----- Original Message -----

The Tarahumara Indians of South America subsist mainly on corn and beans.
See
> >  http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/Insulin.athlete.html for example.
> >
The Tarahumara are eating large amounts of corn and beans, but have very low
rates of heart disease.  If we follow the evidence without prejudice, this
should tell us
> that it's not the foreign proteins in corn and beans that are causing
heart disease.
>
> I don't know what would make it clearer.  The theory predicts
> that the Tarahumara should be dropping like flies from their
> high-carb, corn and bean based diet.  But they are
> extraordinarily healthy.
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Except, of course, for the Tarahumara indians in Northern Mexico who are
starving due to their enslavement by drug lords.  The Tarahumara now grow
drugs for the North Am. drug market.  It is difficult to get food trucks to
them without bandits robbing the food; children are among the starving (at
least this was true last year).

Habitat for Humanity is down there now helping them to build habitable
houses.  Someone had the idea of saving the old, weathered lumber from their
original structures and turning it into furniture.  Two beautiful pieces
were sent to Las Cruces, NM and I have one of them in my living room.  I
also have some of their baskets.

I met several Tarahumara men last winter.  They didn't speak English so I
spoke through an interpreter, but the men appeared to me to be about 5'
tall.  The women stand about 4'8" tall.  Whatever they are eating, or not
eating, their appearance seems very similar to the way people must have
looked in the desert SW prior to European advancement.

Kath