On Mon, 31 Jan 2000, alexs wrote:

> Another reason to support range-bred, range-fed meat animal
> production whenever possible. Killing and eating prey animals
> is in the Paleo WOL, but I'd suspect (don't start, Todd) that
> nonhuman colostrum played no significant part in the diet
> of Paleolithic humans... less so than "dairy" as normally
> understood.

This time I have to agree.  This doesn't mean that I
automatically object to the use of this stuff as a medicine,
since I am not of the opinion that paleo foods are the only
appropriate treatments for all ills.  But I am also well aware of
the things that ripple through the autism community, with the
endless anecdotes of "dramatic improvements."  The fact is that
some kids, such as my own, improve dramatically and nobody really
understands why.

Incidentally, I have to thank you for calling my attention to the
Pauling/Rath papers on ascorbate.  Here's yet another anecdote: I
had suffered from periodontitis for years, and in fact lost
several teeth because of it.  When I went to low-carb diet (and
eventually paleo) the condition cleared up quickly, except for
one particular location that remained somewhat puffy and
inflamed.  The tooth was a bit loose, too.  This continued for
over two years, and even the periodontitis was at a loss to
explain it.  Recently (i.e., 2 weeks ago) I decided to try
supplementing with ascorbate, averaging 3 or 4 grams per day.
The inflamed gum healed quickly, within 2 or 3 days.

This is an example of a treatment not readily availble by means
of paleodiet alone, since it would be rather difficult to consume
enough ascorbate-containing foods to get 3 or 4 grams of the
stuff per day.  It's also a bit disturbing to realize that this
lingering gum condition was a symptom of scurvy.

Todd Moody
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