Pat:

>The reply:
>>It intrigues me then, why humans have such extraordinary ability to secrete
>>alpha-amylase, the starch digesting enzyme, present in both saliva and
>>pancreatic secretions.  We have so much, that some biochemists call it
>>alpha-amylase overkill.

Starch can be found in tubers, and in many vegetables too.

>I very seriously wonder if this comment is not key to this debate on grain
>and milk in the  diet: why is it so impossible to have biologically adapted
>to them in the past 10,000 years? In the lab, mice can be manipulated in
>just a few generations into biological variations. This concept has mired my
>total acceptance of the instinctive eating theory.

Maybe we have partially adapted to grains, but starch is not the whole
thing (similarly, lactose doesn't solve the problem of milk). There
are enough gluten intolerants to at least prove that bread is not
good for everyone.

>But there are perhaps a billion healthy Asian's whose
>diet includes a great % of calories from wholegrain cooked rice.

Let me add a few comments:
1) wheat is probably worse than rice
2) rice is usually boiled, whereas the temperatures used for bread are
much higher.
3) Most asians eat white rice
4) Those who eat wholegrain rice are generally among the poorest, so
they probably do not thrive on their diet (lack of diversity)

>I hope you are not too exhausted by my untiring expostulations, those of you
>(if any) who have stuck to the bitter end!

Don't worry, I survived! Best wishes,

Jean-Louis