Geoff said: 
> There are too many problems with Taubes' claims. First of all, I recently
> came across a point made by a swedish RVAFer that he could easily find
> lingonberries in december  as well as juniper berries. 
[Ron] Sure. Now that berries are readily available at the local supermarket,
I'm not at all surprised that they can be found frozen on the vine/cane.
Still, this would represent a tiny proportion of the calories needed to
survive, especially in  a cold climate.  

> He also pointed out
> that hazelnuts store well and that berries can be dried or frozen (in ice)
> for long-term consumption over winter.
[Ron] Sure, but they would represent a tiny portion of the year-long caloric
needs.  

> He also mentioned that the Sami make
> a brew of spruce needles during that time. So, the usual zero-carb claim
> that carbs are unobtainable in witner just isn't true.

[Ron] Spruce needle tea was used for its vitamin C - sometimes to treat
scurvy - not for the negligible carbs we might extract. Spruce needles are
primarily composed of cellulose and lignin. However, the human appendix is
no longer functional for extracting nutrients from cellulose.  Further,
lignin is a non-carbohydrate, complex polymer..... While spruce needle tea
can be highly beneficial, I don't think it is a viable source of carbs. I've
drunk spruce needle tea many times and while it is an acquired taste, it was
my winter drink of choice when I was a schoolboy.     
> 
(snip)
> 
> re fat-percentage:- well, I can only go by the experience of RVAFers like
> myself, and the general viewpoint is that too much fat in the diet(c.80%)
> is none too healthy.

[Ron] And yet, drug resistant epilepsy often responds well to a ketogenic
diet (~70% fats) and clinical trials of the ketogenic diet in insulin
sensitive cancers is showing promising results in Germany and The
Netherlands. The biggest challenge the researchers face is getting patients
to follow a strict ketogenic diet because of their pre-conceived notions
about the health hazards posed by fats.  

> Given my own experimentation with diet,I don't think
> rabbit-starvation can be an issue unless fat-percentages are very low,
> like way below 30% by calorie.

[Ron] Was the rest of your diet comprised of lean protein? What about carb
content? Rabbit starvation happened to the early settlers of the central
plains and the northwest during long winters where lean, wild meat was the
only source of food. Bereft of fats and without carbs, the excessive protein
content overwhelmed the body's capacity to clear the ammonia produced in the
liver by gluconeogenesis. 

> (snip)

 Best Wishes, 
Ron Hoggan