4) Lastly, I heard some of you mention eating bacon.  Blah!!  Arghhh!! Awful
stuff!  You know those guys didn't consume sodium nitrites!  What's up with
that?

Okay, if you haven't all nodded off, I would really love some help with this.

Thank you in advance,
Janet

P.S.  By the way, with this little chocoholic problem of mine, I've never
been bitten by a mosquito.  Maybe that's the ticket!