On Thu, 19 Apr 2001 07:26:59 EDT, Mary Rittenhouse <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>but..............are pistachios paleo correct? Until I read neanderthin I
>didn't know that peanuts and cashews were not paleo.

Pistachios are wonderful nuts, perfect food for paleolithic humans
particularly at the place where they were found (see about that at
http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_nuts_common.htm#Pistachio )
They even have some vitamin c.

Who sais that peanuts and cashews aren't "paleo"?
They are not nuts, but legumes. This speaks against them because legumes
contain some potentially dangerous substances. More bad news: They are
usually processed, cashews are always cooked and peanuts mostly roasted
(wich oil of uncertain quality) and heavily salted. Many people show
allergies on peanuts. Peanuts are not from in the old world, where the
evolution of all humanity before 10,000 bc took place (but who avoids new
world food).

Humans *did* eat legumes in paleo times (read about that at
http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_grains_beans_seeds.htm
the author seems better informed).
Thats the paleo test number 1 -- proven.
Peanuts *are* edible raw.
Thats the paleo test number 2 -- proven.

If you take the paleolithic diet as a mere antiallergic diet
(like neanderthin seems to do) then you would be right to avoid legumes like
peanuts unless you don't have the  prove that you tolerate them.
That applies to real nuts (perfectely paleo) too, btw. (!)

If you make your own thoughts on the *actual* paleolithic diet
you may come to different results.
Like me.

Regards,

Amadeus Schmidt
(who thinks that an antiallergenic diet based on the exposure of
that food in evolution is also not a bad idea)