At 11:49 AM 10/27/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Wade:
>thank you so much for your swift comments.  They have me worried.
>
>Are you saying that man does not have cellulolytic micro-organisms in hirs
>gut?  If so, then I've got a lot of re-reading and re-thinking to do.
>

Yes, man has no cellulolytic micro-organisms that allow digestion of
cellulose.  Rumenants are animals that have compartmental stomaches like
cows, sheep and deer.  These stomaches contain the cellolytic organisms
that help digest cellulose.  These animals also are the type that "chew
their cud."  It is a problem for humans to extract the most nutrition from
plant materials with cellulose cell walls.  That is why proper preparation
can be important; cooking will burst the walls, chopping, grinding and
chewing will also mechanicaly break through the cell walls.

Good luck!

   Wade Reeser   [log in to unmask]