In a message dated 9/9/02 1:08:36 PM, Theola Walden Baker
<[log in to unmask] writes:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Madeline Mason"
>> these deficiencies are extremely rare in
>> the United States and Canada.*

>I spent I don't know how much time navigating the report (long, isn't it?)
>and still never found some of the parts of it reported in the media.  Did
>you ever find from what data they made the above conclusion?

Hi Theola,

No, although I glanced through them, I didn't scour the actual reports that
thoroughly. The above quote did come from the press release.

>> *Because saturated fat and cholesterol provide no known beneficial role
>> in preventing chronic diseases, they are not required at any level in the
>> diet,

>I stumbled over this, too.  Though I have to admit I worry some about the
>sat fat issue and how much is enough or maybe too much.  There's so much
>conflicting data on this.

One (of the many) reasons there is so much conflicting data on this is
because of individual differences. We all know there are people who have
cholesterol levels varying by a hundred points or more who eat basically the
same diet. And there are some who embark on a Paleo diet whose numbers go up,
and some whose numbers go down. And that doesn't even address how important
those numbers are in the first place.

Even if we accept that a Paleo diet is the healthiest, we still will debate
endlessly about exactly what a Paleo diet IS. I know that to even get close
to being anything like truly Paleo, I'd have to be out there scrounging for
bugs and grubs, squirrels and rats, eating the entire animal, and doing the
things my cultural upbringing just does not allow me to get past. I simply do
the best I can, without driving myself nuts over it. We all have to come to
our own conclusions about just how much dietary revolution we are willing to
tolerate. Many of us have found friends and relatives thinking we have gone
totally off the deep end just because we buy expensive grass-fed meats and
won't eat oatmeal!

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY