Hi to everyone. I'm a Zone list member who's been lurking for a while and
I've got a question.

After reading Neanderthin and following some of the discussions
(e.g.pemmican) I'm wondering about the issue of saturated fat. Neanderthin
is heavy on meat consumption, particularly domestic red meat, which is
notoriously higher in SF than wild game. There are also lots of recipes
with bacon grease, etc.  Generally there seems to be a fair degree of
acceptance of saturated fat both in the book and on the list. I agree that
modest amounts of SF are OK as long as you are active and have your carbs
under control. My question concerns what can reasonably be considered
"modest" vis a vis the paleolithic paradigm. Specifically, even a
contemporary review by Boyd Eaton and others (J. Nutr 126: 1732-1740, 1996)
makes the point that the average Paleolithic diet is thought to have
provided only a very small percentage of its energy (6%) as SF (and by
inference, the remainder of the projected 20-30% fat intake = mono/poly).
Without getting into all the evils/bogeyman aspects of SF, I'm curious why
a correspondingly low SF intake (approximating it as best you can) isn't
taken to be a key component of paleofood eating based simply on adherence
to the past.

Thanks,

Gary