I am a retired neurophysiologist and would like to contribute some thoughts on the need for more fat in our diets based on human physiology. Plant based diets are lacking in sufficient fat for optimal functioning and are lacking in some cofactors such as B-12. A problem with SAD diets has been the increased toxins in cooked foods, especially the carcinogenic effects of COOKED fat, animal and vegetable. We all know cooking converts nutrients into non-nutrients. Raw animal fat is an excellent source of fat. Energy is stored more efficiently as fat than as glycogen from carobohydrates. Animals may get enough fat from veggies if they are herbivores--they are less active and need less efficient energy. We are omnivores. Carnivores and omnivores are more active than herbivores, and need this more efficient way of storing energy. Also humans have more need for fat in the skin since we don't have hair to keep us warm and for increased brain function because of our higher intelligence. The synaptic connections in the brain are mostly fat and cannot function well in low fat diets. There are many published studies by David Horrobin and others on the improvement of emotional balance and brain function with diets that incorporate more fat. Check out any Medline if you are interested. The body is so beautifully constructed that it can survive on diets that are not well balanced, but for optimal mental and physical health it works best physiologically to have a balance, and natural taste can determine what is needed. The gut even tries to absorb preferentially what it needs. Too much of anything leads to toxicosis. And if there is too little then metabolism is disrupted, abnormal quantites of metabolites accumulate, and toxicosis also results. So deficiences can also lead to cancer. I lost more than one long term vegetarian friend to cancer. Aajonus Vonderplanitz' results with remission from cancer using high raw animal fat diets are statistically valid. He did not make this up. The reason many of his clients eventually died is that they were unable to stay with the diet because of their food addictions, especially addiction to processed and cooked carbohydrates. I don't think raw carbohydrates are addicting, but it's certainly possible to eat too many and not enough fat. Of course it is too soon for statistics with Instinctive eaters who eat raw animal fat--there are not that many of us--but the evidence is beginning to mount. Also since I did the emotional detox to clear out my brain and nervous system as described in my article, The Biology of Emotions, (based on my scientific article below) my sympathetic nervous system can do its daily job of detoxing and I seldom get sick. My previously abnormal blood tests are now normal. I tried eating a dozen raw egg yolks and then had my cholesterol checked. It was normal. The nervous system controls just about every function of the body including digestion. And because the toxicosis in my hypothalamus is gone, the pituitary gland can regulate the various hormonal balances. My hypothyroidism was also neurogenic, that is, when the nervous system is revved up during detox crises (ie symptoms)-- emotional or physical or a mix-- excess adrenaline is released and increases the metabolic rate. The thyroid compensates by putting out less thyroid hormone. Most people go to a doctor when they are having symptoms, i.e. detox crises, and may be diagnosed with hypothyroidism when there is nothing wrong with the thyroid gland. When there is toxicosis in the hypothalamus, there is periodic over and understimulation of the anterior pituitary, and consequently of many other hormonally controlled organs. Psychosomatic illness is better termed neurogenic, and while toxicois in the periphery also contributes to disease, a toxic nervous system is disease causing in itself. Best of all, my food addiction to processed and cooked carbohydrates is gone. Here is support from human phsyiology that the body prefers to store energy as fat. >From Guyton, Textbook of Medical Physiology 5th ed. p. 922. "Almost all cells, with the notable exception of brain tissue, can use fatty acids almost interchangeably with glucose for energy. Fat synthesis from carbohydrates is especially important for two reasons: 1) The ability of the different cells of the body to store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen is generally slight: only a few hundred grams of glycogen are stored in the liver, the skeletal muscles, and all other tissues of the body put together. Therefore, fat synthesis provides a means by which the energy of excess ingested carbohydrates (and proteins, too) can be stored for later use. Indeed, the average person has about 200 times as much energy stored in the form of fat as stored in the form of carbohydrate. Each gram of fat contains approximately 2-1/2 as many calories of energy as each gram of glycogen. Therefore, for a given weight gain a person can store more energy in the form of fat than in the form of carbohydrate." The point here is that while we of course need carbohydrates, energy is more efficiently stored as fat, and we need to incorporate more fat in our diet than can be obtained on plant based diets. Pastured beef is an excellent source and have low bacterial counts. Bacteria feed on junk, not on healthy tissues. I believe the theory that bacteria are symbiotic and help clean us out. If someone dies during a severe bacterial infection it might well be from the underlying toxicosis and not from the bacteria. But if one is switching to an all raw diet including animal flesh, it would be wise to do this gradually. The priciple of toxicosis (as it relates to mental illness) as a source of disease is now published in my article in a medical journal Hopefully, this will eventually bring some harmony between alternative approaches and the traditional medical viewpoint. Here is the abstract. The toxic mind: the biology of mental illness and violence E. Van Winkle, retired, Millhauser Laboratories of the Department of Psychiatry New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY. Mailing address: Murray Hill Station. P.O. Box 893, New York, NY 10156 Abstract -- The continual suppression of emotions during fight or flight reactions results in atrophy and endogenous toxicosis in noradrenergic neurons. Diminished synaptic levels of norepinephrine are associated with depression. During periodic detoxification crises excess norepinephrine and other metabolites flood synapses. The norepinephrine overexcites postsynaptic neurons and causes symptoms ranging from mild anxiety to violent behavior. Some of the other metabolites, which may include dopamine, epinephrine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, peptides, amino acids, and various metabolic waste products, are bound by noradrenergic receptors and alter neurotransmission. When they prevent norepinephrine from exciting postsynaptic neurons, depression returns. A mechanism is proposed for the binding of norepinephrine and for the effects of the other metabolites, many of which have been thought to be neurotransmitters. The diverse receptor proteins presumed to be specific for false neurotransmitters may instead encode specific memories. The shift in depressive and excitatory behavior is characteristic of nearly all nervous and mental disorders, including addictions, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and psychosomatic disorders. When toxins accumulate in regions of the brain that control specific activities, the symptoms observed will be related to those activities, giving rise to supposedly distinct disorders that represent the same detoxification process. Recovery can be facilitated by therapy and self-help measures that involve the releasing and redirecting of repressed emotions. Medical Hypotheses 2000; 54(1): 146-156. You can read the full article if you are interested and the self help measures for recovery on: http://pages.nyu.edu/~er26 Please read the Endoresements. Eliminating the toxicosis in the nervous system will have a profound effect on the ability of the peripheral organs to function, and this will lead to better health. Ellie