>I have somewhere in my notes a study to
>the effect that a major cut in calories causes an immediate and
>significant drop in cholesterol.

One two year study with humans locked away in Bioshpere II backs this up.  The diet was
completely monitored, so they know exactly what and how much people ate.

It was mostly vegetarian, with fish, pork, chickens and eggs making up a small part of the food.
I think they averaged one or two eggs/week, and had pork, chicken, or fish once/week.  It is
similar to what I eat in many ways, except I eat a lot more fish.  It was definitely considered
a calorie restriction diet.

Unfortunately, my references for some articles (and the actual articles) are with my mother on
loan.  But in The Anti-Aging Plan there is a good summary, pg. 39.  This info was adapted from
Walford, et al., Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences, 1992.  There were eight
participants, 4 female, 4 male.  Compared to pre-closure of the facility their average
cholesterol went from 191 to 119.  Their blood pressure went from an average of 109/77 to 76/57.
Body weight from 148 to 126.  Blood sugar 92 to 70.  WBC 6,600 to 4,800.  This was just in the
first six months.

From talking to several doctors, and all the research I have done on my own, these biomarkers
are considered excellent for good health.

This looks like the hunter gatherer bio-data to me.  IMO it provides support that this type of
diet may approximate h/g diets.

Although, it is worth mentioning that they grew their own foods, which included peanuts, rice,
sorghum, wheat, white potatoes, soy beans, and goat milk.  Of course, they grew a lot of other
vegetables that this list *would* consider paleo as well.

James Crocker