On Mon, 29 Nov 1999, Peter Smith wrote:

> I noticed a post (sorry I have deleted it so cannot quote it)
> mentioning that Barry Sears' original book "The Zone" is now out of
> date in some respects. I am sure that must be true, given that the
> book was published in 1995.
>
> I'm curious though to know in what respects the information in it
> has become outdated.

One thing that Sears got wrong was his insistence that dietary
arachidonic acid is your "worst biological nightmare."  Research
done in 1997, involving the addition of rather large amounts of
AA to diet, failed to demonstrate any significant harmful
effects.  It is the *endogenous* AA that is problematic.  And
in any case, the specific food recommendations that Sears makes,
because of AA, don't make sense.  He says to avoid beef fat, for
example, in favor of lean chicken breast.  Well, if you consult
the USDA tables you'll find that lean chicken breast has more AA
than beef, and pure beef fat has none at all.  Tuna is also
higher in AA than beef!

Todd Moody
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