C. Kuni:
> [log in to unmask] wrote that the protein/carb/fat ratio for
> HG's was: "Most hunter-gatherer diets 19-35% 22-40% 28-47"
> 
> How does one use such a wide range for practical purposes?
> Those percentage ranges are huge. -Cynthia

The actual ranges of the data that Cordain and his colleagues gathered are
even wider--I believe Cordain trimmed off the high and low extremes because
they came from peoples who lived in extreme areas (Arctic and desert) that
he considers somewhat extraneous. As you may have noticed, most of the diet
gurus actually advocate a range of figures, rather than one magical set of
precise proportions, even if they have a mean proportion that they sometimes
cite. I've never seen Cordain advocate for one specific set of proportions,
not even the mean figures of his data, so he seems to believe that it's less
important to eat in an exact proportion than to stay within the ranges, and
I would agree with that. He does seem to think that the high end of the
protein range is beneficial for people with conditions like obesity and
diabetes, arguing that protein is the most satiating macronutrient and that
it improves insulin sensitivity. A critic of Cordain's said that the
lower-protein HG diets (such as that of the !Kung San) indicate that animal
protein above the lower end of the range is not necessary, to which Cordain
replied that studies indicate that increasing protein beyond the lower
levels can be beneficial.

People like simplicity, but nature doesn't tend to be so simple. When most
hunter gatherers of the 20th century hunted and gathered they didn't check
to see that they collected foods in the proper precise proportions of
macronutrients. If they lived in an environment of diverse foods, they
gathered what was available, particularly what gave them the biggest caloric
payoff and what they enjoyed, and they tended to gather a very wide variety
of foods. The Inuit Eskimo lived in an extreme situation in the Arctic where
they had access to very little carbs, so they had to make sure they got
about 70% fat to go with their 30% protein (by calories) to avoid rabbit
starvation (as did Stefansson). The data indicate that eating 22% carbs
eliminates this necessity. Some of the !Kung San groups of the Kalahari
desert had a very different situation where there wasn't much large game--so
they had to eat more plant foods than animal foods.

Tom Bri:
> In actual use, food varied so much by season and day that there was no
'standard'.

Correct.