On Fri, 30 Aug 2002 11:38:44 EDT, Madeline Mason <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>In a message dated 8/30/02 11:03:46 AM, Amadeus Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
>writes:
>
><< My point is:
>*If* vegetarian children compare well or very well in IQ tests
>*then* dietary DHA intake cannot be a worsening factor for intelligence.

>OR, the children they are being compared to had comparably little DHA as
>well. Where would children eating the SAD get their DHA from? Corn Flakes >and
>skim milk? Macaroni and cheese? hot dogs and French fries? I don't think so.

There is no control group, the control group is society average.
IQ 100 is defined to be the average.

>And, where is the study comparing the intelligence of Boston vegetarian
>children to Boston meat-eating Paleo children?

Who eats hot dogs is meat-eating, isn't he? Average is 270g meat per day.
(including babies and the few percent vegetarians).
Maybe once a neanderthin or Cordain paleolithic diet IQ-study will be done.
Maybe they will be better than 100 too.
But at present I think there are too few such paleos to be able to do a test.

My prediction would be: They *will* be above average.
I don't think because of the dietary DHA, but because of less toxins
disturbing the natural DHA synthesis. For paleos this would be high relative
w-6 (avoided), less tFA (avoided), less insulin (kept low).

>Amadeus- >If dietary DHA would be necessary, then both, vegetarians or
>meateaters would have to *supplement*.
>
>Hasn't it been well demonstrated that plenty of DHA is available from free
>range/grass fed meats, as well as wild caught fatty fish?

Fatty fish is a real source. For real big loads if DHA.
If this is wise is annother question. It competes for d6d (Ben Balzer
reported this from a reliable source). Therefore it will decrease the
production of good prostaglandins.

If the fatty fish is paleo is also annother question.
No homo habilis will ever have eaten a herring, a walrus or a shark.
But paleo-listers are very health conscious, and therefore tend to eat fish
for it's reported advantages.

With meat, 1kg / 2 lbs will provide the 100mg DHA Cordaine spoke about.

If this amount is synthesized in humans, to eat it will double the amount.
I don't think that that much is necessary for brain developement. Otherwise
all SAD eaters would end up with half sized brains.
It would do good against cancer however, according to reports I've read.

Amadeus