On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, Dean Esmay wrote:

> Anyway: I think this arguably is about my own individual health; since we
> lack any hard scientific data and have -only- speculation, and no one has
> come forward to document how AA caused him as an individual a problem, I
> can only look to my own health, which does not support the speculation
> given so far.

Well, until there are large-scale outcome studies of people who
switch to NeanderThin from other eating plans, we are left with a
priori reasoning and hunting/gathering data points from various
studies, which may not control all the right variables.

> So far, at least in my
> individual case,  none of the reactions I've seen predicted have been
> well-supported.  My allergies all got better.  My blood lipids improved
> massively.  I feel great.

This is good.  Perhaps a better question to ask is:  Why
*doesn't* the heavy consumption of AA on the NeanderThin diet
cause the problems that it appears to cause on other diets?  Is
it simply a function of the insulin/glucagon axis, or is there
something else involved.  Given that the Atkins diet adequately
controls the insulin/glucagon axis, but a third of his patients
show the symptoms loosely associated with excess AA, it seems
likely that it is something other than insulin/glucagon.

Loren Cordain's recent article on Paleodiet offers some clues
that point to oxidation damage caused by unsaturated vegeteable
oils.  If that is correct, then it is very reassuring, from a
NeanderThin perspective.

> I don't dispute the possibility that something
> dire is happening but I also can't take that possibility seriously until I
> see more evidence or some kind of prediction that I can try to duplicate.

Then you could do the noble thing and add canola oil to
everything you eat for a couple of weeks and then get back to us
with your blood work...

> Take away my red meat, eggs, and my
> beef and pork fat and you've frankly given me a diet I'm not interested in
> eating anymore.  ;-)

I forgot to mention that turkey is loaded with AA.

> I'll be very interested in hearing what your lipids are like, Todd, and
> what those of others is like as well.

As soon as I get around to having a checkup, I'll issue a press
release.

Todd Moody
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