On Fri, 1 Oct 1999, Troy Gilchrist wrote:

> The body has a metabolic pathway for dealing with alcohol, but I wouldn't
> advise drinking it in any quantity on a regular basis.

It is essentially the same metabolic pathway as the one for
dealing with vinegar.  I agree with your admonition here, and I
suggest that the existence of this metabolic pathway does indeed
suggest that we have the ability to consume small amounts of both
safely.

In the case of vinegar, I think consumption is more
self-limiting.  Most of us are not likely to consume more than
small quantities because the taste is so overpowering.  Alcohol
is unfortunately not self-limiting in this way.

> Based on my
> understanding of the seasonal availability of fruits in the Upper
> Paleolithic/Pleistocene, it seems unnatural for humans to consume rotten
> fruit products with any regularity. But as I said, infrequent consumption of
> moderate amounts of vinegar would seem to be harmless.

The same caveat would also apply to *unrotten* fruit products,
not to mention nuts, berries, and many other forms of vegetation
that are only available or edible for short periods during the
year.

In my mind there is still a large question mark over the matter
of the relevance of seasonal short-term availability of foods in
the Pleistocene to modern paleodiet food choices.

Todd Moody
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