Alex Shvartsman wrote:
>
> I doubt that (1). they ate fatty meat ALL the time like many on this
> list do now. and (2). the range fed meat back then was not as fatty (and with
> a different fat profile) as the grain fed meat that is available today.
>
> So my vote is for the leaner meat approach with accessional fattier meat
> (when going out to eat, ordering lamb, or a porterhouse steak is OK.-unless
> you eat out all the time).

As Andrew (I think) has pointed out, people today are eating only the
muscle meat, not the depot fat, subcutaneous fat, organ-cushioning fat,
bone marrow, and fatty organs--all of which are saturated and all of
which our ancestors made full use of. Perhaps if you ate every scrap of
fat in the carcass of a grain-fed steer on a regular basis you would be
in trouble. It is still a "perhaps", though. Now Cordain has everyone
eating only the leanest cuts and trimming away all the skin and visible
fat, and avoiding saturated fat as much as humanly possible while even
he admits that it's unknown whether this matters in the context of a
reduced-carb diet. Here is a question and answer posted on this list
back in March after Cordain's book came out (anyone know who asked this
question?):

Question: To what extent to you think the level of small-dense LDL
cholesterol explains the "badness" of LDL? This is relevant to
the paleo diet because small-dense LDL is strongly correlated
with triglycerides. On some conceptions of paleo diet, a more
Atkins-like approach is taken: liberal saturated fat, very low
carb. The result is often somewhat elevated LDL, but very low
triglycerides. The low triglycerides probably indicate low
levels of small-dense particles in the LDL fraction. This is why
the Eades are not concerned about increases in LDL on their plan
(for example). What is your take on this?

Cordain:  Excellent point.  We need more information to determine if
very
low carbohydrate, high fat diets reduce small dense LDL in all people or
only in certain genetically predisposed people ala the multiple studies
done by Dreon et al.   Further it will be necessary to determine whether
or
not the total increase in LDL (even with a concomitant decrease in small
dense LDL) still accelerates the atherosclerotic process.  It seems most
likely that small dense LDL are derived from triacylglycerols carried in
the VLDL fraction, hence the possilbility looms that a major determinant
of
atherosclerosis is the ratio of total LDL/small dense LDL.  To my mind,
the
evidence points to the notion that atherosclerosis results from many
environmental factors including those dietary elements that
simultaneously
raise LDL (high saturated fat diets) and TG (high glycemic load
diets).  Both of these dietary characteristics could not have been part
of
any Paleolithic Diet.

Me again: It seems more likely that all the health problems aren't
because of eating fatty meat, but from eating animal fats, vegetable
oils, and trans fats along with way too many carbohydrates. As if a
grain-based diet wasn't bad enough for you just by itself, Americans add
52 gallon of soda a year, plus I don't know how many pounds of sugar and
high-fructose corn syrup (which is even worse for you).

Hilary McClure
Danville, Vermont