On Wed, 24 May 2000, Mary wrote:

> >That's an irrelevant syllogism.  The question wasn't whether the
> >diet would improve health but whether it would alleviate the
> >symptoms of lupus.  The diet might improve health without doing
> >anything about the lupus.
>
> Todd,
>
> I think you are splitting hairs.

It wouldn't be the first time.

> If the person sticks to a strict paleo diet, his/her  lupus will improve or,
> most likely, go away completely.

You see, I have a problem with claims like that, because they are
based on a few anecdotes and no scientific research at all.  If
Ray just wanted to say that some people with lupus report
improvements when they try Neanderthin, I'd have nothing to
quarrel with, and I would join him in urging such people to try
it.

But the truth is that nobody knows how likely it is that the
lupus will go away entirely, and it is irresponsible to make
claims like that without some solid evidence.  Ray's syllogism
tried to convey the impression that it is proven that Neanderthin
cures lupus.  We don't have any such proof, or anything close to
it.  A person with lupus who attempts Neanderthin as a treatment
is conducting an *experiment* on himself/herself.  There's
nothing wrong with that, and I would do exactly the same thing
myself; it's a relatively safe experiment.  But it's still an
experiment, and anyone who cares about truth will call it that.

The same complaint applies to sweeping statements about "improved
blood profiles," weight loss, and absence of side effects.  Not
everyone agrees on what counts as an improvement in blood
profiles, and Ray knows that.  Not everyone has great success
with weight loss on Neanderthin, and Ray knows that too.  And
some people *do* experience unpleasant side effects, including
diarrhea, constipation, lethargy, dry eyes, and so on.  You can
find all this in the archives of this list.

Do I sound a little cranky about this?  I am.  I've been doing
Neanderthin for a little over 3 years now, and I'm pretty strict
about it.  I don't weigh myself often, because I don't like to
obsess about the numbers on the scale, but I did weigh myself
recently.  I discovered that of the 40 pounds I lost (33 of them
on the Zone before starting Neanderthin), I have regained 20. My
body fat has gone from 17% (the lowest it got) to 22%.  I am in
the depressing situation of having to buy "fat clothes" for the
summer, to replace the stuff that I naively gave away, thinking I
would never need it again.  My LDL cholesterol remains elevated.

My trajectory is the classic "dieter's syndrome," in fact:
Initial success with weight loss, followed by a period of stasis,
followed by a slow return of fat, *without making any overt
dietary changes*.  There are many theories as to why this occurs,
but nobody really understands it yet.

So, I apologize for my crankiness.

Todd Moody
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