Jenny > "to a person eating well, by our standards, with a good lipid profile, no
weight problem, unstressed by insulin spikes, and the like, the benefits
of alcohol may not outweigh the more negative aspects of systemic
poisoning, just because we may not need the benefits as badly"

An excellent point and the reason why I view scientific research, which
one day says that up is down, the next day that down is up, with such
scepticism.  (Heck, until a couple of weeks ago, it was accepted dogma to
drown ourselves in pints and pints of water every day - despite the fact,
as Tom pointed out, that common sense says otherwise).  And why I view so
much of Dr. Cordain's work with a sceptical eye.  Don't get me wrong, he's
an enormously valuable resource, a cornerstone of the movement really, who
has done so so much to further the paleo cause.  But, like so many of us,
he's a little too willing to jump on the bandwagon of the latest
scientific research, in my humble opinion.

Interesting discussion.