<snip>

> when
> > we look at "old world" foods - are they actually
> the
> > same today as when our ancestors originally ate
> them?
>
> Probably not.
>
> > And what about the "new world" versions of "old
> world"
> > foods - are they close enough genetically to their
> > potentially distant relatives? And how many foods
> to
> > which we were originally adapted are now long
> extinct?
> > And what about regional differences in the human
> > species (race) - what kind of impact would that
> make
> > on adaptation to a particular type of food?
>
> Yes, these are all confounding variables.

So, considering the above variables, it becomes
apparent that we are "stuck" with doing a little
educated guessing. Using the paleo model as a guide we
can compare current foods to what we *know* were paleo
foods, and determine whether a given food is
*probably* OK or *probably not* OK. Seems pretty
simple to me. As Ray suggested, we can also observe
how other primates react to the food (however, I would
not bet the farm on these results).

> If you view these things from
> the
> standpoint of their botanical categories, then they
> *don't* fit
> in.  That is, if you think of this simply as a
> grain-free,
> bean-free, dairy-free diet, then these foods are
> out.

Peanuts are NOT beans. They are legumes. Beans are
legumes. Peas are legumes. Locust trees and alfalfa
are legumes. My question was: are legumes, as a
category, out, or just beans? I would have my doubts
about exluding all legumes because of the number of
them that ARE edible raw.

If you
> think in terms of what paleolithic people could have
> eaten,
> they're not necessarily out.

Exactly. In my wildest imagination I could not accept
the idea of paleos NOT eating green beans and/or peas
if given the chance.

  Unfortunately, since
> we know little
> enough about what they actually did eat, figuring
> out what they
> could have eaten is about as good as it gets.

Hmmmm. I guess that's my point: Use the paleo model as
a guide, but add to it what works best in today's
environment. (A thought - why the *^%#$ did it take
10,000+ years for the most advanced brain on the
planet to finally figure all this out? That's not a
very impressive statistic, is it? :)
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