Hi Joseph, 
Thanks. That makes perfect sense to me. If we are comparing two slightly
altered dimensions of a diet rich in neolithic foods, the variations may not
be relevant to the dramatically different groups of paleo diets. 

I'm interested in your statement that "....the explanations of WHY certain
foods are acid-promoting or alkaline-promoting are extremely weak." What are
their weaknesses? The high rate of mineral recovery in the large intestine
would appear to be one weakness. I also suspect some other weaknesses that
Phil and I have been knocking around but haven't yet investigated. There is
also the real-world evidence of meat eating populations with strong bones
(which is, in my view, the most compelling). Can you suggest any other
weaknesses?  

Thanks in advance, 
Ron

-----Original Message-----
From: Paleolithic Eating Support List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Joseph Berne
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 10:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Great blog post about saturated fats

I don't have all the answers, but all the research I've seen on what makes a
dietary component acidic or basic compares diets that are the SAD - they eat
plenty of grain, dairy, processed food.  One group eats relatively more meat
or cheese (but plenty of bread and dairy) while the other eats relatively
more fruits and veggies (but still, plenty of grain and dairy).  Maybe
vegetables can counter the bone density loss caused by phytic acid
consumption - which means that if you're on the SAD more veggies might be
good but isn't relevant to the health of someone who has a paleo diet
(because, last I checked, pretty much every version of paleo I've ever heard
of is anti-grain at the very least).  By the way, the explanations of WHY
certain foods are acid-promoting or alkaline-promoting are extremely weak.
The claims are based on studies, not on mechanisms, and like I said, all the
studies I've looked up are comparing slightly different versions of a modern
diet.

Cordain can't get past a number of pieces of conventional wisdom that he's
been saddled with.  Look at his take on saturated fat - he's been skewered
here plenty of times for that, and while I understand how hard it is to
break free of the "everyone knows..." voice in your head, he ought to know
better.