On Friday, June 10, 2005, at 11:23  AM, Robert Jones wrote:

> Can anyone explain why organ meats are good for us, but fatty muscle 
> meats
> and eggs are bad for us? They seem to have pretty similar percentages 
> of
> saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Both have 
> saturated
> fats that are mostly 16:0 and 18:0. Pork brain has DPA and DHA, but 
> beef
> brain doesn’t; and they both have five time the cholesterol of eggs.
>
> Thanks for any insights into this issue,
> Robert

Hi Robert, welcome. You have hit some of the points of argument pretty 
clearly. Cordain has one opinion, but there are others. I eat organ 
meats and muscle meats and eggs. Brains are hard to find here, and I 
have to admit being squeamish about them anyway! There is little or no 
evidence that eggs or cholesterol in the diet are bad for you.

Cholesterol at high blood levels does increase risk to the heart, but 
it also has many benefits to the body as well. It is a bit of a trade 
off as to whether you prefer to die from a heart attack, stroke, or 
cancer. I have been reading the scientific literature on this topic for 
several  years and can't find any study that shows that high 
cholesterol results in earlier death, unless your cholesterol is very 
very high, in the 300 range and above. Even then, many people who go 
with the paleo diet, or even Atkins, report lowering their cholesterol. 
Some do raise it, though. I am one. My cholesterol rose from 180 to 270 
on the Atkins diet, then has fallen back to 230 since I cut out most 
milk products. At 230, there is no scientific basis to worry about 
heart disease over lower levels.

My person view is that a variety of animal products is good. Eat some 
of all of it, and don't worry about your cholesterol level unless it 
goes through the roof. I also use blood thinners such as tea and grape 
juice, and donate blood twice a year, to limit iron buildup. Everyone 
on this list has his own idiosyncratic ideas about the diet. Do what 
seems best for your own health, from your personal observation and 
study. Cordain and the others can play dueling experts, I take from 
them what seems logical and is validated by my own experience.