Amadeus Schmidt wrote:

> Even big amounts of grain, nearly beeing the main staple
> didn't cause disease after people learned how to eat this stuff.
> Grains didn't slow down the roman legions, it fueled them well.
> (while their enemies - celts - germans -mediterranean people were similar
> grain based societies).

Just by chance, today I am reading Tacitus, the Roman author
who wrote "The Germania", a sort of travel guide for Romans
on Germany. This was written around AD 100. He describes the
German diet as "wild fruits, game, and curdled milk". He
says the Germans farmed grain, barley, but used it to make beer.

It is true the Romans and other mediterranian peoples ate
lots of grain, but we also know they were runty, ill people.
I suppose the young men of the legions were healthy enough,
just as many young men are today. Tacitus tells us the
Germans of his day were renowned for their size, vitality
and health. The Romans never suceeded in conquering the
Germans, rather it was the Germans who finally overran the
Romans. Whether this had anything to do with diet is a
stretch. More likely it had to do with Roman tax policy
which impoverished the whole empire.




> I don't know where ever a pre-agricultural people had to fight "civilized"
> people. Except australian and particularly tasmanian aboriginees.

??? Read some more history!
>
>
> What was missing to everyday use and made agriculture possible is in my
> view the following:
>
> 1.year round storage of the grains (dry earth holes work well)
> 2.a omega 3 source to equal out the grain w-3 deficit
>   (there were gazelle mass-killing buildings for this, there were green
> herbs, and at last flax did the trick)
> 3.a source to equal out the one amino acit which limits protein quality of
>   cereals to only 55% of eggs.
>   Lentils (legumes) were the key
> 4.Knowledge how to eat this as a staple. Grinding soaking heating.
>   This is basically old paleolithic (australian aboriginals can do this)
>
> "Better" plants with bigger grains and less falling down were just a simple
> logical follow-up after the important facts were cleared.


Sure sure, but the result for the individual who had to eat
this was poor health. This is clearly documented in the
archeaological record. Amadeus, we shouldn't have to be
going over this again. The neolithic diet helped them to
avoid starvation. Fine. Good for those clever people. But we
are attempting to avoid all the negative spects of that same
diet. Few of us on this list are struggling to avoid
starvation by eating whatever trash we can find some way to
make "edible".