On Fri, 27 Oct 2000 02:28:41 -0400 Amadeus Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
writes:

> There are only two kinds of essential fats:
> alpha-linoleic acid (LA)and alpha-linolenic acid (LNA).
> Both are readily available from plants.

WHAT plants?  Plants that would have been available to Lucy and her
predecessors in the right combinations, or plants the YOU can obtain
and
eat through the intervention of advanced technology and VERY careful
selection based on scientific knowledge?  I don't argue that YOU can't
manage to pull off this bit of cheating nature, but it's probable that
Lucy would have sickened and died eating ONLY the vegetation available
to
her, and her race would have died out long ago.  Of course you do
specify
that Lucy DID eat animal protein... care to guess WHY she did?
Perhaps
she was swayed by television advertising...


> Protein consists of 21 amino acids of which 9 are essential.
> All of these are readily available from plants.
> What was your point about animal protein?

Again, define "readily" in the context of Lucy's environment and lack
of
technology...

The bottom line is that the human animal is not a vegetarian, or even
close to one, and has not been (if ever) for hundreds of millions of
years.  At best, you can say that YOU don't WANT to eat animals, and
through modern technology YOU can manage it without developing any
serious deficiency diseases, and MAYBE without developing any of the
other degenerative diseases.  BUT it is NOT a normal or natural diet
for
your body.

It's one thing for you to argue about how you, as a modern,
technological
man, can avoid eating animal products and still obtain your basic
needs
in something close to a "paleo" way, but quite another to toss out
these
bits of nonsense about how difficult it might have been for Lucy, or
any
other of our ancestors, to obtain and consume large amounts of animal
foods, constituting a major portion of their normal diet.  When you go
off on these ridiculous tangents, you are just playing games which are
of
no possible constructive use to anyone.

Personally, I think vegetarianism is bizarre and unhealthy, but I
recognize that some people will insist on living that way.  As a
strong
believer in the health benefits of lowcarb and paleo, I approve and
encourage any discussion that will help such people follow a lowcarb
or
paleo diet as closely as their prejudices make possible (vegetarian,
lacto/ovo, vegan, etc...).  I include as much specific information on
the
subject as I can in my Low Carbohydrate FAQ (within the constraints of
the format of that document), and always look out for additional
"vegetarian lowcarb" resources, but sometimes I'm forced to wonder why
people here haven't just given up dealing with you.

If you REALLY want to be constructive, why not provide some good,
solid
LC/paleo strategies for modern people with the vegetarian eating
disorder...