In a message dated 5/6/99 7:39:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
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>
>  But grain consumption has been linked to many things not evident until many
>  years of consumption have passed. Like cancer. See:
>

Thank you Don, for the references. I am aware of many of those studies.  I
have read much on that subject too.  That is why I don't encourage constant
and large amounts of grains or dairy, for that matter, for myself or anyone
else.  But since there are so many *healthy* cultures that eat them, that do
*not* seem to get cancer, I can only say that I'm not convinced that is the
only element.

Does anyone have any statistics on the prevelance of cancer and when it
became as common as it is now??  Considering that heart disease, as we know
it, wasn't seen until about 1920 (this is cited many times all over the
place, I am not an expert in the field, so I have no personal knowledge other
than what I've read)..it makes one think that even though we were eating all
these *bad for you neolithic foods* , we weren't dying of the stuff we are
dying from now.  I know about the illnesses of the grain eating Egyptians,
the diabetes, and caries.  They were big on sweets and processed  (for the
time) grains in large quantities.  Certainly cancer has existed since the
dawn of man, but to what extent? Pre-history doesn't have these numbers.  It
is safe to say that *now* cancer is a serious threat to us.  I have not
heard/read that it was this serious even as little as 100 years ago. It's
obvious that the extent of the processing in our foods is killing us.  This
is disputed by noone with any knowledge on the subject.  However......

There are many people today, eating the SAD, that *don't* come down with
cancer or any other serious illnesses, until a vary advanced age.  I
personnally have suffered from the processing of our food, and I'm only 35yrs
old.  So I can not condone it.  But how old do we have to live to be
considered a success in the *healthy from our food* thing??   If we are
eating vegetarian, or paleo, or lowcarb or whatever....is it so we reach 70?
80? 90? 100? without diseases?...my Grandfather died at 99..no illnesses
whatsoever except those that come with just being old, like vision problems,
memory, feableness, noone lives forever,,eventually our hearts stop....Was he
a failure at eating well because he ate rice and beans every day of his life?
Even though he lived a longer than average life, and had no diseases?  I'm
reluctant to say so.

I am not against paleo eating, I think it's the answer to our problems.  The
subtle point I'm trying to make, is that there are many forms of *healthy*
and many diets that can be *healthy*.  It's totally individual.  Vegetarian
was bad for Linda McCartney (for those that don't know, she died of breast
cancer in her 50s), vegetarian is good for some others.  The statistics tell
us that eating less makes us live longer, because thinner people live longer.
The dieticians tell us that restricting calories makes us fatter, fatter
people die younger..which is true?...I think its both true..for some people,
respectively.

My search for information on diet/nutrition started 20 years ago.  It's an
obsession with me.  I am always receptive to anything that would shed light
on the subject.  I welcome any dialogue, even if it disagrees with me.  And
frankly, I am also continuously evolving in my opinions as I gain knowledge (
I am a layperson after all, not a doctor of any kind).  So I can't be rigidly
of any one mind set. Except my belief that eating paleo is still the best
way...it is after all..the foundation of our existance..but as I say, we are
alll evolving...


Anna L. Abrante
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