Adrienne Smith wrote:
>...  don't the suggested "good"
> fat sources suggested by Cordain ie flaxseed, fish oil, walnuts and other
> nuts provide us with far more polyunsaturated (and  thus unstable, prone to
> oxygenation and therefore cancer promoting)  fats than would have been eaten
> by paleo man?

Did you ever bother to look how much polyunsaturates wild game has
in it's tissues?
I've made an all-meat query:
http://www.geocities.com/paleolix/lipidsmeat.html

Note the high PUFA values for all wild varieties.
Except only bison and goat. Probably these analyses are from farm-fed
animals of "wild" anchestry.

All wild animals or mammals like the human too need a high PUFA part in
the body fat. If we consider the human body as a wild animal (what
basically makes up the paleo-diet) humans need it too to stay healthy.

These fats are more prone to oxidation and free radical damage.
But they are cancer promoting only in the absence of enough natural free
radical scavengers (vitamin E, vitamin C and a lot more).
The problem is to get enough vitamin E.
Otherwise PUFAs have excellent anti-cancer properties (think of DHA).

All discussion about the fat composition  and Cordain's
recomendations rotates about the true paleolithic fat composition.
Is it 10:10:1 or is it 3:3:1 .
Or is it 30:20:32 (Game meat, moose, raw)?

I don't have walrus or whale on the list but I bet it's even much higher
in PUFA.
Yes, yes there's the naturally saturated kidney protection fat.
Oooof course. It's only a droplet of a few grams compared to the other
fat sources of a carcass. (the Kangaroo list is still at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind0008&L=paleodiet&P=416 )

Agricultural beasts (beef) are optimized to grow as fast as possible
with the least cost. That's why the SFAs are so high (directely comeing
from carb feed). And MUFAs (made from SFA). And why PUFAs are so low (no
herbs but power fed).

The consequences Cordain draws are only logical.
Everybody can make them alone on these facts.
How do I get from 10:10:1 to 3:3:1 or 3:2:3 ?
I drop (cut away) all the agricultural fat as possible.
I add to the PUFA section. Needed is LA and LNA. Particularly (omega-3)
because omega-6 is much more frequent.
And where do you get omega-3 - as a supplement?
We only have flax and perilla. What else could he suggest to use than this?

Are we trying to emulate true paleolithic nutrition basics?
Or are we trying to emulate the diet of the last contemporary
huntergatherers?
Or are we trying to emulate the eskimo diet?
Or are we makeing marketing for beef-farms?
Or what is paleolithic nutritoin?

Here's a lipid list of a variety of whole food items:
http://www.geocities.com/paleolix/lipidbasics.html
Decide where and how often 10:10:1 can be found in *nature*.

I think it's better to care for a good vitamin E and C supply
than to flood the body with saturated fats, displaying PUFAs.

regards

Amadeus