Ashley Moran wrote:
> On Sep 07, 2008, at 7:16 pm, Kathryn Rosenthal wrote:
>
>> I agree.  The yolks are high in acid, and Cordain has probably become 
>> aware that cancer loves an acidic environment.  This is especially 
>> true for people who are eating quite a bit of meat. At least that is 
>> the only explanation that I can think of as to why Cordain would 
>> exclude yokes.  But, as has been stated here, the yolks have a lot of 
>> essential nutrients and eating egg whites alone would not be healthy 
>> over time.
>
> I suspect it's still fat-envy that makes him suggest discarding the 
> yolks.
>
> But if he is doing it based on the acidic nature of yolkds, that reeks 
> of microscopic science - or as I usually put it, "blind men elephant 
> science"*.  My body doesn't tell me the arachidonic acid contents of 
> eggs, it tells me they are really tasty.  And I trust its ability to 
> tell me how many eggs I should eat, seeing they are a natural food 
> that has always been available to humans.  (We never lived in an 
> environment with no birds, right?)
>
> I do not trust my brain's ability to decide that excess arachidonic 
> acid is dangerous, calculate the safe dietary limit, calculate the 
> amount of arachidonic acid in the eggs I am eating, and decide how 
> many eggs I should eat based on this.  In fact I don't trust my brain 
> do to make *any* decisions about my diet that are based on scientific 
> research.  Well, except archaeology and anthropology; but certainly, 
> biochemistry and medicine are out.
>
> Ashley
>
> * I'm never sure how transparent that expression is
>
I appreciate your outlook on this and I think it would work perfectly in 
a paleo environment.  However, the availability of foods year around 
allows access to what would have been limited in nature and seasonal at 
best.  Sugary items come to mind.   I don't think that eggs would have 
been available year around or even frequently except perhaps highly 
tropical areas and even then grain fed hens wouldn't have existed.  
While I too eat quite a few eggs weekly, I'm rethinking this issue and 
am beginning to wonder how much Arachaidonic Acid would have been 
customary for paleo man eating wild game sources.  To that end, I'm 
thinking about increasing fowl and fish protein sources and cutting back 
significantly on red meat and eggs.

Steve